Choosing books from the local library

[MandyPand]

I have recently joined the local library with the intention of picking a book at random. I've decided that the first book I'm drawn to is the one I shall borrow. Just wondered if anyone else does this? My first visit was quite successful although as I picked up a book to borrow I spied Hamnet on the shelf and almost fell at the first hurdle. I left Hamnet on the shelf though.

Good for you! We used to have a mobile library here and I really miss it.
Don't think I could pick a book at random, it would probably end up being something unreadable.

I don't quite understand why you couldn't take Hamnet as well...🤔 Are you limited to just one book?

I did this when I was about 12 - and read a very explicit Jilly Cooper which almost put me off sex for life.

Oh dear @kiraric thankfully I'm much older than 12 so I should be fairly safe 😁
@PyreneanAubrie the one book rule is my self-imposed rule, silly really, but I've only just come back to reading this year after a 30 year dry spell and didn't want to overload myself.

I was surprised at how difficult it is to choose a book at random.

What criteria do you choose it on? Do you look at the cover art or read the description at the back or read the first few pages?

Also, what did you borrow in the end?

One of the things I enjoy, when I have time to myself, is going to browse in the library. I love just looking along the shelves, picking up books to look at the blurb or read the first paragraph to see if it draws me in.

I don't think I could just pick a book at random and stick to it. My reading time is precious and needs to be what I'm enjoying. It would be unbearable if I ended up with a horror novel or something with ghosts (two subjects that would give me the nightmares).

I like your idea but as @DrivingThePlot says, you could end up with a genre that you really don't like.

How about going through the alphabet-so only allowing yourself to choose an author with a surname beginning with A, the next week B and so on.
You could choose from fiction, non-fiction or children's.

It would still be random but giving yourself a bit more control. You don't want to return to a dry spell because you end up with books you hate.

Our local library used to do the blind date with a book thing (before the local bookshop did!) and I loved it because it was so utterly random. And because you weren't paying anything it really didn't matter if you didn't get along!
It opened my eyes to stuff I would otherwise have overlooked.

So, back to you OP - are you picking entirely at random or looking at covers or??
I might have to try it!

I've ways done this. The library has been my happy place since I was about 6yo.

Walk in pick a book(s) at random. I never know what I'm going for.

What I have started doing recently though is using their order system when I see a review that appeals, so now I do both ways.

As a rule I tend to either pick from the 2 week Fastback or the bestseller section. If I go for something specific it tends not to be there, and I can't be bothered to order it.
So there is a level of randomness but certainly not completely so, as there are a lot of books I won't want to read.

Read something by Thomas Sowell. Helps understand the world we live in.

OP

Have you considered writing a book journal? I think it would be interesting to go with your random books.

The first book I picked using the random method was The Bookseller of Inverness by S.G. Maclean. A murder mystery set in the period after the Battle of Culloden. It was the first book my eye was drawn to. I think next time I will spend a little more time browsing properly for a second book. Thank you for the suggestions. I have put a reminder to look for a Thomas Sowell. I would like to try writing a journal as well. @sashh do you write your feelings about the book as well as a summary of the book?

I tried doing this when I joined my local library at the start of this year (wish I had joined sooner! I will probably never buy another book again), but ended up with some rubbish books I would start then have to return and feel disappointed. Once I started using the ordering system the quality of books I've read has improved so much. I go through the book awards lists or recommendations I see online and just put half a dozen books on reserve at a time, then they arrive at the library just for me over the coming weeks.

All I've read this year are library books which is annoying as I've enough of my own to read. I tend to head for the new releases and get them off there.

I follow loads of book accounts on Instagram. I have an Alphabet indexed notepad that I write down books I want to read in blue and books I need to buy that I keep in black.

So I get the blue books from the library or charity bookshops

I don't actually do a journal, but it is something I think about. doing Lots of people do put their feelings down.

I've just re-joined my local library as I have been given a kindle fire so I can borrow on that.

I read all of W once. Manageable size section. Our library had Jeanette Winterson and TE White, it was fun and educational.

The trouble with our local library now is they obviously have very little money for new books but also lots of self publishing authors who have donated self indulgent, unedited waffle, so you have to be really careful!

OK I have ordered a book journal.

I work for a library service and donated self published books never get put into stock!

That's a good policy! Must be different in my area. So tired of getting home and realising it's one of those cheap Amazon prints again.

I'm not sure how to interpret this, in terms of what you're "drawn to." Does that mean you may be attracted by lurid covers, or that you carefully read the jacket copy to evaluation the author's background and reviews?

Hamnet is supposed to be a very good book, as far as I know.

@MsAmerica I just stood in front of the bookshelf and picked the first book my eyes settled on. Why on earth it should have been that book is a mystery - the spine is black so maybe that made it stand out? Anyway, it's quite a foolish or foolhardy method of selecting a book, I know, but I kind of like the surprise element.

When I used the library I would bring 3 or 4 books that took my fancy. Sometimes did not read them all but always at least one good one to keep me entertained for a week or two.

I'm always drawn to the ones that are 'staff picks' or 'books of the week' that are put out on the prominent display shelves. I like to think some thought has gone into these and they are not just the ones that wouldn't fit on the regular shelves!

I used to pick books by the colour of the pages looking down at the top of them. The paler the paper the more likely that they were newer. I haven't done that for a while.
I mostly now order books that have been recommended, as reserves are free in my local library, and when I go to pick up I spend a few minutes browsing and pick the things that appeal in the moment.