6 Brilliant Ways To Choose Your Next Book To Read

This post was most recently updated on August 14th, 2023

[A collaboration post – all thoughts are my own.]

One of the most important skills you can develop as a reader is knowing how to choose your next book.

I used to count how many books I’d read in a year and am proud of reading 100+ books each year. But I never took the time to digest what I’d just read. My focus was to read as many books as possible, and lost sight of what actually mattered: learning from the ideas that the best books had to offer.

In fact, for me, choosing which book to read next is one of the toughest parts. What if you pick one that you’re not in the mood for? What if you pick one and then start crying? Well, I’m not too fond of sad endings. Every time I purchase a book, I want the book to be good. I want to be happy and satisfied after reading it.

So if you’re serious about getting the most out of what you read, then just knowing how to read for understanding isn’t enough. You need a reading workflow that starts by helping you answer the question, “How do I choose what to read?”

Read Your Favorite Authors’ Works

If you’re struggling with choosing your next book, this option is one of the easiest. Some of my favorite authors, in case there were titles there I hadn’t read yet. If you haven’t already, why don’t you complete reading the work of your favorite author?

I like to implement this reading strategy whenever I visit a bookstore. I read books both in my native language and in English. There are many translated books like Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, and the Percy Jackson series that I love. Because I knew I enjoyed the previous books by my favorite authors, they were definitely worth exploring. It’s likely you’ll enjoy another book by an author you’re already familiar with and fond of.

Do you have a favorite translated book for 2022?

Stay tuned for Day Awards 2022 from Day Translations. Vote for your best-translated book and join us in celebrating translation, interpretation, and linguistic masterminds from across the globe!

Don’t Be Obsessed With the Number of Books You Have Read

If you don’t have a solid reading habit, I don’t suggest you overwhelm yourself with an extended list of books. Because you’ll lack the courage to continue. Setting up these high expectations to read 50 books this year can strain you, or you may engage in this kind of reading but always be on edge. Because you’re in a hurry and think about the next book when you’re currently reading another.

You need to find your own rhythm and pace. If you already have a strong reading habit, lists may come in handy for tracking the books you think of reading. After all, it is not about the number of books you’ve finished but the quality of your reading.

Pick Up a Book That Sparks an Interest in You

Even though online stores take the place of conventional bookstores, strolling inside a bookstore is an activity that will never get old. Looking at the shelves, reading the back covers of the books, and physically feeling them. It is simply a different and more authentic experience than purchasing books online.

I like to spend hours hanging around at the bookstore and picking a great book to read. I usually go by the covers or titles that appeal to me. Publishers are very good at branding covers to connect with potential readers. If you really need help, ask the employees to help you, and tell them about your reading preferences. Is it a fiction or non-fiction book you are looking for? What genres or similar books can you list for the kind of book you are willing to buy?

Is it a Series or a Standalone

A series means that there is not just one book; it could be two or more books. To know the complete story, you will have to read all of them. This is not the case with standalone, which means there is just one book, and that is the only book you need to read to understand the whole story. Not everybody enjoys the series and vice versa. So it is important to check once if you want to choose a series or standalone for your next read.

Check the Page Numbers

Personally, I prefer to enjoy 500+ pages of books. But there are people for whom reading 200-300 pages is enough. The factor to be considered here is time-constraint. So, choosing your next book depends on how long the book is and how much time you can spare.

Ask for Recommendations

The best way to choose your next book is to ask your friends for recommendations. I like to visit book bloggers’ websites and find out what books they have on their TBR list. Chances are someone might have similar tastes to you, so you can trust their reviews. Mainly people go on Google, Goodreads, Instagram, and various other sites for book recommendations online.

Picking out the right book to read is a common concern for many bookworms. There are so many books and so little time. We don’t want to waste our time on books that don’t interest us. We want to pick the top-notch books, the books that resonate with us and have enjoyable, fulling reading sessions. You should ditch your perspective of seeing book reading as a task or a chore to get done with, or just as a number, representing a fake sense of your relationships with the books you read.

These methods help me a lot when I search for my next book to read. There’s no doubt that you’ll find books that fit your expectations and enjoy your reading experience to the fullest. I hope this will help you too. And if you get benefitted, don’t forget to share it with your friends!