I thought that I would answer some questions that several of you have sent to me AND I also have a question for you ALL.
Why do you capitalize the words Cozy and Mystery?
I know it seems strange to some of you but since my website is called Cozy Mystery, I just do. I started the website in 2006, and am not sure when I started capitalizing the words, but it has become a habit now.
Why don’t you accept ARCs (Advance Reading Copies)?
I have talked about this before, so some of you already know, but I don’t accept ARCs because if I did, I would feel like I had to say something nice about the book, even if I couldn’t find something nicer to say than “It has a lovely cover.” I have a terrible guilt complex. Also, I have to admit that when I read a glowing review of a Cozy Mystery and then find out the reviewer received an ARC, the review doesn’t mean that much to me. (I figure there’s a chance the reviewer felt like he/she HAD to write a really positive review, since he/she could have my guilt complex.) It’s almost as if the reviewer was paid for the terrific review. (I know, this probably sounds pretty silly to a lot of you!)
When you do the FREE and Cheap Kindle/Nook lists, why don’t you add all of the authors you know have free or cheap e-books?
When I get those FREE and Cheap lists together, I compare my list of authors to the last five of my Free and Cheap posts to make sure I’m not repeating any of those authors. (On a few occasions, I have heard from authors who ask me to include their books again, which I have done.) I have been adding “Also, if you take a look at some of the older Free and Cheap Kindle/Nook mysteries, you may find some that are still under $5.00.” >>> that way I don’t post the same identical authors over and over.
So now for my question to you ALL:
When we do the monthly Cozy Mystery recommendations lists, would you prefer if I ask you to put your top five recommendations at the top of your lists, so that I only add those top five recommended authors/books to the list?
(Here’s is an example of the monthly recommendation lists as I have been doing them.)
You would still recommend as many books as you think are really, really good, but your top five would be the ones I add. Someone (only one person) wrote to me telling me she thought the length of our lists had gotten out of hand. I replied that I still enjoy reading all of your reasons why you post the books and that I have found several new-to-me authors who I now consider favorite authors.
So, would you prefer I keep the recommendations list as is, or should I ask you to tell me the top five books you recommend (and I put those on the list) although you could still list as many other books as you wish in your comment (but I wouldn’t put the others on the list)?
Hope this makes sense!
Dawn says
Please leave the list as is.
Jackie J. Griffey says
Please leave as is (yep, I’ve found some new ‘favorites’ this way too – and THANK YOU! Love this blog, good luck and good reading to all of us! 😎
ginger says
Yes please the list as is. That is how I found out about new authors. What everybody had same top 5. We would never find new authors.
ginger says
The word leave should be in there somewhere.
Sheila says
Don’t mess with a good thing. Leave the list as is ….. please!
Pat says
I agree, please leave the list as it is. I love your Cozy Mystery website and check it often to see what is new. You have introduced me to so many wonderful authors and books. Thank you so much for all that you do.
Laurel says
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Leave it as it is. 🙂
Nicole says
Me too. I like the list and the lot of new authors i can find there and in the comments. Top5 could be always the same, that would be sad, no news then.
(My kindle is here 🙂 you are right – there are no page numbers. Fascinating that the kindle app for the iphone can more than the original, hmmm. I have to say: like the kindle a lot – after 5 minutes, because i find out that there are dictionairies included. Wow, that will be good by reading english cozys.)
Karen L. says
I like the list the way it is. I always get good ideas for my ever growing TBR pile.
Stash Empress says
Should I just say “me too”??? 😉
Love the list the way it is, please don’t change a thing. Everyone would list the same “top 5” & we wouldn’t hear about all the other greats.
(And you know my lists — you think I could ever narrow it to top 5????)
(And ironically, if I did, the top would be what you call an “ARC” — a free pdf of a book sent me by an author for an honest review– and honestly I LOVED it — I wouldn’t take — or ask for– a book from an author that I didn’t already love — so its not likely that it would be a dud anyway). (Would you say no to a chance to read the next book in one of your all -time favorite series a month before it comes out???)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash Empress, as tempting as being able to read one of my favorite author’s next book before everyone else got a chance to read it, I’d still have to pass!
Linda C says
Danna, Please leave the listing the way you have been doing the list for a long, long time. I don’t understand why ANYONE would want this changed in the first place!!!!????
Linda C says
And another thing Danna—— who would determine what books would be in the top 5 in the second place??
Just because a book is listed in the so called “TOP 5” sure doesn’t mean it will be a good book!!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Linda C, I must not have worded that right. I meant to say that each person would recommend as many authors/books as they want to recommend. They would simply put the very best at the top of their list, that way I would only add their very favorites from each person’s recommendation list. She just pointed out that she thinks the lists are getting to be too long, and thought that if I just posted the top few of each Cozy Mystery reader’s list, then the lists would be the best of the best. That wouldn’t stop people from being able to recommend (and comment!) about as many great Cozy Mystery reads they had for that month. Personally, I really enjoy reading through everyone’s comments. They help me figure out whether or not I want to try a new-to-me author.
Susan* says
Unfortunately, I don’t think that just listing the Top 5 authors would change the length of the recommendation lists overmuch.
That particular list is often the most popular / most responded to, and the length of the list tends to reflect that.
In other words, it has more, I think, to do with the number of people responding, than how many books or authors each person recommends. Some people do recommend many authors, while others only specify 2 or 3. Sometimes even only 1, if they’ve only read one really good one that month.
