Finding Your Next Book

LIFESTYLE · GLOBAL

Finding Your Next Book

Why recommendations fail, how to browse, abandoning books and building a habit

Most people read less than they would like, and the reason is usually that they are reading the wrong book rather than lacking time.

Abandon books

Finishing out of obligation is what stops people reading. Give a book fifty pages, or a hundred for something demanding, and put it down without guilt if it is not working.

A book you abandon now may work in five years. This is not a verdict on the book or on you.

Why recommendations miss

Algorithms recommend what sold to people who bought the same thing, which is not the same as what you would enjoy. A bookseller who has read both books can tell you why one might suit you.

Ask in a shop. It is the most underused free service in retail.

Browsing properly

Read the first page rather than the blurb, since the blurb is marketing and the first page is the writing. If the prose does not hold you standing in a shop, it will not hold you at home.

Widen deliberately

Prize lists, translated fiction, back catalogues of authors you liked, and anything a friend loved. Reading only within one genre narrows what you enjoy over time.

Short story collections and novellas are the easiest way back in after a reading slump.

Formats

Audiobooks count, and comprehension from listening is genuinely comparable. E-readers remove the intimidation of a thick book and are better in bed.

Building the habit

A fixed time each day beats an intention. Ten minutes before sleep is where most readers actually get through books, and keeping the book visible rather than in a drawer matters.

Reading with children

Let them choose, including comics, joke books and anything below their reading level. Choice and enjoyment predict whether children keep reading far better than the literary merit of the text.

Keep reading aloud long after they can read alone, since it introduces vocabulary beyond their decoding ability.

Book groups

Reading something you would not have chosen is much of the point. Libraries and bookshops run them free.

Where to buy

Independent bookshops will order almost any in-print title, frequently for next-day collection at the cover price, and very few customers ask. It is the most useful thing you can do for a local shop.

Second-hand keeps books circulating and returns nothing to the author, so a reasonable position is buying new for writers you want to keep writing.

Libraries

Free, and borrowing generates a payment to the author in many countries. They will also order titles they do not hold.

WHERE TO BUY

Ready to shop Waterstones? Use the link below to visit the official store.

→ Shop Waterstones — official site

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