Social media (goodreads/tiktok/reddit)? Colleagues? Friends? Browsing the library/bookstore? Asking for recommendations from staff at libraries/bookstores?
BONUS: if you can remember, how did you find books you really enjoyed?
I realized a lot of my favorite book recs came from reddit. I was a subscriber of r/books and picked up some really good books there. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is an example.
I realize you are asking books and not necessarily audiobooks but for audiobooks I follow a few good narrators that I know only do books I will like. This way I am almost always guaranteed a good book, and as a bonus I already know the narration quality will be perfect.
That’s a good method, I hate it when I find a new book I think I’ll be interested in and listen only to find that I can’t stand the narrator
Just because you couldn’t sit through Infinite Jest read by Gilbert Gottfried doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t
Podcasts (interviews, recommendations), blog and newspaper reviews, references in other books I’ve read or from authors/personalities I like
Podcasts are my biggest source for recommendations. That and if I find a movie or show I like, I look up the source material or related books in the same universe.
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Harry Potter was on my brother’s shelf. I read it because he liked it, and he hated reading. I love(d) reading, and I figured if he liked it it must be good. And an obsession was born, lol.
But I also typically just browse until a synopsis hooks me. I’m very guilty of judging books by their cover, too, so I often won’t even pick up a book if I don’t like the cover/title.
Recommendations, either from Reddit or from family/friends etc.
Usually advice from people that know me or similar books suggestions through online forums. When I try and pick award winning novels, even for genres I usually like, I usually end up disappointed.
I also ask people at work what they’re reading and then they usually follow up with what they actually would recommend reading
Along with what others have said, I consult the list of Noble and Pulitzer prize winners. Not all of them are great, as to be expected, but many of the best books I’ve ever read are on them.
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generally from friends recs, goodreads, but lately I’ve been having fun just checking the “tiny free library” in my neighborhood and taking whatever interests me. Read a few books that I never would’ve picked up otherwise that way.
Searching around book stores (e.g. National Book Store, Booksale, Fully Booked, and other physical book outlets), Goodreads (including lists, and even checking reviews by S. Craig Zahler and Cardinal West), YouTube channels like Cardinal West, Jesse the Reader, etc., TV Tropes, and the occasional Reddit post and Telegram chat. I once even searched around my school’s library.
I get a lot of books via Bookbub for cheap, I have my already existing favorite authors and genres, and otherwise I generally choose what to read seemingly at random.
Many times I aimlessly wrong around the bookstore down the road from my house (I live on the shore) and I pick something there. Most recently picked up Killers Of The Flower Moon, which has been an incredibly interesting read.
Recommendations from people I know. Depending on who recommends them, I’ll pick them up. I also search for lists on google or “favorite book” polls/list on reddit. As long as I like the premise I’ll try it. If the first book in a series is a good read, I’ll continue the series, if not then I won’t. And of course books from authors I already knew when I liked their books.
I’m terrible at choosing books. In the old days, everyone knew The Hobbit, and then LOTR were great. I was told by a friend to read ‘Duncton Wood’ and I bought a series of ‘Classics’ which lasted me a few years between books.
I search for lists, recent awards and stuff like that - but they can be so problematic. I just read through “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” by Hank Green and cannot imagine why most ratings aren’t between one to 3 stars. The remarkable part of the story is omitted, and we’re subjected to a social diatribe probably made more popular by the current focus on gender fluidity.
I dive into Annies Archive and grab a few, polish them and send them to my Kindle… at least that keeps the investment down (as there aren’t any libraries here…).
One must simply parse information going beyond reviews.
Right now I’m pushing my way into ‘The Oracle Year’ and already there are 2 things that happened there which just make no sense… but I’ll give it a go.
Something which I will now persist with is multi-tasking… so when I find a book I like, I’ll put it on the SLOW burner - with 4 books on the reading list (one for my son to read when he gets back from school - he’s reading Bad Dad now).
So yes, it’d be good to have a few booklists here, with options to add/vote on them.
Also, don’t forget Bookwyrm. I’m going to get around to adding my existing and past reads there too in the hope that some wonderful AI will be good enough to find me some really good ones I would miss.
I get most of my recent recommendations from Reddit, and tiktok. My library puts great lists on its website, which I like to browse sometimes. I search for finalists and winners of the Booker Prize and Hugo Awards. I have found some great books that didn’t actually win the prize. I love going to used bookstores too.
I recently started to read a book from each country, from A Year of Reading the World
I joined a book club that meets once a month. We pick one or two books to read for upcoming meetings. A lot of times we just brainstorm during the meeting to pick upcoming books.