If ‘you’ feel that things are getting out of hand, then perhaps things could be split over 2 days, as you did with a recent popular question. (How Much Sex / Romance?, I think.) Monthly Recc’s Pts 1 & 2?
It’s your blog, Danna, so it’s up to you, but that’s just my take. For what it’s worth.
As for the capitalisation that you mention, well, to me, it’s part of your blog title – and a lot of titles are capitalised. Book titles for instance, it’s quite common, so why not a blog title? Especially as it’s about books!
Susan says
Please don’t change anything… It’s Perfect just the way it is… Your addition of Movies and TV Shows is a Bonus..:)
Kimmie says
I really enjoy the lists, as is. My favorite part is reading the many, many comments…..because of this, my TBR list is forever getting longer!
**Just a quick comment about ARC’s: whenever I have won or received an ARC from an author or publisher, my review is always truthful. In everything that I do, both professionally and regular life, there is always an opportunity to give ‘feedback’ to someone about something. I think most people are receptive to hearing or reading something critical, if it is preceded by something positive (even if the only thing I could point out is a beautiful cover or cover art). There is a way to state tactfully that the book was unappealing to your reading appetite. But I know that there would be some who might shy away from the truth because of guilt feelings…..as in all things, we just have to take the reviews with a grain of salt. Each book is as unique as it’s reader. =)
Rob says
I have to add my “leave it be-it’s fine” group! If you just add the top 5, some of us wouldn’t be seeing new authors we would otherwise not see and that is how we are reading new authors. I would imagine our
tbr stock grows exponentially as a result. I would honestly recommend a book even without the arc’s if I liked it, I would want others to know about it. Then it is their choice! Thanks for asking though.
Rob says
I capitalize the C in Cozy and M in Mystery as it is a genre of the
industry and I guess, I capitalize M in mystery as I would W in Western, etc. Just grammatical habit, I guess.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rob, every once in a while I’ll run by a Facebook site that also capitalizes the C and the M. So, I guess more and more of us are doing that these days…
Robeader says
Your design of the list is just fine. Why mess with something that isn’t broken. Thanks for asking our opinion.
Linda MH says
I like the list as is! I love reading everyone’s comments and suggestions–and like others, I have found so many new authors to try.
As for the ARCs, I wouldn’t accept one (not that anyone is offering–LOL) because I would feel obligated to write a really good review even if I wasn’t crazy about the book. Writing a “not so nice review” would keep me up at night. The thought of saying something not so nice about a book that an author put his/her heart and soul into–well, I just couldn’t do it. Danna, I guess you and I share that guilt thing!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Linda MH, I am sure I’d be up at night, also. What’s with this guilt-thing we have?!?
MJ says
I, too, agree……leave the list as is. Frankly, I don’t read a book because it’s on the list (I barely look at the total list). I will (or won’t) read it because of the comments (which I always read). That way I have a better feel as to whether I’ll like it or not. Sometimes a person just lists the books they recommend without any insight as to why they liked it. That doesn’t help me either, so I treasure those who give comments!! I have found several new authors that way. THANKS!
Sometimes I’ll comment which book on my list of recommendations I enjoyed the most, especially if it really stood out for me.
The only other thing I can suggest (for those that don’t want to read the comments) is that a recommended book could be starred when given additional recommendations. If three people have said they liked a particular book, then that would mean two additional stars. Of course, it would have to be within that month’s recommendation. It would be too much work (and too repetitious) for you to continually check back on previous month’s recommendations to add the additional stars.
MJ says
I just had another suggestion (if others agree)…………….
Danna, when you list the recommendations, you usually just list the series. Many (if not most) of us read a series sequentially. However ALL books in a series aren‘t created equal (which we’ve discussed before). Many books can be read out of order or as a stand alone. Some readers may not care if the books they read are out of sequence.
Perhaps you could list the ‘recommended’ book title, and then state it’s part of ‘such-and-such’ series.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, thanks, I’ll think about this (and the “*” idea), as there is probably always room for improvement.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, ALL, for giving me your feedback about the monthly recommendation lists. We’ll keep doing them the same way, since it looks like we have a unanimous vote!
Billie says
Please keep the list as is. I depend on this site and the commenters to help me find authors, titles etc, because mostly I read Cozies( at least in the last few years.)
LaVerne says
I have been wondering about something for a long time and was wondering if you have an answer. Why do some authors write under more than one name? It would be much easier to find all the books by one person if they were written under one name instead of several name. I don’t see how it would affect what they write if they were all the same name even if they have several different series or types of books.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
LaVerne, here are several discussions we have had on the use of pseudonyms:
One Deserted Island, Two Authors, Lots of Series, Lots of Pseudonyms…
Why So Many Pseudonyms!?!?! Does a Rose Smell as Sweet? Does a Stinker Smell Sweeter?
Is a Rose Still a Rose? Pseudonyms by Mystery Authors…
dana says
Please keep everything the way it is, the way you created it. It’s perfect!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Dana, we’re going to continue doing things the way we have been doing them. It looks like everyone agrees with this.
Lenna says
How much Scripture is too much in a Cozy Mystery and could the protagonist use some methods such as going behind a Detectives back to gather clues without being a hypocrite?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lenna, I really dislike it when an amateur sleuth holds clues back from detectives, although some of my favorite Cozy Mystery sleuths do that. I don’t know why it is that if I really like the sleuth, I can overlook it. However when I’m on the fence about the sleuth I get so irritated that I drop the series. (Well, actually, I do know why I overlook it… I know I shouldn’t, but I do!)
As for too much Scripture, I don’t know…