The Great Author Quest

Good Morning, and Happy Monday!  I can say this because noone can smack me upside the head through the computer.  I am not REALLY cheery this morning, but I'm working on the whole Power of Positive Thinking deal.  I've been such a fuzz brain for the past month that I'm determined to find my way back into the light.  

Yesterday The Big Guy and I started on The South Beach Diet.  As a confirmed Food Addict, I know that the word "diet" is considered a major no-no.  The politically(?) correct term is "Lifestyle Change".  Whatever.  "Diet" means "The stuff you eat", so TBG and I are eating the stuff that is suggested on the South Beach program.  I got on the scale this morning and I lost five pounds since yesterday.  TBG said the inevitable "It's just water weight", but that's okay...that "water" weighed five pounds.  I am thinking positively. 

Anyway, that's not what I'm here to write about today.  While perusing the Monday morning Blogpost extravaganza, my friend Jessica Lemmon wrote about an author (Gina Wilkins) she discovered last week while laying around trying to survive an earache.  I hastily scribbled down the name in the "Authors to Check out" section of the little notebook I carry around with me.

I suppose many of us compulsive readers keep a list of books they've read, books they are looking for, that sort of thing.  I have a cute little black and pink plaid notebook with pages and pages of author names and their books.  I'm a big fan of series, so I love to find an author I haven't read and hunt down all of her/his books, in order.  I go to Fictiondb.com and look up my writer.  This site is great for listing the series that a writer has, with the books in order.  Then I copy them into my little black book and start the hunt. I am not a big user of goodreads. I think it could be useful, especially if I didn't blog or tweet, to connect with other readers/writers; but I can't carry it with me to the bookstore (wait, is there an App for that?). I still need my little black book to keep track of my TBR list, and I'm not inclined to double dip the organization...one list is enough! 

 I usually start my search at the library.  I am fortunate enough to live in an area with three pretty decent public library systems.  Each has a branch or two that is close me at some point in my day (work, picking up kids, home).  Then if the library doesn't have it, I'll hit The BookRack, which is my favorite used book store.  They don't pay cash for used books, they give you store credit...which, for me, pays off pretty well.  After the BookRack, I will hit Half Price Books.  Last, but not least, Amazon. 

Now let me stop here and say this:  When I find a writer that I love, I will buy her/his books new.  I totally want to support writers.  After all, one of these days, I'm going to have something out there that I want people to buy!  But in the beginning stages of my love affair, or when I can't find a new copy of something, especially backlist stuff, I do used.  I am like the Crocodile Hunter, sneaking through the stacks, hunting for sight of the elusive first novel of my latest author crush. 

What about you?  How do you keep track?  Which authors do you love to hunt?