How do most readers find good new books to read?

As an author, I have a few choices to make when publishing each new book, such as which two categories to choose, which seven keywords or key phrases are most useful, and how keyword-rich the title and synopsis should be. All these factors supposedly help readers find my books.

But do they? How do most readers actually find books to read? How do YOU find books?

Let's assume you primarily read Kindle books. What's the single most likely way you'll find/choose your next read? I know some people will start with a free book, and if they like it, they'll buy the rest in the series. Others go by recommendations regardless of cost. Or you might keep seeing a book cover pop up everywhere to the point that you have to go check it out.

Do you judge books by their covers? Or do you go on recommendations and reviews regardless of whether you like the cover or not? Or a bit of both?

When it comes to reviews, how many is an ideal minimum? Are you suspicious when there are only glowing 5-star reviews? How much does the "verified Amazon sale" stamp mean to you?

Do you ever search for new books by typing in keywords or phrases like "manticore" or "fantasy adventure for preteens" and so on? Or do you prefer to browse categories? And if you browse categories, how deep do you drill? Some of those categories go on forever!

Whenever you search by keyword, do you search directly on Amazon, or do you search on Google and typically end up on Amazon? Do you ever check out the author's other work before making a decision? How important is an author website to you?

Lots of questions here, but I'd love to know how YOU go about finding that perfect book -- the methods you employ vs. things you avoid and so on.

Thanks in advance for your input!