Reading Your Favorite Author's Favorites

Many readers have favorite authors; authors for which they have already devoured every title and are eagerly anticipating the release of another book. A great way to help these readers is to point them in the direction of their favorite author's favorite titles.

There are many ways to locate these titles. First and foremost are author interviews. Barnes and Noble has a great collection archived under Meet the Writers. Each author (with a few exceptions) lists books they themselves have enjoyed. You can browse authors by name or genre.

NPR interviewers generally ask authors what they like to read. If you go to their main page and search by author name you will get a list of any and all shows in which that author was discussed. You will get written articles as well as audio feeds. Take this entry for Jhumpa Lahiri as an example. She discusses her interest in Nathaniel Hawthorne and another critic mentions her similarities to Chekhov. The article ends with links to other "Related Stories" all about Lahiri.

Finally, I would also like to mention the wonderful British based resource Fantastic Fiction. There are entries for over 10,000 authors in a wide range of genres (not just fantasy). Each author entry ends with author recommendations. Click here to see Stephen King's (you must scroll the the bottom of the entry).

There are many other resources which compile author interviews. Even a quick google search of an author's name and the word "interview" will give you plenty of information to sift through. The key here is simply to remember that for readers who really love a certain author, that writer's favorite titles are a great RA resource.