This is basically just going to be a simple but long-ish list of ways you can find new (to you) books. Perhaps you’ve tried some of them already. Maybe you have a tried and true method yourself. There’s no specific order, so let’s begin!
- Go to GoodReads, search for a book, and look at the “Readers Also Enjoyed” sidebar
- Go to GoodReads, search for a book you love, look at some 5 star reviews, and see what else those reviewers have read and loved
- See what books GoodReads itself has recommended you via Browse > Recommendations
- Use The StoryGraph, which recommends based on things such as mood, genre, and length.
- Conduct a sacrificial offering to the reading deities on Mt TBR (what that means is completely up to you)
- Go the your library or bookstore, pick a section, choose a letter, then grab a random book that either: the title starts with that letter, the author’s first name starts with that letter, or the last name does
- Go to your library or bookstore and ask someone there for a recommendation
- See if your favorite author has talked about books they’re excited about on social media (I mean, by scrolling through their feed)
- See if an author you like has any past releases you haven’t read or has any upcoming releases
- Find a short story collection or a zine you like, then see if any of the authors have other books
- Same as above but with the editors
- Check the inside or back of your favorite book to see what other authors have blurbed that book
- Read the acknowledgements of your favorite books to see if any other authors were mentioned
- Check out the website of a publisher you like to see what upcoming titles they’re releasing and which ones just came out
- Spin in a circle 5 times shouting “I NEED BOOKS!!” until you get a book (Please note that “spinning” can be anything from your entire body, your foot, hand, eyes, a pencil, your thoughts, the earth, your best friend, whatever!)
- Go to your favorite online bookshop, filter by genre, then pick a book at random (for example, use a random number generator for the page, row, and column)
- Think of a book you enjoy; now see if another book shares the same or a similar title
- If you listen to audiobooks, see what other books a narrator you like has also narrated
- Type in a random book title online (like on GoodReads, The StoryGraph, Hoopla, Google, wherever) and see if it exists
- Whatever you do, don’t turn around
- Turn around, find the first thing that catches your eye, then search the internet for that thing (You can be literal “thing AND book” or search based on how the thing makes you feel, like “books about happiness”
- Do an internet search to see if anyone has made a list of books you’d like to read (for example, a list of books by and/or featuring trans people)
- Search YouTube for a book you enjoyed, then see if anyone has reviewed it positively; check out their other videos to see what else they loved
- oh there’s so many books
- Ask a friend for a recommendation
- Write a book or story; it’s easy!
- I lied
- If you’re on NetGalley or Edelweiss+, browse through the ARCs that were recently added
- Do an internet search to see if maybe part of a song lyric you like is also the title of a book or story
- Look at the second row of books on your shelves to see what books you forgot to have
- Same as above but with your e-reader
This list is long but not exhaustive. Not every method will work for everyone. Choose what works best for you, even if that method isn’t included here. Happy reading!
