Wednesday 21 July 2021

Paperback's Pondering's: How I Choose What Book To Read Next



Hello everyone! Today's post is going to be a discussion that I feel like there are a lot of mixed opinions on: how I choose what book to read next. I think that everyone's got a different method as to deciding what books they're going to read and in what order. My method may be a bit odd to some. But, I'm mainly writing this post because I find my method a little bit boring, and I'm looking for ways to shake up how I read. I would love to hear your opinions as to how I can make choosing my next read as enjoyable as reading is. 

I'll start off by saying that I don't exactly relate to the idea that I have tons of unread books on my shelf and I can't choose which one to read next. Books can get pretty expensive in Canada, and so if I buy a book, I'm buying it because I absolutely want to read it. Books that I buy physically will most likely get read first, because it's rare that I have brand-new physical copies in my possession. I make the most use out of my online library when I'm not buying my books, which now leads me to my method of deciding what book I want to borrow online. 

My method mainly is... that there is no method. However, this is why I say that I need to make things more interesting. I have a few favourite book genres that I've bookmarked on my online library, mainly pertaining to YA. Most often I will go through the YA romance and YA social themes categories, and I will just scroll until I hit a book that I've seen buzz for online, or that catches my eye either through the cover or who the author is. The problem with this method is that I don't necessarily go for lesser-known books or indie authors, as I tend to let my focus on buzz and well-known authors win the battle for what books get chosen. This is partly my fault, and I do think that I should broaden my horizons as to what books I go for. However, my library also doesn't do the best to highlight lesser-known books, so I would like some ways to get around this issue. 

Another thing that does sway what book I will borrow is diversity. At least for myself, if a book doesn't have at least one element of diversity in it, then I won't pick it up. I prefer to go for books that are OwnVoices, however I understand that the OwnVoices discourse is very complicated nowadays and I also don't like to assume somebody's identity or go digging for something that may be private. That being said, sometimes I will do research on an author whose book catches my eye, to make sure that they seem like they're respectful and conscious of the subject matter that they're writing about. 

So diversity and book buzz aside, I would like to find a way that will make choosing a book at the library a little more fun. This is because my reading tends to stay a bit more in my comfort-zone, as I choose books that I know are hyped, or that only pertain to my favourite genres. I do watch booktube and get some recommendations from there, but as a whole, a big chunk of my reading just comes from sticking to what I already know. I would love to experiment more with unique tropes, different genres, and different types of characters. I think I need to refine my technique (or lack thereof) to make this possible. 

One of my favourite booktubers, Jesse @ Bowties and Books, sells TBR cards in which you can pick your next read based on a fun category that the cards bring up. This is one way for me to make reading a bit more fun. However, I'm also open to other options, and I'm genuinely curious as to what you guys do to make your tbr fun. Or, are you like me, stuck in an endless cycle of scrolling through a library app? 

Please share your thoughts with me. I'm looking for ways that are library friendly, cost effective, and most importantly, fun. If you know me in real life, you know that I love games, so any way I can turn reading into a game is perfect with me. 

How do you choose what books to read next? 

Emily @ Paperback Princess

8 comments:

  1. I don't have a huge TBR either. I'm a mood reader so in some ways it's easy for me, I just go with whatever looks good at the moment. :) But that's not much help I know ha ha!

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    1. Well it's helpful to know that someone feels the same way haha! Yeah, I can totally stray more towards mood reading as well.

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  2. "if I buy a book, I'm buying it because I absolutely want to read it."
    Same here. I have only a small book budget, so...

    I'm afraid I can't be of much help, because I tend to stick to my comfort zone as well. Then again, I made it my mission to find under-hyped books, and I seem to be quite successful in that respect. Sometimes I browse lists on Goodreads, and I do the same with genres on NetGalley and Edelweiss - there are often unsung books for review up there, and I've found quite a number of nice reads/gems that way.

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    1. I used to have a netgalley but I haven't used it in years! Maybe its time to revive my account. Thanks for the idea, Roberta! I do love how you highlight lesser-known books.

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  3. Tbh, I'm an 'ooh shiny' kinda gal ;) I'll pick things up from the library etc. just cos they caught my eye.

    Also, I have an eternal TBR - it grows exponentially, last time I looked it was 800+ books - so a lot of the time if I see something on the shelves/thumbnails of my library which I *know* is on my mahoosive TBR I'm like 'It's a sign!!!!' Lol.

    I'm also a mega mood-reader - so I kinda just follow what I'm in the mood for a lot of the time.

    And since there are currently circa 6 million paperbacks from charity shops (look, at one point in my supermarket there was a stall selling books for charity for 25p a book. How was I supposed to resist that?!) causing a trip hazard on my bedroom floor, I also tend to prioritise stuff on the top so that I can get rid of them when I'm done, and possibly even find the carpet one of these days! (Lol.) <3

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    1. With 800+ books on your TBR, half the library is probably carrying your books LOL. Yeah, I can relate to mood-reading. I also can get distracted while reading very easily, so if I'm not reading something I'm for sure interested in, it will go way over my head.

      Cheap books are very hard to resist. There aren't many charity shops close to me, only the big book stores, but I'm always on the lookout for discounts.

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  4. Honestly, I don't have a method - I pick up whatever I'm the most interested in at the moment, which just goes to show what a big mood reader I am. 😅 The biggest issue with this method is that I tend to focus on new releases or books I've recently bought, as those are the ones that I pay the most attention to. Something I've been trying to do on goodreads is categorize to-read books based on their genres, so I can quickly look for the genre that I'm interested in. It's definitely a faulty system, though - for example, my to-read-horror shelf contains not only the books I own, but also the ones I haven't yet bought AND the ones that aren't even published yet. :/ Great discussion!

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    1. I feel like mood reading is very common for a lot of us. It's great that you have genre-specific goodreads shelves. I know no method is perfect, but even a little organization can make all the difference. Thanks for sharing, Veronika!

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