Friday, June 22, 2012

Where Do You Find Good Books to Read?


I find good books to read in a variety of places.

At the library, I always check out the "new books" shelf and I usually find one or two that catch my interest.

Recommendations from other bloggers (and my writing buddies) is another one of the main ways I find books to read. Reading blogs keeps me informed about new books that are coming out.

I keep a list of books that sound interesting in the back of my writing notebook. Every once in a while, I check the library to see if any are available, or I keep my eye out for them when I'm visiting bookstores. I also am a big user of the "hold" feature at my library. If I search the library catalogue online for a book I'm looking for and find it, I put it on hold so all I need to do is go in and pick it up. Did I mention that I live close to at least one branch of the public library?

I don't buy most of the books I read because the bookshelves in my house are already full. (Here's where an e-reader can come in handy.) If I read a really great story from the library, then sometimes I'll buy it so I can read it or study it some more. Or if I've read one book in a trilogy, I sometimes purchase the second one right away because I can't wait to read it! [Recent example: Insurgent by Veronica Roth.]

Where do you find good books to read?

14 comments:

  1. This sounds very much like me. Despite the plethora of books out there with new ones coming out every second, a good book is hard to find! Gotta love the library, it's my favorite place to find new authors.

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    1. I love the public library, Karen. I go there at least once a week.

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  2. I find a lot of books through looking for debut authors for my blog and from other author and book review blogs. I used to find books on the library shelf a lot more before I started blogging and loved it. I still put books on hold at the library but now that I'm reading so many more ARCs I don't have time to go there as much. I miss it.

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    1. I find a lot of good books from reading reviews on blogs - often yours!

      But I do enjoy my weekly visits to the library.

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  3. Recommendations from friends or blogs are how I read about new YA books that I might like to read. But there's nothing like spending a half hour browsing the YA bookshelves for books that may pop out at me - books I might have never heard of. We have a great library network so I often reserve books if my library doesn't own one yet. I'm waiting for Insurgent now.

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    1. Suzie, I loved Insurgent! I can hardly wait for the third book.

      Browsing the shelves is sometimes how I discover new authors to read.

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  4. The Marvelous Middle Grade Monday blog posts provide additions to my to-read list each week. Then I browse the catalog at my local library, use the hold feature as you do, and pick them up at the branch close to my house. I've also won a fair share of books from other blogs and usually pass them on to my blog readers.

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    1. I love the MMGM posts too - I find lots of books to read from those recommendations!

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  5. I find good books to read here online. I appreciate bloggers who share their favorite reads. Reviews and recommendations help me add to my TBR list.

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    1. I really appreciate the bloggers that take the time to do that too. I know from writing the MMGM summaries that it takes time to write a thoughtful recommendation.

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  6. i love to browse book stores and check out new covers. that's typically how i find random reads, and non award winners, or books without a big social platform.

    goodreads is another site i use for discovery -- the lists are pretty extensive.

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    1. Oh yes, Goodreads! I have to start using that more. I often use it as a way to check out a book I've heard about, to get different opinions on it. Or I go there to see what other people have thought about a book I've read.

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  7. I find them online now. That seems to go through fits and starts. Some times I can't find anything good to read that I haven't already read, and other times they just rain down upon me.

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  8. A friend of mine has started an online book club of sorts-if you follow them on Twitter, they read a book each week and make GREAT recommendations. It could be a fun thing to out try this summer!

    Here is the link! https://twitter.com/#!/ireadbookclub

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