Starting out suggestions

[seenic]

Years ago I used to read paper books, sci-fi & Fantasy, crime, and a few others, but post University, family and other commitments curtailed most of the time for that.

Over the last year I've been re-reading a few books again (Terry Pratchett, Harry Harrison, Ian Rankin), browsed my local library online and downloaded a few e-books (though ended up returning).

So how best to find new books to read rather than simply the pot-shot approach of randomly choosing.

[drofgnal]

I follow the ‘what are we reading’ thread here. The reading recommendations forum here is not very helpful and seems little used, although there maybe older threads you could check out. Mostly I go to Amazon (or if you do kobo that store) and search by genre, best sellers, new releases and ‘deals of the day’ and monthly deals by genre. Then I check out the reviews posted for the title I’m researching. If it’s not greater than 4 stars, I usually pass, and it needs to have a four digit number of reviews, except for new releases. I also go to websites of authors I like and see what they have in the works. I used to do this more often when I worked close to a Barnes and Noble, but I still like to browse a physical bookstore, but mostly just for new releases. I don’t get to do that much anymore.

[pdurrant]

Ask for suggestions in here, giving examples of books you've enjoyed reading in the past.

[hildea]

I look at recommendations in different places: The forums here, blogs, social media. I follow authors I like and see which books they recommend. I also use https://app.thestorygraph.com/, a site where you add info about what you like and don't like, and an algorithm suggests books to read. (I like Storygraph because their business idea is to have a site that's so good for readers that some of us will go for the paid version. I don't trust algorithms at sites which have booksellers as their customers, like Goodreads or recommendations at bookshops.)

When I find books that look promising, I read a sample (usually available at a book shop or the author's website). And if I have enough books to read right now, I add it to my "to read" list at Storygraph, so I can find it again when I'm looking for a new book to read.

I've found some really good recommendations at Ann Leckie's blog, https://annleckie.com/2020/01/29/thi...read-recently/. She hasn't posted much lately, but there are lots of books there I haven't got to yet. KJ Charles, https://kjcharleswriter.com/2023/12/...books-of-2024/, also has recommendations that mostly fit my taste well. I like this kind of mini reviews, enough to show at a glance what the books are about.

[hildea]

...and I know you didn't ask for specific recommendations, but I'll give some anyway

Since you like Pratchett you might like Martha Wells' Murderbot series, starting with All Systems Red, and Sarah Rees Brennan's In Other Lands. Both are funny, but with a serious undertone, have some very sharp comments on our current society, and have protagonists that are fundamentally good people (if not comfortable to be around).

I've only read a few of Harry Harrison's Steel Rat book, and only liked one of them, but for stories about space opera style heroes you might like Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series, starting with Shards of Honor (also published together with the next book in the series as Cordelia's Honor), and Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice.

I don't know Rankin (have some vague recollection of trying one of his and bouncing off it).

[Karellen]

Originally Posted by seenic

So how best to find new books to read rather than simply the pot-shot approach of randomly choosing.

I had that same issue a few years ago when I restarted my reading, after 7+ years of not picking up a book.

First I reread my pbook collection. For the books I enjoyed, I found other works by those same authors and read those. Then I had numerous Sets where the author had written additional books, so read those as well. So that has kept me going for a few years.

As I am coming to the end of my "To Read" list, I started taking note of Amazon's suggestions over the last 6 weeks. There were 4 books that Amazon had been pushing onto me for most of this year. I recently took the plunge and was amazed at how great they were. You haven't asked for recommendations, but here they are anyway...

Carpathians... https://paul-dixon.com/carpathians/
The Aurora Cycle... https://www.goodreads.com/series/179...e-aurora-cycle

I also visit bookshops to check out new releases, and once every couple of weeks I head over to the (sort of) local 2nd hand bookshop run by the local catholic school. A massive collection of books and I always find something interesting there.

[Aleron Ives]

I follow the Free/Bargain theads for the genres I enjoy, and when a book comes up with an interesting blurb, I buy it, since the cost of being wrong is only $1-3. I've found enough authors I enjoy now that I don't need to jump on every deal anymore; I have a big enough backlog to keep me going for quite a while.

Another strategy is watching YouTube videos with reading recommendations; you're bound to learn about something that sounds interesting once you find a YouTuber with similar tastes to your own.

[rkomar]

I find the physical library to be a good spot to look for new authors. I browse the shelves looking for something that catches my interest, sample the writing and take it out if it looks like I might like it. If I like the book enough after reading, I can check out other titles by the same author or buy them if the library doesn't stock them. I know this sounds like browsing online, but actually being able to see the book jacket and read random passages in it makes it a lot less hit-or-miss.