How do you choose your next book?

[Nancy from NJ]

I am a mood reader and choose s book wherever my mood leads me to. This is one reason I have trouble completing challenges. But my mood books make me happy and one of the reasons I love to read.

[Laura Tenfingers]

I'm also a total mood-reader. I check out big piles of books from the library and the see what I actually feel like reading when I need a new book. I feel guilty sometimes for checking out books that I end up not reading (and that someone else could have checked out...) but I read most of them.

The books I check out of the library are mostly ones I've heard about on goodreads.

I don't let myself sign up for buddy reads anymore because although they can be great, I'm often not in the mood by the time the buddy read rolls around and I feel bad for bailing.

[V.M.]

I have a load of books on my i{ad. when I've finished one, I decide what mood I want and then look in the library. If there's not one I feel like reading, then I go and either look in the library, or buy one.

[Diego]

I'm going to come out as a real nerd after this post. Since I moved from my home country to UK I was only able to bring with me around 20 books and left like a hundred behind. I have now around 40 on queue to read, so as 80% are HF I decided to group them by era:

1 - Ancient and Classical (up to the fall of Western Rome)
2 - Medieval - Early Reinassance (up to the fall of Constantinople)
3 - Early Modern period and Colonial era (up to late 17th century)
4 - Age of Enlightenment and Revolutions (up to the Revolutions of 1848)
5 - Age of the New Imperialism (up to the end of the Victorian Era)
6 - The 20th Century to present times
7 - Sci-Fi, Horror, Fantasy and everything else that don't fall in any historical timespan

Now what I'm trying to do is pick one of the first timespan, the one I'm most in the mood to read, and after finishing it I go to the next group, until I complete and repeat the cycle :)

[Fred]

I am a mood reader.I didn't know there was such a term until I joined good reads . I keep a selection of history,historical fiction and fiction. The "books for sale " shelf at my library keeps me well suplied . I'm a slow reader, so checking books out of the library doesn't work for me. The book revues in news magazines provide me with book titles to check out also.

[V.M.]

I use book reviews, most commonly. I also read books from authors I've met online.
There are many bloggers who review, and I use Amazon and Goodreads reviews. If you search for the era you're looking for, you should find some good books with good reviews.
Grouping your books by era sounds a good idea. I might copy you! 🙂

[Diego]

V.M. wrote: "Grouping your books by era sounds a good idea. I might copy you!"

It's great! It helps me not to get bored of the same subject, and it forces me to grab a sci-fi or supernatural book every once in a while, genres I've neglected for a very long time after I got inmersed into HF.

I usually don't read books of the same series one after another, I don't mind waiting 2 or 3 years to get into the next chapter. If I forget things about the previous one I just read a summary in wikipedia.

On how I buy the next one, I also use Amazon and Goodreads recommendations based on similar books to the ones I've read. I've started so many series by different authors, that there's plenty for me to choose.

[WyoLady 93]

Once I finish a certain genre of a book, I try to pick my next book as being a different genre (so as not to get stuck in a rut). But sometimes as my latest series of books read, I couldn't help but pick up the very next in the series. Unfortunately, now I am waiting for the author's next in series which will not be out for a couple of months. Fortunately though, that puts me back to picking one from a different genre.

[Simon]

I keep my eyes out for any historical fiction novels (my go to genre) that comes out that interests me, add them to my TBR on Goodreads and Kobo "wishlist", and read a preview of them and also read reviews either here on Goodreads and/or Kobo website, but also google the novel title and read reviews from other people and newspapers.

[Renee]

Simon what is KOBO. I have heard it before but am not sure what it is.

[Simon]

Renee wrote: "Simon what is KOBO. I have heard it before but am not sure what it is."

Rakuten Kobo (ereader). Their website allows you to rate books and leave a review if you choose to.

[Renee]

Thank you I will check it out.

[Kathryn]

New York Times book review is my go-to

[Zoe]

I look on amazon or look at recommendations on goodreads or even just browse Waterstones

[Simon]

Renee wrote: "Thank you I will check it out."

You're welcome Renee :)

[William]

Recommendations from friends and others, Goodreads, authors I've liked coming out with new books, browsing Amazon and various book review magazines.

[Linda]

I love seeing all these historical fiction readers looking for great books to read (Me included!!) Goodreads is a great place to find them.

[Mark]

I look for what interests me most, usually from among either public domain or juvenile fiction. If I'm not in the middle of a series, and I haven't planned what to read next already, I might pick a random book, and read a few pages before I decide if I want to continue (and repeat that process until I find one I want to read). Sometimes I listen to audiobooks based on the narrator, if I like the narrator.

