A question I get asked fairly often is how I select the books I read—and honestly, it's a difficult one to answer. I find books in all kinds of different ways, whether it's online, through friends, or simply from browsing through bookstores.
However, that's a whole other thing. I can't tell you how many times I've gone into a bookstore or library and found myself feeling inferior and downright anxious. There's just so many choices!
How would I ever have time to read them all? Are there people that have? Are they here, right now, judging me?
Okay, that last one might be a little extreme, but I like to think I'm not alone in this. So, if you've ever walked into a library or bookstore and felt overwhelmed, this post is for you!
“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”
― Mortimer J. Adler
My absolute favorite way to learn about new books is through The Storygraph. It's a reading tracker similar to Goodreads in a lot of ways, but it has 2 major features that Goodreads does not: extremely detailed reading stats, and personalized recommendations.
Now, I'm aware that Goodreads has recommendations too, but in my personal experience, they always seemed generic and rather uninspired.
Instead, The Storygraph gives custom recommendations based on the books you've read and your feedback about them. It will provide some overall top picks, recommendations based on your recent reads, recommendations by genre, books that users with a similar profile loved, and even some 'out of your comfort zone' picks.
Thanks to this feature, my TBR list is bigger than ever, and I've found tons of great books and authors that I never would have heard of otherwise.
(Note: my main reason for leaving Goodreads was learning that they are owned by Amazon, but that doesn't affect my opinion on The Storygraph! I genuinely prefer it and I'm so glad I discovered it)
Sometimes, it really pays to have friends that are readers. I've been blessed with lots of fellow readers in my personal life, and it really helps with keeping the recommendations flowing.
If you're in a rut, never hesitate to reach out to a friend or family member for some recommendations. You can give them a genre to go off of, or just let them pick something they think you would like. I've found that more often than not, my friends' recommendations are dead-on—even if I'm skeptical at first (i.e. Love in the Time of Serial Killers).
So, trust a friend and ask them to suggest a book for you. They may even have a copy you can borrow!
If you love the author, you can add more of their work to your TBR, or look for similar books. There are many ways to branch out, but this is a great way to get started.
Another way to discover new books is through Little Free Libraries. These are popping up in more and more places, and they're a fun way to pass along books you no longer need to someone else in your community, and find some new ones in the process.
Each library is chartered, and there's an easy-to-use map to see where they're all located.
If you have one close by, take a few minutes to check it out! I've been lucky enough to find a few books on my TBR in Little Free Libraries, as well as some that I'd never heard of that quickly turned into favorites.
It's also a great way to contribute to your community and support access to reading materials for all.
The same concept as above can apply here as well, branching out from one book into the next, and the next, and the next...
All it takes is that first one!
“What she was finding also was how one book led to another, doors kept opening wherever she turned and the days weren't long enough for the reading she wanted to do.”
― Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader
Now that you've hopefully chosen a book or two, we can get to the fun part: shopping (I also consider searching for books in a library to be a form of shopping, so you can apply the term whichever way is more relevant for you)!
I find that determining at least one book to look for ahead of time gives me a good starting point and helps me avoid feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices. From there, I can branch out and check out the various tables and displays. I always love checking out the Staff Picks section, if there is one. Employee recommendations have rarely steered me wrong, and it's always interesting seeing what the people that have access to every book in the inventory have chosen to read.
Sometimes, I just like to aimlessly wander through the isles and see which other books jump out at me—and believe me, they do!
No matter what, remember that there is no "right" way to be a reader. You're not obligated to read certain books just because they're popular or considered classics, and you don't have to compare your reading list to anyone else's. You're reading, therefore you are a reader, and that alone can change the world.
Lastly, if you've never experienced the feelings I've described above, you're probably thinking that this is all common sense and I'm just crazy. Who knows, maybe you're right, but I like to think I'm not the only one who has experienced this. If this post helps someone, somewhere out there to pick up a book and dive into the world of reading, then I've done my job.
“Sometimes books don't find us until the right time.”
― Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
As always, I want to hear from you!
What are your favorite ways to find new books? Do you have any advice for people who want to get into reading, but are overwhelmed by the choices? Have you been there, too?
Join my little Discord community so we can chat! You can also tell me about your favorite books, how reading has impacted your life, and get to know me and some fellow book lovers. We'd love to have you!
'•.¸♡ Thanks for reading! ♡¸.•'