Friday, November 4, 2016

How I Find Books to Read

"How do you find the books you read?"

I have been asked this question so many times so I thought I would attempt an answer today.

Simple answer: I discover books in pretty much any way you can imagine. But let's break it down a little more.

Friends:
I have certain friends that I refer to as 'book friends'. This doesn't mean that the only thing we have in common is books or that I don't care about other aspects of their lives. It does mean that asking them what they are reading is a normal part of our conversation. My book friends have introduced me to some of my favorite authors!

Browsing:
Whether at a bookstore or library nothing beats the adventure of simply exploring the shelves. You might find a hidden gem, you might find something that makes you want to vomit, you never know! Browsing was how I discovered Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events back when it first came out.

Books about books:
This seems so obvious but is so often overlooked. Yes! There are books that are full of lists of other books that you should read. My favorites are the Book Lust series by Nancy Pearl. For those of you that don't know Nancy Pearl, she is pretty much the rock star of librarians. (They even made her into an action figure!) She published four books that are simply lists of books. Pick a topic or location or genre and she has a recommended list for you. It's like having your own personal book guru. I also recommend checking out 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. These are absolutely beautiful full color books that you will easily spend hours perusing.

Websites: 
Specifically Goodreads and Amazon. Goodreads tracks what you read and what you want to read and recommends books accordingly. Plus you can see what your friends are reading. (Most of the time if my friends are reading something I have to read it too.) Amazon often gives me great ideas in the "people who purchased this item you're interested in also purchased _____" section . I'm pretty sure I purchased the entire Enola Holmes series because of just such a recommendation.

Online Book Groups:
There is an incredibly vibrant and active online bookish community. Find a group to be a part of. Join a goodreads group, participate in a readathon, check out some booktube videos. Trust me, you will never ever run out of reading ideas if you do!

1 comment:

  1. I like to browse books as well, especially at flea markets. I discovered 'Treasure Island' at one, and reading an old copy of the book with yellowed pages made the story more vivid for me. I also discovered Douglas Coupland and 'Les Miserables' at flea markets, so they have my vote, hands down.

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