How on earth do you choose which books to buy?

[MyMomLovedViolets]

I have ADHD and have tried to get back into reading.

My anxiety is high right now and have just been to several charity shops.

I didn't buy a single book. I don't know what I like. I don't know what books are good. The range and sheer number of books made my heart race.

I know I'm at the extreme end of the wedge here but even without anxiety how do you choose your books?

Do you see what's rated well and keep an eye out for them?

I used to live Jodie Piccoult books many, many years ago. I just read Where the Crawdads sing and enjoyed that.

I need a plan because I really want to read but just froze!

You husband sounds like a sweetheart!

I open a book at random and read a few paragraphs. You can tell good or bad writing right away, as well as get an idea of genre.

I literally judge a book by its cover.
I'm wary of shiny, elaborated designs. I much prefer very simple ones. For example, I keep coming back to Fitzcarraldo Editions or Penguin Classics.
I also discovered a publishing company I really like recently (Dead Ink) and I want to read their whole catalogue.

Otherwise, it's a lot based on what I'm interested in and what my friends recommend. I trust their judgment. If I'm into WW1, I might read a mix of non-fiction and fiction about the topic.
Reading is a sort of self-reinforcing process - You read, you come across concepts, writers, subjects you get interested in, then you read more etc...

Oh and I also really trust the classics. I've never read a bad classic. There's a reason why Dostoevsky, Virginia Woolf or Zola are remembered.

Another source of inspo is Instagram. I follow some people who have recommendations that might suit my state of mind at a given moment. Sometimes I want something deep that will leave me shaken, sometimes I just want a light-hearted whodunnit type of page-turner.

Join BookBub and sign up for their weekly newsletter. It shows you that week's e-book deals across various platforms. I have a rule that I only 'buy' books that are free, that way there is no pressure if I don't like them as much as I thought that I would.

I read newspapers' book review sections, look at threads on here, check out Amazon recommendations based on my previous reads, choose books recommended by friends and relatives etc and add them to my Amazon wish list. I find browsing in bookshops or libraries frustrating too, and I don't have ADHD or anxiety!

I start with authors I know and trust.

I then look for recommendations from friends and family.

Booktube is excellent, and good for motivation too.

I like fantasy and sci-fi loved Harry Potter, LOTR etc.

Recently I have enjoyed, Fourth Wing, House on the Cerulean Sea, Legends and Lattes, anything by Sarah Painter.

Good luck! Hope you find a good one 👍

I spend a ridiculous amount of time reading reviews on amazon. Then I usually decide I don't want to read it because of one bad review! My hobby is more reading reviews rather than reading books.

I listen to A Good Read on radio 4 - Harriet Gilbert and 2 guests choose books they've enjoyed and discuss them.
I've come across some really good books there but I also check the reviews on Amazon to see what people are saying about them. Many of them are not recent publications so you wouldn't come across them otherwise.

I've been disappointed by books described, either in the blurb or in reviews in the papers or online, as best sellers - so many are crime which I'm not keen on.

https://www.literature-map.com/jodi+picoult will give you some Ideas for other authors who are similar, you can use it for most well known folk.

Have a look at eg The Women’s Prize website. You’ll see all the longlisted books from recent years, with a nice description of each. There’s usually a good selection of styles, genres.

I chose mine a bit like I chose my wine...

Has it got a screw cap?

I obviously don't read much...🤪

I keep a list on my phone of books people recommend and things I like the sound of based on reviews. Every so often I will trawl BorrownBox/Libby for those books, or look for them on World of Books. My to read pile is about 30 high at the moment....

I actually have a wishlist of books I want to read, based on recommendations, references or authors whose other books I have enjoyed. Also when you look up a book on Amazon for example it shows you other books people who bought that book bought too, even if you don't buy it there you can see the synopsis and reviews. Often I just browse the charity shop or community library and pick up a book I like the look of or title and if the bit at the back sounds good I give it a go.

Go to the what we are reading message board under ,"books" topics OP

Explain who you used to like, what you are looking for, and you will get a list of perfect recommendations to keep you occupied until not this, next Christmas. They know everything about books.

Then order the three you think you like best from library or abebooks.co.uk (secondhand bookshop online)

And take it from there.

There's a book club called Richard & Judy's book club which shortlist books, I think they're sold in WHSmith. I like it because I know the book will have been read before and shortlisted for the collection by an editor. I pick books from the charity shop that say they are from the Richard and Judy book club.

Can you get a kindle? I use a site called BookBub, I download free books from it through Amazon, they also have them from 99p. It’s a great way to try different types of books. Also, just type free books into the search bar on Amazon and you will get plenty of options.

I get almost all my recommendations from the MNers on the What we're reading thread. I don't think I've been disappointed by a book for a very long time. There is a wide variety of genres and the reviewers tell you if it's a happy or a tough read so you can choose to suit your mood.

They really are wonderful and I feel guilty that I lurk rather than contribute on that thread.

I have a kindle but I'm trying to read to get away from screens as I'm just on my phone or watching TV constantly and I feel like it defeats the point a little

I use book bub because you can put in your preferences and they only send you offers on the genre you're interested in. It's free so join up and start jotting down authors that you might be interested in.

Would the web site Fantastic Fiction help?

My librarian introduced it to me a good few years ago. It's a library of book information, hard to describe really, so perhaps just go and have a look.

I have an account and I do (when I remember tick off the books I have read). I've found it particularly useful for finding other authors with similar stories once I've found an author I like.

Also sometimes I've picked up a book and realised it's part of a series etc and used fantastic fiction to work out where in the series it is etc.

I look at the book in Sainsburys as in mine they are front cover forward and I pick up the ones I like the pictures on, then read the synopsis and then naughty as it is I take a picture of it and get it from my library.

Join bookbub . It asks for your preferred types of books, then sends you recommendations.

I think it’s aimed at the Kindle market, but I’ve read quite a few good books because of it.

How about a Facebook reading club? I've had lots of good recommendations from Bookload.

I’ve got a challenge for you, @MyMomLovedViolets , go back to the charity shops and find any Coleen Hoover books. You’ll love her, I promise. Easy read, quite engaging. I found out about her from colleagues, at any given time one of them would have a Colleen Hoover poking out of their bags. I asked one: is she any good? I got given the book there and then and I read it in one day. ‘It ends with us’ is being made into a series or film. Just grab any of them.

Anything but Colleen Hoover!

Decide what type of book you want to read just now. Would you like a mystery, romance thriller, murder, or think of an author you have enjoyed and look for more books by this author. Or just randomly look,at titles and if one grabs you read the blurb. Read the book reviews in any newspaper or magazine you read. Ask friends for recommendations. Join a book club. There are online ones too.

Go to charity shops if they're closer than the library

Read the first page and a page about a third of the way through

If it grabs you read it

If not move on