Who are some of the authors whose blurbs might matter to you?

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Stephen King, John Grisham, and Tom Clancy.

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Ian Rankin --- for mysteries. The late Timothy Findley who blurbed so many books. I knew him and trusted his taste.

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Patterson, King, Nora Roberts, Hoag, and Coben.

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More important to me than an author that I know or like is recommendations from newspapers like People, USA Today, or Wall Street Journal. Once an author told me that she doesn't always have time to read the books so if it is an author that she already likes then she will write a good review without having read the book. She did say though, that she wouldn't give a false review if she was unfamiliar with an author. That is why I have never put much credence in author reviews.

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A few of the authors whose blurbs would matter to me: Donald E. Westlake, Lawrence Block, Michael Palmer, Robin Cook, and Steve Martini.

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Authors that influence me by blurbs are:
Stephen King
Carl Hiaasen
Dave Berry
Janet Evanovich
Elmore Leonard

There are several others but these are the ones that would definitely make me read the book.

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OK, Norah Roberts, Clive Cussler, J. A. Jance, Luanne Rice, Jane Ann Krentz, and Robert Ludlum. So many [other authors I] cannot think [of], but have found myself buying books by the authors rather than the title.

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John Gilstrap. Because on a board, he gave a glowing recommendation of The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint and he was absolutely on target. I trust his comments.

Jonathan Franzen. He introduced Adam Haslett's book You're Not a Stranger Here on the Today show, so I read it. He was justified in his comments about Haslett's work.

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Some authors whose recommendations I would generally heed are Scott Turow, Nelson DeMille, Anna Quindlen, and Alice Hoffman. I'm sure there are more, but these come readily to mind.

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First and foremost, Pat Conroy; then, Ridley Pearson, Robert B. Parker, Carl Hiaasen, Scott Turow, John Lescroart, Rebecca Wells, Anne Rivers Siddons, Patricia Cornwell, and Thomas Perry....

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I buy anything when I see that either Frank McCourt, Pat Conroy, Jodi Piccoult, or Anita Shreve have said something good about a title.

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Nora Roberts
Norah Hess
Belva Plain

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Anna Quindlan or Joyce Carol Oates.

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The only time an author blurb influences me is if it is someone I am not familiar with and it looks like their qualifications are good. But I never buy anything without reading some of the text to find out whether or not this person can actually WRITE. Blurbs are, essentially, nothing but propaganda, and I'll skip that junk.

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Influential author comments would include: Pat Conroy, Anne Tyler, Frank McCourt, Francine Rivers, Stuart Woods, and John Grisham.

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Janet Fitch, Stephen King, James Patterson, and kiddy lit authors: George Ella Lyon, Patricia Polacco, and Walter Dean Myers, etc.

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Lee Smith
Terry Kay
Sandra Dallas
Lewis Nordan

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Tom Clancy, definitely; Sue Grafton; Ben Bova.

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The cover write-up sold The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold to me. I had read a review of the book, but the cover convinced me to buy the book. Often, it is authors that I don't know where the cover has an influence on my buying habits.

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John Grisham, Sidney Sheldon, and J. A. Jance.

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I would have to say that in some instances, yes, an author blurb would shift my decision to read a book. I would appreciate blurbs from John Irving (who's work I find hysterical) and who, I don't believe, would steer me wrong. Another favorite author is Stephen King and his list of "must reads" as listed in his book On Writing has now become my list.

As for my other day-to-day reading, I go on word of mouth from members of my reading group and friends...they turn me on to books I would never even think of reading.

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Robert Crais
Michael Connelly
T. Jefferson Parker
James Lee Burke
Gregg Andrew Hurwitz
Scott Phillips
Mark Saltzman
Don Winslow
Walter Mosley
Sue Grafton
Ed McBain

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Stephen King's blurb I would read because he is a very interesting person. He's so weird, but down to earth. I haven't read all of his books yet, but those I have rank high among my favorites.

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I am more influenced by review quotes from the NY Times or Washington Post than by author recommendations. I will look favorably at author recommendations from Michael Chabon, Margaret Atwood, Mark Saltzman, and Penelope Fitzgerald.

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Dear Bookreporter,
There are a few authors who make me "sit up and take notice" if I see their name on the back of a book:
Stephen King
Fannie Flagg
Ruth Reichl (Editor-in-Chief, Gourmet Magazine and author of Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me With Apples)
James Randi

If I see William Buckley and some other authors' names I don't pay much attention because they are so ubiquitous. In general people whose books I LOVE to read and whose opinions I respect are those who I will pay heed to on a book jacket (or when reading book reviews they may have written).

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Yes, to a certain extent. When considering a debut novel, I do give some weight to the favorable comments of authors I already know and have read with pleasure. This not the deciding factor, however, as I am certain that friends and associates of a new author will want to help him or her along or simply agree to a publisher's request to fill the jacket back. I am rarely if ever influenced by these blurbs when considering a book by an author I am already familiar with. My own reading experiences serve as a kind of "internal blurb" in those instances. But, I admit. I do look at them.

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Toni Morrison
Alice Walker
Marita Golden
bell hooks
Frances Cress-Welsing
Maya Angelou
Paule Marshall
Bebe Moore Campbell
Nell Irving Painter

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I'd trust the blurbs of both Margot Livesey and Kate Atkinson --- sensitive and highly intelligent novelists in their own right who see below the surface of things. Given their attention to the fascinating workings of characters' minds and their awareness of the sometimes surreal qualities of life, I'd be tempted to open anything they recommend.

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I would definitely buy a book recommended by Shelby Foote or Val McDermid.

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Authors whose blurbs on book jackets would definitely impress me favorably are John Irving, Pat Conroy, and Richard Russo.

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Alice Sebold
David Sedaris
Fannie Flagg

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Stephen King
Barbara Kingsolver
Elizabeth Berg
Mary Higgins Clark