Digging For TBR Gold

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

How much time do you spend researching for books you think you have a high chance of enjoying?

Where do you go looking for TBR inspo?

[Rachel]

Locus forthcoming book lists are my favorite way to search. 😊

[CBRetriever]

Tor newsletters, boingboing.com because Cory Doctorow posts there and a lot of good reads have come from that site, plus recommendations from people in this site and other Goodreads forums.

[Mihai]

Usually a bit of intertextuality, like a book refers to another, and advices from friends. Sometimes lists, but mostly when I explore some canon.

As for research time, 5 mins per day, more or less, since the TBR list is way to big so there is always something to read.

[CBRetriever]

ah - I also get the free monthly Tor books (haven't seen one for a while), and receive emails from Humble Bundle (about one good one per year) and StoryBundle about deals

Plus there's my Wish List on Amazon and ereaderiq where I'm watching 250+ books for a price drop...

[Kaia]

I’ve found a lot of great authors through reading short stories (or, more often, listening to them - I have a few short fiction podcasts I regularly listen to). If I like a story, I’ll see if the author has any books.

I also use book lists, Goodreads or friend recommendations, this group’s reads, and just serendipitous browsing at the library. I sometimes go through intentional phases of looking for new books to add to my TBR but mostly add here and there as suggestions arise or I find a new author.

[Ryan, Your favourite moderators favourite moderator]

I get alerted to new release lists of publishers and browse netgalley every couple of months. I do subgenre searches every week or so on Google so the algorithm can suggest list articles and such daily.
Libby has made it easier to search through all the new digital acquisitions my libraries get so I'm spending less time delving through them.
Throw in the time spent browsing goodreads and the kindle store with it's abundance of generic but sometimes well executed works and I'd say I comfortably do ten hours a week.

Some nights I'll easily lose two or three hours searching for books with an idea that I want explored.

I very rarely hit platinum, but as a mod of this fine group I try not to focus too much on my own tastes but to find books that most of the membership will have positive feelings for.

[Ada]

I don't actually have to do research for my TBR books because between Goodreads, Reddit and BookTube (YouTube) I'm fairly covered. Some people I follow make videos about the books coming out this year or quarter so I somewhat know which books to add to my TBR.

I even made a shelf on Goodreads that shows which books got added because of social media and try to link to them with a note why it seems like something I would enjoy.

It's a bit passive but it works for me.

[Ky]

I spend time browsing TV Tropes and pick books to read from that site. I figure if there's a trope I really like and a book is mentioned as having that trope, chances are good I'll enjoy the book. And it's caused me to try books I would otherwise have passed over.

When I joined Goodreads 3 years ago, I joined the What's That Book group also. I find some good possibilities to read as people suggest books that might be the OP's forgotten book.

[Brandon]

I participate in the PopSugar reading challenge group on Goodreads. I will look at what people are suggesting and have found some treasures that way.

Sometimes, Novelist or Amazon related items will help me connect from one book I like to another.

Other than that, I just keep my eyes open when I am browsing the library or bookstore, and I keep up with new items in series I have enjoyed.

[Jacqueline]

I used to participate in the Popsugar Challenge but stopped and then I was going back to it last year and read a couple and ditched it again. They do have some good recs on there though.

Basically I buy authors I’ve read and loved and add them to the ever growing TBR pile. And sometimes I pick up a book and the cover looks cool so it comes home with me. Or sometimes if I see a monthly read on here that looks interesting I’ll pick up the book if I see it.

[Sarah]

I’ve been enjoying book tube lately. I try to listen to a handful of booktubers that post or like different things, since so many of them seem to cover the same stuff. Also bookish podcasts.

I also enjoy a good list every now and then- 100 books to read before…, readers also enjoyed, award winners, etc.

Sometimes I’ll be in the mood for a certain genre, or aesthetic or whatever so then I’ll go to google.

I am guilty of having asked Chat GPT for recommendations (it was kind of amusing, but some of the books were not real 😂).

I also love challenge prompts that force me to go do research. Lots of stuff gets added to my TBR that way.

Then there’s the NetGalley, the Edelweiss, the GoodReads Giveaways and checking out GoodReads author pages or Twitter accounts to see what’s upcoming.

I have too much on my TBR… in case you couldn’t tell. I should really stop it.

[Sarah]

Oh! This site: https://www.whichbook.net/mood-emotion/

Is kind of fun. You can adjust the sliders to recommend books based on your mood or what your looking for.

And I forgot to mention this lovely group, which introduces me to new stuff quite often.

[Sarah]

Sarah wrote: "Oh! This site: https://www.whichbook.net/mood-emotion/

Is kind of fun. You can adjust the sliders to recommend books based on your mood or what your looking for.

And I forgot to mention this love..."

ooh can't wait to try it!

[Michelle]

Thanks, Sarah! I need to try this one...

[Sarah]

Yeah I have fun with that one just trying to see if I can get something I haven’t heard of yet.

There’s also this one by NPR, that I don’t think is quite as creative as the first one, but still might be a good resource:

https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view...

[Michelle]

Thank you!

[Silvana]

Allison wrote: "How much time do you spend researching for books you think you have a high chance of enjoying?

Where do you go looking for TBR inspo?"

Goodreads friends/followed reviews, twitter moots/fave author's recommendations, books included in polls, thread discussions, various lists, basically from any kind of sources I think.

I don't measure the time, it's like a natural process when I go online.

[Meredith]

John Scalzi's blog, https://whatever.scalzi.com, has a feature called "The Big Idea" where authors talk about the inspiration or process or some other aspect of their upcoming book. It's usually sci fi and fantasy, or related, but occasionally other genres appear.

Similarly, Mary Robinette Kowal has a feature on her blog, https://maryrobinettekowal.com/catego..., called "My Favorite Bit," where authors talk about... well, their favorite bit in their upcoming book or other writing.

Both are fun because it's the authors themselves writing, and it can be quite personal as well. I found them to be dangerous to the size of my TBR, but I'll also sometimes check to see if a book I'm interested in has appeared on one or the other site.

[Gary]

I like attending Fantasy/Science Fiction Conventions. I’ve heard the author’s interviews, attended panels, and listened to the author's read. Some authors I’ve read after a convention are Kelley Skovron, Chris Kennedy, M. T. Bass, and Malcolm Wood. Other authors have made my TBR lists like Marie Vibbert, Kameron Hurley, and Ada Palmer.