5 Ways to Find What to Read Next

Picking your next book can be just as exciting as reading it. Whether it's your turn to pick the book club book, you’re an avid solo reader, or you’re just looking to dive into a new hobby, choosing the right book is crucial. The right book can transport you to new worlds, introduce you to new people and ideas, and provoke hours of conversation. But with so many options out there, how do you decide what to read next?

Here are 5 ways to help you pick your new favorite read:

1. Check out book reviews

Before diving into the ocean of reviews in the Bookclubs community, decide for yourself what sort of book you’re looking to find. What does your imagination desire right now? If you choose a book that resonates with you, you are sure to keep turning the pages.

Consider your current areas of interest. What topic do you want to learn more about, or what period of history or geography do you want to explore? Also, think about the genre, length and level of difficulty that would suit you best.

Not sure what your current interests are? Think about the books you’ve most enjoyed reading. What was it that hooked you, the plot, characters, setting, author’s style? If you know who you are as a reader, you’ll be able to predict what you’ll like – and what may end up as a DNF (did not finish).

Once you’ve got an idea of what you’re seeking, jump into the reviews at Bookclubs, where you can surf through the most popular book club reads of all time, or by each month going back to 2016. Members share their ratings and reviews of their books, giving you a chance to find out what other readers really thought about it.

If you're more interested in what the critics have to say, you can use the website Book Marks, which aggregates reviews from journalistic literary outlets and logs their reviews as a Rave, Positive, Mixed, or Pan, along with with sharing representative quotes from the review.  

 

2. Get a book recommendation

There’s little better than a friend or family member, who knows your reading taste, when it comes to discovering a book that’s as delightful as it is surprising. When you’re lucky enough to get such a recommendation, take it – and try to dish one out later to even the score.

Avid readers can’t sit around waiting for titles to fall out of the sky, though, which is one reason why the ratings and reviews sections of the Bookclubs community have become such a valuable resource.

But if you’re ready to read a book, and want to skip reading the book reviews, we’ve got a powerful tool just for you. Bookclubs members who have rated their previous reads can get personalized recommendations, based on favorites of other users who gave similar ratings to the books you listed. You can also up or down-vote the recommendations to hone the accuracy of the feature.

 

3. Look out for lists

Check the latest bestseller lists to see what books are popular and trending. Just because they’re popular doesn’t promise that they’ll be your favorite, but you’ll be more likely to engage fellow readers in conversation about a title you’ve both experienced.

Many book-centric publications, websites, and organizations will curate their own lists of the best books of the year, based on their own metrics. If you find an organization or publication that speaks to your personal interests, odds are good that you’ll appreciate their favorite books, too.

Here’s a trick that restaurant critics use: they order the item that they find least appealing. Sometimes they walk away with a new favorite. If you are looking at a list, and one title seems out of place, maybe that’s the one you should definitely read – the chef wouldn’t have put it on the menu if it wasn’t good, right?

Need a place to look for lists? Bookclubs has lists of lists! There’s Bookclubs’ most popular books of the moment, and of all time.  And our blog has an ever-growing catalog of book lists! 

Here’s just a few examples:

• The Best Debut Books to Read in 2024
• The Stars are Aligned: 2024 Book Recommendations For Your Zodiac Sign
• Native American & Indigenous Authors You Should Be Reading Right Now
• The Most Anticipated Book Club Books of 2024

 

4. Step outside of your lane – before it becomes a rut

Once you know who you are as a reader, you can better pick a book you’re likely to love. There’s a risk in always feeding yourself the same flavors, though. It can be fun, and refreshing, to break out of your comfort zone to try a new genre, a new author, or a book on a topic that’s completely foreign to you.

A great way to push yourself into new territory is to set reading goals. Following these goals can focus your reading in new directions. You might set a goal to read books across a certain range of genres within the next 12 months, for example, or to read 6 books from new authors.

Or mix it up and attend a book-centric event. Many bookstores and libraries host book events and author talks, where authors discuss their work, and you can mingle with other readers – maybe they’ll tell you about their new favorite.

Taking a chance sometimes pays off in a big way, with a rewarding and rich experience, that exposes you to new perspectives, ideas and authors, that you wouldn’t have if you had stuck to your usual patterns.  Ready to try something completely different? Great Indie Reads highlights books that are self-published, hybrid published, or published by smaller publishers, and don’t enjoy the kind of promotion that big publishing houses can provide. Yet, many of them are just as compelling.

 

5. Join a book club

One of the most reliable ways to encounter new books is by joining a book club. You’ll find yourself reading something you wouldn’t have picked out for yourself – but might just love. Whether you do or don’t, either way you’ll get the chance to tell your fellow club members all about it.

Bookclubs’ platform makes it easy to find a book club to join, or to start your own book club. Clubs can meet in-person, or virtually, and in the same way that Bookclubs virtual shelving helps organize an individual reader’s book history and read-next list, clubs can also make use of this convenient and hassle-free organization tool. We take the work out of book club, giving you the book club organizing tools you’ll need to schedule meetings, facilitate discussions, and even choose what to read next by letting your members vote on the titles on your club’s virtual shelf. You can grow your club by opening it up to the public, sharing your love of books with more people than you might have thought possible.

 

Looking for your next book club book?

Our name may give away how much we love book clubs. And we’re experts on how to choose the best book for your club. Here are our ultimate guides to picking your club’s next favorite read:

• We share how book clubs pick their books!
• Top questions for picking your next great book club read

If you've ever tried to manage a book club, you will be just as excited as we are about our interactive book club polls. Gone are the endless email chains used to try and sort out your next meeting time and location, or what book the club should pick next. All of that is now handled with a simple poll: post the question, and see which option gets the most votes. It’s a book club leader’s dream.  Create a club today for free and check it out!

 

When one book is closed, another is opened

Finishing a book, and wondering what you should read next, can feel like a moment of opportunity. There are many ways to approach it, whether it’s scouring reviews, soliciting recommendations, checking lists, stepping out of your comfort zone, or joining a book club. Whatever strategy you choose, be sure to share your thoughts on your next read with the rest of the Bookclubs community.

Don’t waste the opportunity by rushing, or for settling on a book that doesn’t excite you. Be patient, do a little research, and you can find the perfect book for the next step in your reading adventure. Who knows where it will take you!