Poll
How did you find out about the last book you read?
Recommendations from friends (on or off Goodreads)
Goodreads reviews, lists, book clubs, and newsletter
Bookstore (physical ones)
Library
Amazon
Mentioned in the media
Blogs
Goodreads Recommendations
Bestseller lists
It was a gift
Other online bookstores
Poll added by: Otis
Comments Showing 1-50 of 343 (343 new)
Doh, I just finished a book I read because I read another by the same author. :( (and it's not a series-type situation...the book I just finished was The Lovely Bones -- had read Lucky before)so...None of the above?
idk. somehow it was the book which harold bloom modeled his one failed novel off of; how i found out about this i'm not entirely sure, though it probably was a message board (HPN), which is not an option above. it may have been via amazon reviews/comments, too, so i guess that gets my vote? meh. this was just one of the more interesting polls goodreads has had in a while, such as ambiguous to not be strung up by advertisements.
I find a lot of books through recommendations from friends, etc. But I've also been reading a lot of books with my daughter from the library.
Well, I'm reading the Jedi Apprentice books, and read about them online when looking up Star Wars info, so I wasn't quite sure how to answer. Stumbled on the series by accident and decided I had to read them. So I opted for "hearing about it in the media."
The last book I read was the second book in a series. I was recommended the first book in that series through Amazon's recommendation engine. Probably not what you wanted to hear right after the big split with Amazon. *g*I do regularly find new books using Goodreads' Recommendation engine, just not this particular book.
Got my current book from a friend, but often I seek out my books because I've decided to read all the books in a series or by one author. Goodreads reviews do get me to add to my "to-read" list though.
Some of the books on my list are books I or my mom owns that I want to read. Most of them are from Goodreads. I wish I'd known about this website years ago! It's a great way to keep track of what you've read and the new books coming out!
I have been reading from an author. I started reading one of her series and I had to read two more. I found the first book in the library and the other I picked from the library once I started reading the series.
A lot of the books I read are older ones I have owned for years. I remember buying some of them, but not all. For example, I'm currently reading a book on named by Leslie Alan Dunkling and I have no idea how I found out about it. I've had it for years.
These days, I usually end up rereading books I love and am comfortable with. Sheer inertia! The exception is when a friend or family member insists on lending me a book he or she really enjoyed, which actually happens pretty often. Then it becomes a point of honour to finish the book, and as often as not I love it!
Most of the books I've read of late are on a Recommended Reading list that Donald Barthelme used to distribute to his students. However, the very last book that I read, "The Art of Kissing," was lent to me by a 'friend.'
I've always been wary of books recommended by friends, as all too often when I was young they had a totally off-the-mark opinion of my taste. For example, I told someone I enjoyed sf by Anne McCaffrey and the earlier Heinlein titles and someone recommended a series on the strength of that. I ordered the books from the library, read the first one, loathed it, and then had to keep fielding the following titles from the library for weeks as it seemed unfair to have ordered them and then refuse to take delivery. I'm still puzzled, decades later, about why anyone would think a liking for early Heinlein and early McCaffrey could POSSIBLY mean I'd like dystopian nastiness. It would have been just like someone recommending Lord of the Flies because I'd enjoyed Pertwee's The Islanders and the Black Banner books by Geoffrey Trease.
I tried a(nother) free classic lit Kindle book. (Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope). I'm beginning to think I'm just not a classic literature type of person!
My answer is up there. I found out about it by seeing it listed in the "Other books by this Author" page in a book I was reading by the same author.
You didn't add my reason for choosing my last book: Written by a favorite author. I often look for other books written by an author I really enjoy.
You guys are great. I take your recs, browse bookstores and then research choice titles on your site. Then I check my library or try to win it through First Reads.
I was going through quotes about a certain theme and stumbled upon many quotes of this book that I liked.
I have been taking the recomendations of the Books on the Nightstand podcast. So far I have read We The Animals and Salvage The Bones and loved both. Currently reading -- The Reading Promise. Thanks Ann and Michael.
Saw that the movie was about to come out and remembered that it was supposed to be a good book that a friend had recommended to me some time ago so I picked it up and am almost done with it!! (We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver)
There seems to be no "it was assigned for class" option. That's how I find most of my books during the semester. Some of the best books I've ever read have been things assigned for class, or other books by those authors. Otherwise, I read mostly classics, and I don't really need a place to "find out" about those. I guess if I had to pick I'd say I get recommendations mostly from friends and professors. Occasionally I've found books on Goodreads through groups or lists based on topics or categories I'm interested in.
Actually at the Goodwill Store by home. I check in there regularly for books. I love Romance/drama books and Nora Roberts is one of the writers I really like, so I bought a few.
I found the book I'm reading at the moment at a literary event. Not the sort of thing I'd normally have picked but the author gave a brilliant talk and I was intrigued!
This one was rough because the last book I read "The Help" was recommended to me from all sorts of angles. Most books I find through blogs or facebook for new romances. Sometimes i get things from goodreads, though I dont think I have taken full advantage of the recommendation page yet.
I'm reading Barry Unsworth's "Sacred Hunger." Great book. Recommendation -- years of hearing about it, then finding it in the book section of our local dump.
I look under "historical fiction" on my Nook and take it from there. I just read The Bronze Horseman (and the 2 follow up books). I can't get it off my mind.
I've been working my way through Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series slowly. Several of my good reading friends had been recommending him to me for years and I finally bit. My last read, Let It Bleed, was number seven in that series and his best so far. But I pretty much rely on Amazon, Goodreads, as well as reviews from several sources.
I really find my books through recommendations but I consider book reviews and book lists as recommendations too, just maybe not from friends.
I read The Game of Thrones because of all the rave I heard at a scrapbook class I attended. They were certainly correct.
One more missing option would be "I pulled it off my shelf". I've got about 10 cases of books, saved from my divorce 11+ yrs. ago, and if my recent acquisitions don't appeal at that moment, I go down to the basement and scrounge. :)
None of these! A book I read after reading another book from the same author which I found out about through somebody in a chatroom was a fictional rendition of this same book.
Just finished listening to 11/22/63. Stephen King continues to be a superb author (though some of his books don't appeal to me all that much). I loved the trip back to the past. SK sprinkled facts about the past liberally throughout the book. He blends them into the story so naturally! It feels natural to do time traveling while listening to 11/22/63. I, like so many others, remember exactly where I was when I learned of the assasination of President Kennedy. SK embellished my memories of that time..I enjoyed listening to 11/22/63!
The last book I finished reading was Masterpieces Of Fantasy And Wonder, and like several people who posted above, my way of finding out about it wasn't listed on the poll. In my case, I ran across it at a flea market; being a frugal book buyer, I actually make a big percentage of my book purchases that way!
I'm reading RemedyRemedyby Heidi C. Vlachand I found it at the SFContario convention where I met Heidi who is a delightful person by the way.











































I saw him on SkyArts The Book Show ,thought i'd see wht the fuss was about! ;D lol