Question #34
“How do you find books to read?”
Dear SK,
The real answer is that I find books everywhere, but I have a more specific (and dare I say, more helpful) answer if you’re looking for more ways to have books in your life.
Podcasts. Podcast interviews are a bit part of book marketing these days, so many authors will do interviews when they have a book coming out. Listen to podcasts in your general areas of interest and chances are there will be some book recommendations! Also, there are a ton of podcasts specifically dedicated to books and reading which will give you plenty of books to consider. Book Riot is a reading website that offers a lot of podcasts in different genres, which is super helpful if you already know that you’re interested in reading romance, or science fiction, or YA.
Book-related websites. Speaking of Book Riot, websites dedicated to books and reading are a great way to find more books. This can include Crime Reads, Lithub and more. You could also follow their respective pages on social media, which will introduce you to more books and to more readers.
Spotting books in the wild. This could be taking note of books you see people reading on the train, or strolling through the book aisle at Target, or asking your friend the name of the book that they mentioned reading.
One under-appreciated way to find more books to read is to have a way to keep track of the books you find in the wild. This is where book websites like Goodreads or Storygraph come in. There have been many times where I’ll hear about a really interesting-sounding book, but then a week later I have no idea what it is. Adding books to my want-to-read shelves on these apps helps me remember those books and increases my likelihood of reading them. Additionally, Goodreads offers some great articles and newsletters that can help with discovery, and Storygraph has an amazing recommendation algorithm that is also great for finding new books to read.
