I'm trying to pick up reading as a hobby now, as I've only read like 5 books total for myself ever. I just got done finishing Misery by Stephen King and now I'm curious about how you find possible books or genres of interest. I'd like to experiment with different genres to see if any other sticks out to me, because I feel like if I just read psychological horror then I'd burn myself out, need something to alternate with.
by W4ff133z
11 Comments
Try quick reads to bet you back into the swing
Generally, whatever you’re already interested in. What do you watch or play? True crime, animals, survival, cooking, eldritch horror, sports. What are you into?
Go to a bookstore or better still – a library and ask!
You can judge the books by their covers, titles or blurbs or just ask ‘I’m interested in Roman History but I haven’t read anything before – what’s easy to get into?
Same for asking friends, folk on reddit or reading reviews, listening to podcasts or something similar.
Look at the lists of top ‘whatever’ fiction – scifi, fantasy, romance, etc – and remember the bits you like – if you prefer street level heroes solving local problems in a fantasy world, or rather elaborate magic, elves and the fate of the multiverse? Low fantasy rather than high fantasy. Scifi more like Star Wars or more realistic with oxygen scrubbers and gravity sickness?
Just ask – folks are always keen to recommend stuff!
If you liked Stephen King, then do a search online for “Books that Stephen King recommends” or try this link if youre on goodreads [https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4816194-debra?shelf=sai-king-recommends](https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4816194-debra?shelf=sai-king-recommends) that’ll give you a list of good authors of many different genres.
Bookriot.com
Bookmarks magazine
NPR books
NYT Book Review
Easy. I’ll take on reading any Nobel Prize laureate in Literature from before 1970.
My favorite way to experiment and try new authors/genres is to pick up a multi-author short story anthology. Think about what kind of movies/tv shows you like and try similar genres. Or just go in blind, that can be fun too!
Like another user said, seek out book people: booksellers, librarians, friends. Ask them what they recommend/what they’ve read lately.
Try a book club! My bookclub is exactly for this purpose. We read a different genre every month to get us out of our collective comfort zone.
You can also find book curators, people like Sadie Hartman (Mother Horror) on social media. Sadie Hartman does a great job of recommending diverse types of horror, might be a nice place to start.
Follow publishers and/or your local bookstore on social media. They advertise lots of up-and-coming books, so it introduces you to tons of different titles.
Other than that, just read read read!
If there’s a book I really like, I’ll check out other books by the same author. Usually they don’t disappoint because they stay within the genre, and I like their writing style. I’ve also Googled, ‘books like ….’ which comes up with some good suggestions. Of course I also look up other books that people recommend, although that doesn’t always pan out for me.
Go to the library, browse, take home anything (like three to six books) that look interesting and try them. Read what you like, take them back and do it again. You’ll soon have a list of authors you like. Websites like Goodreads or LibraryThing are useful, too—lots of readers willing to make recommendations.
Honestly? I go to a store and just pick up books that catch my eye for whatever reason. Or at least that’s my favorite way. Similarly, going to a bookstore’s website and just browse in certain genres. I also use Storygraph, which is a reading tracking app, to look up books that are similar to ones I’ve read and enjoyed. Some other things you can do:
– go to a bookstore or library and simply ask people who work there if they have recommendations, possibly based on books you’ve read and liked before
– ask people around you for recommendations (be clear about both things you like in a book, and things you dislike)
– subscribe to newsletters from publishers and authors
– look up review videos on Youtube about books you liked, and if someone also liked those books, check out their other videos to see what other books they liked (I specifically recommend Youtube, because I think it’s important to watch longer form content of people reviewing books, because it can help give you a better understanding of what makes a book enjoyable or not, and provides you with a better vocabulary to express yourself)
– join Facebook groups about genres you enjoy and see what people are reading there, and possibly ask for recommendations
i go by aesthetics. i love southern gothic and appalachia so i look for horror books and southern gothic books