A few weeks ago, I made one of those Instagram Stories questions where I encouraged people to send me questions related to reading, book clubs, etc. One of the questions I received from my friend Allison was such a great one, but it would have required way more 15-second videos than anyone has time for. Instead, I told her I’d turn her question into a blog post!
Her question was this:
To be completely honest, I started writing about my own selection process but it was getting too complicated. I have a seriously intricate process when it comes to choosing what I’m going to read next. I have at least seven different TBR lists that I refer to when I’m making my monthly reading list, and it’s very hard to explain how I go about choosing what I’m going to read. But it’s a system that works for me! It’s probably not a system that will work for most people, though.
So, instead of discussing my exact process for selecting books, I thought I could give some tips on how you can figure out your own system for choosing what you are going to read. I think it will be much more helpful in the long run. Let’s get started!
Keep a running list of the books you want to read.
And I don’t mean marking every book you see as “want to read” on Goodreads. I mean making a thoughtful list of the books you really want to read. The ones that have come highly recommended from your most trusted sources or the ones that make you feel something in your gut when you read their synopses. This list should be curated with consideration, and only the books that you really want to read should be put on it.
I have a list that I call my “immediate TBR.” Before making this list, I just marked everything that sounded interesting as “want to read” on Goodreads and suddenly, I had a list of 900+ books! I grew concerned that the books I really, really wanted to read would get lost in the shuffle, so I set about making this list. I keep it in the Notes app on my phone. I only add a book to the list if it’s one I could see myself buying because I’m that interested in reading it. (Your reasoning may be different, of course, especially if you’re not much of a book buyer.)
Once you’ve curated your reading list (remember – be strict about what you add to this list! Only the best of the best can make the cut!), you can use this to choose your next book. Go from top to bottom, use a random number generator to select what book you’re going to read next from the list… whatever works and gets you excited about reading!
Here’s what my “immediate TBR” list looks like right now:
Make a monthly reading list.
I live by my monthly reading list, as I am a person who loves structure. I am not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants reader, not by a long shot. So, towards the end of every month, I sit down and compile a list of 5-6 books that I want to read next month. Typically, it entails:
- Two books from my “immediate TBR” list (I just choose the next two books in line)
- Book club books (I belong to a local book club and my work book club)
- Books from my Goodreads “want to read” list (I alternate between a nonfiction book, a fiction book, and a book from an author’s backlist*)
Once I’ve compiled my monthly reading list, I’ll open up my library’s website to request those books so they’ll be ready and waiting for me to start reading when the new month begins.
I really, really love my monthly reading list and the way it keeps me focused on what I’m reading next. I know exactly what I’ll be reading once I finish my current book, and there’s no scrambling to find a book on Overdrive or feeling lost about what I should read next.
Obviously, there are some cons to being so structured with my reading list, especially when I start a book that I’m just not in the mood for. This rarely happens for me because I’m pretty good at curating my reading list to my moods. For example, when I moved apartments, I knew I needed to keep my reading list full of easy, light-hearted books. No nonfiction, no WWII stories, nothing heavy. I also make sure to keep a good balance between light reads and heavy reads. If one of the books on my reading list is a long, heavy read, everything else is brain candy. This is when it is so helpful to understand your reading style. Some people can handle multiple heavy books in a row and some can’t.
Anyway, I highly recommend making a monthly reading list, especially if you’re someone who struggles with decision fatigue and has a hard time knowing what to pick up next after finishing a book. And I think the reading list is even helpful if you’re not reading at the crazy pace I do – even if you’re a 1-2 books per month type of reader, making a list of what you’re going to read that month can be helpful for your reading life and make sure you don’t feel lost in your Goodreads “want to read” list after finishing a book.
*Author’s backlist = I love reading through an author’s entire book list so a few years ago, I made a goal of reading through some of them. I’ve gone through Jennifer Weiner and Emily Giffin’s lists, and I’m currently working on Colleen Hoover and Louise Penny.
Make a reading syllabus.
This is a fun idea that I’ve been hearing about, and it could be the perfect way to get more out of your reading life. Have a topic you’re interested in? Maybe dating or parenting or race relations or women-led thrillers. If so, make a syllabus that has a list of books about that topic with dates of when you want to read certain books. I can only imagine how fun it might be to research all the different books you can find on different topics, both fiction and nonfiction alike!
Let’s say you want to read more about race relations. You could add Michael Eric Dyson’s Tears We Cannot Stop, Angie Thomas’s The Hate You Give, Ta-Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me, and Nic Stone’s Dear Martin. And maybe you give yourself a task of reading two of these books per month – wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, you have an easy-to-reference reading list that will not only lessen your book selection fatigue but also get you closer to your goal of understanding the topic on your mind more clearly.
Plus, since you’ll be reading books on a topic that you are interested in, you’ll be more excited about reading because your reading life will have a purpose. You’re not just reading whatever is #1 on the New York Times best-seller list, but books that mean something to you. And that’s what reading is all about, in my opinion.
Become a serial abandoner.