If all the books are equally interesting, I might go for the book that I'm most likely to finish the fastest. Short books are fun.

[Sandra]

I am hooked on historical fiction. It's always based on what actually happened or what the author imagined actually happened, or what should have happened, or what somebody wanted to happen. Does that make it clear? LOL

[Sandra]

It used to be pretty simple choosing my next book, but now with Goodreads and their endless list of wonderful books, I am overwhelmed with an incredible number to choose from. Just hope I live long enough to them.

[Nancy]

Join the club.

[Sandra]

Choosing a book is a lot like listening to music. Once my brother made a tape for me of my favorite music. He knew I loved every song he recorded--so why did I not like the tape?? Because it was jarring to listen to. One song would be a lovely tender love song that would put me in a semi-romantic mood. The very next song would be a loud rock song that you could hardly hear the words, but one I really liked, the next song would be a lively Spanish song, the one a funny song and on an on. A book puts me in a certain mood, and I feel sad when I finish reading it, so I will pick the next book to keep that mood going. Eventually, it wears off and I on to something entirely different.

[Sandra]

Heather wrote: "Since joining Goodreads, I have much more trouble choosing my next book! My TBR gets longer every day, so the long list gets more and more daunting!

So, how do you choose your next book? Any tips ..."
If you stick to one genre for awhile, it's easy to realized which books rise to the top and which authors will become your favorites.

[Kathryn]

New York Times book review, Book Pages magazine at my local library, and recommendations on Goodreads.

[CindySR]

I have shelves and piles by my chair. I mostly go by mood. I also use the local library for books I see on Goodreads that look good to me no matter what mood I'm in, usually recently published titles.

[Star]

I'm a cover and mood reader. I scan my shelf and my Kindle until I'm drawn in.

[Kathleen]

Dennis wrote: "I have a tendency to find an author, read everything they’ve written, then find myself casting around for something to ‘fill the void’ when I run out!"

I binge-read, too. When I run out of my current favorite author, I thrash around and re-read something I haven't read for a while. Then someone recommends a book to me or I see an ad for one that looks interesting. If I like it, suddenly I have a shelf full of that writer's work.

[[deleted user]]

With me I am an kindle reader; as I do not have the space for an large amount of physical books which suits me quite well. The genres I generally read include historical fiction, historical non-fiction, Romance, and fantasy as I tend to go back and forth between genres.

With that said; as I have had my kindle since 2010 I have an enormous amount of books there; I definitely can relate to trying to figure out what to read next. For me I generally go by my mood and intuition in choosing my next book; as if I look at my kindle for a long amount of time I get kinda lost in making the choice. I have also made various collections on my kindle to assist me with choosing.

One other thing I have started to do is if an author has a large backlog of books I wish to read I have been printing out their page and books so I can easily cross out a book when I have read it.

If my thoughts are a bit confusing; I am still attempting to find my way in making my choices in regards to what to read next. I don't know if any of my suggestions will be helpful to anyone else; but its a process I am developing for myself.

[CindySR]

Sarah wrote: "One other thing I have started to do is if an author has a large backlog of books I wish to read I have been printing out their page and books so I can easily cross out a book when I have read it."

My mom does something similar, her choice of genre is westerns. She has a big notebook where she writes down everything she reads according to author. I use it to check out books she hasn't read yet.

[Howard]

I keep tabs on favorite authors so I know when something new comes out. I browse in bookstores in the fiction and SF sections, and sometimes I just sit down on Amazon and open all the suggestions in new tabs and go down that rabbit hole. When reading I move between genres - I'll read a historical then space opera then harder sci fi but not usually the same genre again.

[Nicky]

I, like many people, am a mood reader. I have shelves per genre on GR, which I page through to find my next read. When I'm in the mood for a western, I'll go to my western shelf. When I'm in the mood for something steampunk, I'll go to my steampunk shelf. And so on. I do keep a list for 2021, but I don't plan weeks or months ahead; I just pick something new when I'm done with the current one.

[Nicola]

I buy too many that I don't finish, so I suppose I'm not good at choosing. It's better since joining goodreads and getting a feel for what's out there.

[Michele]

I look at ratings, then synopsis.

[Anna]

I have so little time to read that it's important I choose well. Hmm... I bet there's quite a few thinking that. I have a long tbr list, some of which are recommendations, some of which have grabbed my attention on Goodreads. I find I like several authors and I tend to pick out their books when I am looking through my Kindle list. It also depends on the mood I'm in. I'm nearly always a happy bunny, but sometimes I feel like relaxing with a book with well-written comedic episodes with nothing too taxing.

