I have talked about my personal lists that I keep about Cozy Mystery authors I have read. I have one list that has all of my favorite Cozy Mystery authors on it. I keep it on my computer’s desktop so that I can revise it whenever one of my favorite authors publishes a new Cozy. I mark off the books as I read them. This just works best for me, as I like to read my Cozies in chronological order.

The lists I don’t talk about much are the alphabetical lists I use to mark down my “YUCK” authors. I try a whole lot of Cozies but don’t end up enjoying all of them. I’ve talked about my “50 page rule” on many occasions. If I don’t like a Cozy I’m reading by page 50 (which I’m now translating to be about 20 – 25% of a Kindle copy) I stop reading the book, and place the author’s name on his/her corresponding alphabetical list with a big “YUCK” after the name. (Unfortunately, I just started adding the reason I didn’t enjoy the author a few years ago, so there are quite a few authors on the list who I can’t remember even trying, let alone the reason they didn’t appeal to me.)

We have discussed retrying Cozy Mystery authors who had once been favorites of our, who we then thought we had outgrown. This time I’m talking about authors who we never liked, perhaps not even making it to our cut-off page limit. These are authors who start on our yuck lists, and usually never get a chance to be taken off of it.

Usually I consult my lists before I buy a book by a new-to-me author, but sometimes I forget to do that. Fortunately, in the case of one of my very favorite authors, I forgot to consult my yuck list. Wow, am I glad I did! You cannot imagine how surprised I was to find that at one time in my life I had tried this author and had totally disliked her. Good grief! I have spent many hours of very enjoyable Cozy Mystery reading with this author’s sleuth, all because I (luckily) didn’t check that doggone yuck list! I have had this happen a few other times, so I am finding myself wondering if I actually dislike all of the Cozy Mystery authors who I have on my yuck list, or not!

Have any of you ever disliked an author who you later find you like a whole lot? Without naming names, could you tell us about it?

*** As usual, please do not mention the names of authors you don’t like.***

I have often wondered what it is that makes me try out a new-to-me Cozy Mystery Series. With so many Cozy series out there, why do I end up trying some, and not others? I know there is no science involved in my selection process, but what is it that makes me try a Cozy Mystery author who I have never read before?

Hmmm…

After thinking about this, I came up with some things that help me decide whether a series looks like something I would enjoy spending a lot of time reading, or not:

1. Your Recommendations >>> I think that this is by far the most important factor for me. Some of you write monthly recommendations that make me immediately go and buy the first Cozy in a series. There are recommendations that almost “make me have to try” a series.

2. Sleuth >>> Let’s see, what do I mean by the sleuth? Well, upon looking at my favorite Cozy Mystery series, I like my sleuths to be smart women, although I have a few exceptions like Hercule Poirot and Roderick Alleyn. I tend to go for sleuths who have been around, who have living experiences from which to draw. I don’t mean that all my sleuths are senior citizens, but I do like my sleuths to be usually be the one whose friends know they can rely on.

3. Theme >>> I know it almost sounds over-redundant to mention the theme as being important, now that almost every series has a theme of some sort. This does not mean I won’t read a Cozy that has a theme I”m not interested in, but I do sort of seek out themes that match my own interests. I’m not particularly crazy about cooking, but I read several culinary Cozy Mystery themes. On the other hand, I enjoy needlework, so I usually try every needlework Cozy series that hits the shelves. I love holiday themes, so if an author has a lot of them, I will try his/her Cozies. The theme list goes on and on.

4. Book Cover >>> To some of you this might sound weird, but some Cozy book covers sort of  “speak to me”. And lately, the publishers seem to have me in mind! Have any of you noticed how cozy the new Cozy book covers look? I have! When I look for the book covers to put on my site, I sometimes cannot get over how incredibly neat some of the covers are. I admit that I prefer the covers by artists over the photographs, but lately even the photos have been enticing.

So that’s how I find new Cozy Mystery authors to try, how about you? What method do you use to decide on a new-to-you Cozy Mystery author to try?