So now I'm wondering...how do YOU find the next book you're planning to read? Do you:
a) Browse in a certain section of a bookstore or library?b) Take recommendations from friends?
c) Search online? (And if so, do you check out recommendations from sites like Amazon or Goodreads and read through reviews before making a selection?)
d) Stick with certain go-to authors or publishers?
e) Check out the bestsellers in your favorite genres?
f) Use a different method entirely?
Note that I'm intending this to be a multiple choice question where you can choose as many answers as you want :) I can't wait to hear what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Laurie
Attribution:
https://pixabay.com/en/book-books-bookshelf-read-67049/
Good question! It depends. For recently-written books, I use b. I need someone I trust to recommend a book before I will read it, because so many books have content I'm not comfortable with, or just aren't worth taking the time to read. However, for classics I'm more of an a. I just check the library or Amazon for whatever classic is on my radar at the moment.
ReplyDeleteBrenna
Thanks for your comment, Brenna! I agree that if you have friends with similar taste in books, they provide the best (and safest) recommendations! Now that I'm trying to find comparable books to what I'm writing I do a lot of searching online, too, and I've been reading books by certain publishers I'm interested in. But that method can definitely be more hit or miss!
DeleteI use a, c, d, and e. :) That's most of them. :) Also, Goodreads is a great website where you can put books on shelves you create (fantasy, favorites, etc), get recommendations, read reviews by other users, and have fun. They also have quotes and trivia on tons of books. One of my favorite things about Goodreads is you can pick the edition of the book you want. There are tons of amazing editions of books I never knew about.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea for post!
By the way, here is the Goodreads URL: https://www.goodreads.com/
Right now, it's Shakespeare week on Goodreads! (I didn't know such a thing exited.)
Thanks for commenting, Spruce! I tend to use a variety of methods, too, depending on what I'm looking for. Though with two little ones I don't have much opportunity to browse for books for myself at bookstores and libraries, I'm mostly in the children's section :) And I don't actually look at "bestseller" lists, but I definitely read my fair share of popular books just through word of mouth. Thanks for mentioning Goodreads, I love that site, too! It's such a fun resource for those of us who love to read. I'll have to check out Shakespeare week, though, I hadn't heard about that :)
DeleteMostly a and b for me! I have so many books on my list that people have told me about, but I also love going to the book store and looking at pretty/intriguing/startling covers and picking books. . .but every once in a while, I'll get sucked into an Amazon ad or recommendation! : )
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, I feel like my list of recommended books is getting so long that pretty soon I won't need any other means of finding reading material :) I love browsing at bookstores, too, but these days I rarely make purchases that way - I guess I just like being surrounded by books, even if I can't bring them home! Thanks for commenting, Erin!
DeleteI typically use B, C, & D. Knowing so many authors personally means that their books are always at the top of my list. I also have go-to authors whose books I never miss, but unfortunately, many of my favorite authors no longer write. To find new reads, I pay attention online to what others are reading, I watch blogs to see what's coming up next ~ http://relzreviewz.com/ is an excellent source. I also search by date through http://www.familyfiction.com/ to see what's coming up next.
ReplyDeleteMy list is definitely growing due to all the authors I've been meeting through ACFW, which is so fun! I'm not familiar with either of the websites you mentioned, but I'll have to check those out - currently the only way I see what's coming up next is through social media. Thanks for your comment, Brenda!
DeleteI just love browsing bookstores and looking at all of the interesting books, sometimes reading the first chapters of several, but always adding more to my list. Then, I look them up online to see if they are actually appropriate (if from a secular source) and to see whether I would actually like them - not too much romance or drama, and plenty of action and speculative elements. I also take book reccomendations, but I only know one or two other people I trust to like the same sort of material I like. I do have a couple of go-to authors, but not many. The only option I absolutely don't use is bestsellers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Hannah! I love the idea of browsing at bookstores but then going back and looking up the titles you were interested in to see if they're actually worth the purchase - great tip! I agree that book recommendations can be tricky unless it's someone that you know has similar tastes - I've heard so many people rave about books that just didn't sound the least bit interesting to me. I don't research bestseller lists, either, though I do sometimes read books because of their popularity or an upcoming movie adaptation - books that I would probably find on the bestseller lists if I were to look :)
DeleteI definitely stick with favorite authors or publishers, or I look for books I hear about online that sound interesting, which sometimes lead me to new favorite authors and publishers. A great topic to consider! Thanks for the post, Laurie!
ReplyDelete