Okay, so this isn’t really a tip on how to choose what you want to read next, but I still want to include it because this may be the #1 hill I’m willing to die on: abandon, abandon, abandon. There is no reason to keep reading a book that isn’t holding your interest. Reading is supposed to be fun, informative, and engaging. If you’re reading a book, but slogging through it slowly because you can only read a few pages before you get bored, abandon it. If you’re reading a book that everyone else seems to love but the main character annoys the ever-living fuck out of you, abandon it. If you’re reading a book and it’s triggering you, abandon it. There is no shame in abandoning a book. I feel like a lot of people who don’t find enjoyment from reading just aren’t reading the right things. Don’t follow the best-seller list – follow your own heart.
Heck, there have been times in my life when the only books I read were romance novels. It’s what made me happy, so it’s what I read. No shame!
The general rule of thumb is to subtract your age from 100, and that’s how many pages you should give a book. For me, since I’m 30, that’s 70 pages. So, I try to give every book 70 full pages to grab my attention, but if I’m at page 70, and I really don’t care what happens to the characters, I know it’s a sign to give it up.
And with that – I think I have written enough words about this topic. I mean, I could probably write another 1,500 words, but at that point, I might as well turn this into a novella. 😉 I really hope this helps anyone who struggles with choosing books to read! I truly believe anyone can have a fulfilling reading life, no matter if you read a few books a year or 100, but sometimes, it takes a little work and experimenting to find what works for you.
How do you choose what books to read?
Making a monthly list of books to read is really helpful for me as it helps me plan out my month. I use Goodreads to track what I want to read, but then if I really want to read a book, I request it from the library and then immediately pause the request (unless I want to read it ASAP). That way I will still move up the queue but I can control when the book becomes available. There is a limit on the # of holds you can place at the library so this keeps me my ‘TBR’ list manageable. My goodreads list is also really long but I will occasionally go through it and delete a bunch of titles that don’t appeal to me anymore or that other friends with similar tastes haven’t liked. I also have a number of unread books that I own so I always have something on hand if I finish a book and don’t have another waiting for me at the library. If I’ve ever not sure about what to read next, I will sort my TBR list in goodreads by the average rating and then I go through that list and see if the eBook is available from the library for immediate download.
I totally agree about abandoning books. This is still something I’m working on and sometimes I stick with a book because it’s been raved about so I keep reading thinking that it will get better. And then it doesn’t. I try really hard not to abandon bookclub books. And I also have a really hard time abandoning books that I have bought but I buy so few these days that I don’t run into that problem much!
Same – I really try not to abandon book club books because the whole point of a book club is to read outside your comfort zone! So, I’ll usually finish books that I would probably abandon if it’s for book club.
I really can’t utilize the suspension feature at my library because most books are readily available! It’s very, very rare for me to get on a holds list for a book. (However, I will usually have to wait for an e-book, but I just don’t see the point in waiting for an e-book when I can get the physical copy right away!)
Thank you thank you thank you! This is so helpful and I LOVE the idea about a reading syllabus. That is so cool. I suppose the real question for me is how do I know if a book is going to be good or not, and I suppose I need to cultivate a stronger sense of what I like to read and also who has similar tastes that I can refer to.
I’m so glad it was helpful! 🙂 I think the only way to start to understand your own reading tastes is to just start reading books in all different genres, and to not be afraid to abandon something that isn’t working for you. Reading should be enjoyable, so when it feels more like a chore, that’s when you know the book isn’t the right one for you.
My current MO is to see if the books you loved are available now, and to keep my holds list at the library up to date with a variety of wait times so hopefully not everything comes in at the same time. I have a number of friends whose recommendations on books I take as gospel so I’ll always add their favorites to my list. I always have an audiobook and an ebook (or paper book) going at the same time and I try to evaluate how I’m feeling about reading a certain book before I start so hopefully I’m in the right frame of mind to enjoy it. This doesn’t always work; for instance, I have Circe and I really want to read it (and to get back on the wait list would make me have to wait another 6 months for it) but I just don’t feel like I’m in the right frame of mind to get into it. I’ve been trying to keep the meatier books on audio because my brain has been processing those easier.
Oh, that makes me so happy that you take my reviews so seriously! I try to be very honest, especially about my romances because I expect good writing, good plotting, and good character development from them no matter what.
Do you have Circe as an e-book or paper book? I just looked at the Pinellas library system and there’s no wait for the paper book! But I’m not sure about Hillsborough. Pinellas has a terrible Overdrive when it comes to availability, but I usually never have to wait for a physical book, even the most popular ones. It’s crazy, but also makes me wonder if anyone in this county even uses the library! AHHH.
Wow, you put a lot of effort into your reading lists and planning what to read next.
My approach right now is pretty simple: I bookmark books that I am interested in or that I’ve gathered from others’ book reviews in Goodreads and then I put them on my wishlist in Overdrive. I request up to 5 books at the library and then just read whatever comes available.
I guess I could be a bit more organized in what I read, but since I am solely relying on the library right now, I go with whatever I can borrow next.
That’s a great system, too! If it works for you, that’s all that matters! I’m pretty nuts with all my different lists and I imagine there’s an easier way to do it, but it works for now.