Discovering New Authors - My Favorite Quest

Or Confessions of a Book Addict

With the help of Better World Books, Half Price Books, the local library and occasionally Barnes & Noble, my bookshelves are overflowing with books I need to read. If I am ever lost on a desert island, I better have my books. If I like an author, I will feverishly hunt down every book they have ever written.

Being new to the Twitterverse has introduced me into another overwhelming list of authors who I hope will populate my bookshelf, becoming new favorites along side my trusty old ones. Oh yes, and goodreads is another new source. My head might explode.

I still have mixed feelings about the ebook market. However, as I mentioned, I will be purchasing my first e-book soon. I am coming to see digital format as another bookshelf that will be filled with favorites. As an upcoming Author (oh yes, I *will* be an Author), I am seeing ebooks as "the way of the future" and I can not discount their importance. However, if all bookstores and libraries become digital cafes, I will dearly miss the smell of new and used books. My elder daughter and I inhale deeply before we set off to plunder the shelves.

This got me to thinking about authors whose books I would miss on my physical vs digital bookshelf, and recently (in the last year or so) discovered authors who have a presence on my shelf. My Better World Book Binges are by far my most reliable supplier of my habit, at the moment.

Here are some of the authors I have discovered that made an impression on me and my bookshelf.

Erle Stanley Gardner  - introduced me into the world of Perry Mason, and I fell instantly in love.

Rachel Lee - introduced me into the world of  Conard County, assuring me that reading series romance is not a bad thing.

Shana Galen - currently entertaining me with her regency adventure romance. I love the title, When Dashing Met Danger (Update: finally got some time to read a few more pages and I am totally in love with the hero, already.)

Elizabeth Bailey - made me a fan of the Lady Fan series. (Ugh, that wasn't even punny, but it is true.)

Sarah Addison Allen - introduced me to the delightful world of the paranormal surreal. Her books are like nothing I have ever read.

Patrick Carman - followed me on Twitter and I nearly fainted when I had a book of his on my shelf that I need to read. (The Dark Hills Divide)

Are you a book collector like me? Would you miss having shelves full of well loved paperbacks, or glossy hardovers? Would you miss the smell of a bookstore if they all become "ebook cafes"? Or is digital just the way to go?