I avoid some genres like the plague - obviously not historical.

[Leona]

I was in Egypt this year and have chosen some books by Elizabeth Peters I have on my shelf.

[Margaret]

I also enjoy her books.

[Pippa]

A new author to me and I will give her a go. So guess that's one answer as to how to find your next read ;-)

[Tracy]

Heather wrote: "Since joining Goodreads, I have much more trouble choosing my next book! My TBR gets longer every day, so the long list gets more and more daunting!

So, how do you choose your next book? Any tips ..."

For me, it's an evolution. Before I left the New England shoreline I decided to try to get to learn more about the area I was moving to. Once I got to Williamsburg (in Brooklyn) I decided to form a book discussion group. So it all went on the backburner, for now anyways, so I will be asking the group members here and in the local shop which historic fiction exists and that they can recommend!

[Ila]

There are a couple of criteria:
1. I have a "priority" bookshelf that I update every month or so. These are the books I really need to read soon and my yearly plan revolves at least partly around reading some of these books. All genres are mixed here - classics, historical fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

2. I have annual book-reading challenges on various Goodreads groups and I try to finish them. For instance, one such challenge involves reading 6 new authors. Usually 2 or 3 of these authors write historical fiction.

3. One book per year written by my favourite authors like Madeline Miller and Stefan Zweig. I'm not always punctual at this though.

4. Recommendations from friends and reviewers matter. Sometimes a palate cleanser is the very thing I'm looking for.

[Anne]

I am in 2 book groups so 2 monthly books are chosen by them. For myself, it's a combination of recommendations by friends, the Guardian etc, or, because I am a writer, new books in my genre that attract my attention.

[Carrie]

I am also in two book groups. In one, the book is chosen for me and in the other, it is a group effort. .For other reads I choose authors I have liked or similar to authors I have read. I also choose, bid for, and review for LibraryThing and BookBrowse.

[Gretchen, Keep your head up or the crown slips]

Mark wrote:

This comment will be deleted. This is not the place for those comments/inquiries. Please see our group rules for self promotion.

[Tammy]

I have three piles of tbr books in my closet plus I take turns rereading from my bookshelves and once a month I read from my kindle according to my mood at the time. I prefer real paper books.

[Jackie]

I look through the bestselling historical fiction and a few other genres and purchase several books I want to read or borrow them from others. If I like the HF choice for the month, I will buy the book and read it. I also look at the books that others in this group like. Since I only buy paperbacks, I'm always a year or two behind the published date. Sometimes I will select an award winner, a new author or an interesting topic.

One criterion I have is that I want to learn something during the read. Either some new words, or an introduction to a part of history that I know little about, or an unknown topic. I don't care for smutty language or sappy romance. I think I'm fairly easy to please, as I generally like the books others' like.

[Nathan]

I have an odd way of choosing my next book haha. In the order I bought the books I’ll group them into small collections as you’ll see on my profile, most collections being comprised of 3-8 books, then I just go through each group one by one, 0-7 sometimes two groups are merged together so I have more books to choose from at a certain time, only reading the specific books in the group I’m working on so that I finish all my old books before reading my new ones, buying more, and leaving the old books behind. I know it sounds weird lol, I just like to make sure none are left behind, and make sure I read them in the order I bought them in to do so.

This isn’t a great strategy, as most of the time the books don’t fit the mood or fit what I even like now that it’s been like 5 months since I’ve bought them, but at least I can say I’ve never left a book behind! Haha

[Erica]

I have two ways I choose my next book with a book club or I choose for my TBR list on good reads and reverse the list

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

As my TBR list lengthens it's become almost overwhelming to choose my next read. Challenges do help. Also this past year have started using the Random feature in My Books and reading what is listed first.

[Melissa]

I chose one of the books I'm reading because it was a review copy from the author's sister-in-law, and I wanted to be able to say I at least read part of the book, even with everything in my life being absolutely bonkers right now.

[a.g.e. montagner]

Often what I read is at the intersection of my wishlist and the selections of my various groups here on Goodreads.

[Michael Dean]

I get some useful recommendations from my Goodreads’ friends and those I follow, but most are made by the Library of Congress librarians. I use their BARD system for the blind and print disabled. My eyesight has declined, leaving me effectively blind, so technology comes to my rescue with screen readers and audio files. As an editor, I also read book by authors I am preparing to interview, either as an audio book or occasionally via an electronic version. My wife, Lynn lacks time to read aloud, so that has become a very slow process.
Last year I read 145 books, the year prior, 150, and should be in that range agin this year. :)