Finding the right book
Do you have a hard time choosing what books to read? I do. At first, I thought it was because they were getting so expensive. If I’m going to pay the going price for books, I want to be sure that I’ll be entertained for a while. It’s very disappointing to buy a book only to find out that you really couldn’t get into it all that much.
The obvious solution would be to go to a library or second-hand store, or swap books with a friend. But even then I have a difficult time. It’s as if I’m afraid to commit to a book because I believe that once I start reading it, I have to finish it. There are very few books I haven’t read to the end, although I sure would have liked to have stopped.
Favorite Authors
Choosing books from favorite authors is a good way to find others you might like. Unfortunately that doesn’t always work. I read a book that I loved, called The Birth House: A Novel (P.S.)
This isn’t a terrible thing. This means I’ll eagerly anticipate her next book, if she writes one, but it was a let down at the store because I really enjoyed her style of writing.
Other times, a great book by one author doesn’t translate into other great books. Or, after a few by the same author, I get tired of the style or he or she becomes too predictable. So then it’s off to find yet another one I like.
Genres
A lot of people buy their reading material based on genre. They like historical fiction or biographies, that sort of thing. I don’t have a particularly favorite genre. I like some biographies, not all. I like some historical fiction, not all.
Recommendations
Friend recommendations are probably the most common ones and, of course, there are recommendations from columnists and reading groups, among others. Do you follow these? I do follow book recommendations from friends, some are great – some are, well, not so great.
So, how do you find the right book for you?
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