Every year I set New Year’s resolutions. And every year I usually only stick to one. This year I actually completed two of my resolutions: I ran the Chicago Marathon and I read 115 books. Not to brag, but I actually read 121 books.
Every time I tell people how many books I read they always say to me, “I could never read that much!” And every time I roll my eyes and say, “Yes, you can.” I did a blog post last year recapping the books I read in 2014 that I liked so I won’t repeat my advice on finding time to read, but you can read it yourself if you’re in the mood for unsolicited advice.
But I do think people should read more. I don’t really give a crap what you read (God knows I read enough trash), but you should read more. Here are ways to find some good books to read:
- Join Goodreads. The site will recommend books for you based on ratings you give to books you already read. Or you can just browse genre sections and see what’s new or popular. Plus, it has a very active community, so there are always a bunch of reviews and ratings.
- Follow a book blog. Find a genre you like and research the blogs. It’s crazy how many extremely active book blogs there are.
- The NPR book concierge is a fantastic interactive tool to help you narrow down to a book that’s just right for you.
- What Should I Read Next? It’s a pretty simple website where you can just type in an author’s name or a book title and a whole list will populate.
- Go to an actual brick and mortar bookstore. I’m completely guilty of not doing this enough. I order almost all my books online or get them on my Nook. Even if you don’t want to ask the staff what they would recommend, I say just browse the shelves, take a peek at something that looks good, judge a book by its cover. I once had a date at a bookstore, and it was a blast, so there’s that option if you are dating a reader.
Now onto the list, shall we? Read more