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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nI\u2019ve concluded that the books I pick can be categorized into the following buckets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Author<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Genre\/Topic<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Amazon recommendations<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Podcasts<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Recommendations<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Facebook poll<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Author<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
There are certain authors that if they write something, I will read it. Authors that come to mind for me are Francine Rivers, Nicholas Sparks, Connilyn Cossette, Dr. Meg Meeker and Kristin Hannah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having a list of favorite authors makes picking a book easy because I already know I\u2019ll enjoy their storytelling style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2.<\/strong> Genres and Topics I Love<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a little trickier, because you still have to figure out which books in a genre are worth your time. It helps to narrow that down your interests to specific topics and themes. Some of my favorite genres are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Historical fiction and nonfiction<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Slave narratives and slave escapes in 1800s America <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- World War 2 (holocaust experiences and survivors, life during the war, resistance stories<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- the founding of America<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
When I see a book in these categories, it\u2019s almost guaranteed to land on my TBR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. <\/strong> Amazon Book Recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amazon\u2019s \u201cCustomers Also Bought\u201d and \u201cSimilar Items\u201d sections are gold mines for discovering new reads. The suggestions often include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Books by the same author<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Titles in a similar genre or time period<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Contemporary fiction and nonfiction with similar themes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This method has a high success rate for me\u2014more often than not, I end up enjoying the recommended book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Podcasts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have about 10 podcasts in my feed, and none of them focus on books. But they all recommend books fairly often. One of the podcasts I listen to often is the Focus on the Family podcast<\/a>, which focuses on Faith, Family, Marriage, Kids, Finances, Spiritual Growth, etc. If the podcast is interesting to me and I want more content, I\u2019ll usually add the guest\u2019s book to my TBR list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another podcast I\u2019ve had good luck with getting book ideas is the Coffee and Crumbs podcast<\/a>. This podcast covers all topics related to Mothering. Most of the podcasts are topic-based, sometimes with a guest expert, but usually it\u2019s just the hosts having a chat between girlfriends. They have a reoccurring topic of \u201cWhat We\u2019re Reading\u201d where the hosts chat about the latest books they\u2019ve read and what\u2019s on their TBR list. I like that they give a synopsis of the books they talk about, so I can try to determine if something appeals to me or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some favorite episodes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Coffee and Crumbs podcast, season 7 book episode<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Coffee and Crumbs podcast, season 8 book episode<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Coffee and Crumbs podcast, season 9 book episode<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
5. Trusted Recommendations from Family and Friends<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not all recommendations hit the mark, but when you find someone with similar reading tastes, it\u2019s priceless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- My son\u2019s first (and spot-on) rec to me: Esperanza Rising<\/em> \u2013 Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- My mom\u2019s latest great pick: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek<\/em> \u2013 Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
6. Facebook Poll<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Occasionally I like to post to my personal Facebook page and ask for book recommendations from friends. I\u2019ve gotten some really good book suggestions that way, and it\u2019s also fun to see what others are reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether it\u2019s a trusted author, a favorite genre, or a great tip from a friend, having a system for choosing your next read helps make a dent in your TBR pile\u2026 even if it\u2019s just a tiny dent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What or who has the biggest influence on what you choose to read next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve seen countless memes about people joking that their TBR (To Be Read) pile will extend past their lifetime. I feel like my biggest reading struggle is that there are just so many books I want to read and not enough time to read them all. Can I get an amen? \ud83d\ude0a But how do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,7],"tags":[57,55,56,59,58],"class_list":["post-92","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookstack","category-to-be-read","tag-bookrecommendations","tag-coffeeandcrumbs","tag-focusonthefamily","tag-howtopickabook","tag-tbrstack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":494,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions\/494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- My mom\u2019s latest great pick: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek<\/em> \u2013 Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Coffee and Crumbs podcast, season 8 book episode<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Coffee and Crumbs podcast, season 7 book episode<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Author<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n