I wasn’t sure how to name this post so it makes sense, but I’ll explain more here.
I say I’m a kinda new reader because, technically, I have read, it’s just that most were stuff I hated and was forced to in school. The books I’ve read for fun have mostly been as a kid, because afterwards I got turned away by the obligativity of reading what are considered classics in my country.
However, since late last year, I’ve slowly been getting back into reading. For fun this time. I might get criticized for this, but the few I read since then, I downloaded off of the internet. But now I’d like to actually buy them.
With that being said, however, how do you all decide what books to buy? Given that I’m new to (getting back into) reading, I don’t exactly have favorite authors that I could make an educated guess that I’ll enjoy. Buying a book is a gamble, cause the summary could sound interesting, but the story itself could still be bad. This hasn’t been an issue so far, because there’s no risk of not enjoying a book if I pirated it. All I would lose would be the time spent on reading however much before I drop it.
I feel like I will end up spending a lot of time pondering about whether I really want X book and reading or watching spoiler-free reviews. How do you decide what to buy? And how often do you end up not finishing a book you’ve bought?
(An extra question that’s of less importance right now, so feel free to not answer to this next one, unless you want to, but paperback or hardcover? What I’m hearing is paperback being more portable, cheaper and comfortable, while hardcover looks way better. Most of the time I’d be reading at home anyway, so portability doesn’t matter as much for me. But I would very much like it to be comfortable to hold and all and look great on shelves, so I’m undecided, heh).
I’ve read over 50 books since the start of the year. I only buy a book after I’ve read it 2-3 times. How? Sign up at your local library! (And keep signing up wherever you can get proof of residence; I’ve managed to collect 4 library cards.) And then find whatever system they have for borrowing e-books (mine work well with Libby). I’ve found that I almost never lack for books. A kindle or e-reader could be a good investment to limit screen time; you can download library e books onto them auite often.
Browsing the physical library is more fun than browsing online for books. Just pick the covers you like, check if the summary sounds fun, and give it a shot. Never feel guilty if you don’t read a book you checked out or put a hold on. Sometimes it just doesn’t sound as good two days later.
Best thing for me about libraries is librarians. They curate displays which change , put recommended books up, and more. So browsing library is way more interesting than a mainstream bookstore, let alone an online bookstore. Trouble is I often walk away with too many books.
I don’t know much about Kindles, to be honest, so I’m operating under lack of knowledge here, but isn’t that technically a tablet of sorts? Or is it less damaging as a screen than a regular tablet?
I’m asking because part of the reason I’d want physical books is because I spend a lot of time in front of screens because I can’t watch anime or play games without a screen. But books can be read without one, so I would like to not do it on my tablet anymore, as I’m currently doing
I’ll look into the library in my city, though.
They are technically tablets, but you can get ones that use e-ink, and that’s basically like looking at a regular piece of paper. I have one that is backlit, but you can also turn the light off. Plus, those versions of the readers are usually cheaper than the ones that work like regular tablets. I didn’t think I would love it as much as I do, but it’s actually been great, so I’d say it’s worth looking into.
Lots of good advice here, I’ll add one that I haven’t seen ;
I go to a good book shop and say I’m into polars, so I just go to the polar section and take books that I feel might be interesting, there is a lot of information just by looking of the outside of a book (large book with gold title vs thin dense monichromatic…), then I open it some 10-20 pages in (the first page is often extra handcrafted to draw you in and might just be a cheap trick, or not of course) and read half a page. Usually the style just puts you off or makes you want more right away.
Another is just ask for recommendations, I bet we can find you a couple of good ones if you are interested :-)
Even in bad (large chain) bookstores they often hire nerds. I always ask what’s good and 60% of the time there’s an excited response from a first year lit student. It’s how I read Grass by SS Tepper; very happy for that recommendation. But most of the time I read the first page, random page, and know it’s not for me.
Another is just ask for recommendations, I bet we can find you a couple of good ones if you are interested :-)
You mean asking here? Sure, I’d be down if that’s the case.
I’m not gonna talk about what books I enjoyed as a kid, cause I don’t remember all of them, nor why I enjoyed them. It’s been years. Besides, my tastes have changed, I’m sure. So I’ll only mention what I’ve read since late 2023, when I started to get back into it.
The ones I’ve completed are:
-
“This Is How You Lose the Time War” by Max Gladstone andAmal El-Mohtar. Was good, maybe a bit confusing at times. I tend to like time travel stories in anime or TV shows, which is why I started this one. I gave it a 3 star rating, although I’m not sure how people interpret each star since I’m new, so it’s entirely possible that a 3 star for me is better or worse than something you’d also give 3 stars.
-
“We Are Okay” by Nina LaCour. It’s currently sitting at a 4 star for me, but it’s more like a 3.75, but the site I’m using only has full and half stars, so I can’t go in between 3.5 and 4.
-
“The Cat Who Saved Books” by Sosuke Natsukawa. This had a bit more on an anime-vibe to it, which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned, as a big anime fan. Or maybe it just felt like it did because the characters’ names were in Japanese and the story took place in Japan, since Sosuke Natsukawa is Japanese himself. 3.5 from me.
-
“Warm Up” by V.E. Schwab. This is part of a series, it’s a short prologue of sorts (less than 20 pages, from what I recall) and I’m theoretically reading the first book of the main series, but I haven’t read that in a while. I’ll probably get back to it some time soon, but it didn’t grab me as well as the three books above did. As for Warm Up specifically, I haven’t rated it, what with it being so short. I didn’t know how to accurately judge something with so few pages.
-
“The Last Murder at the End of the World” by Stuart Turton. My absolute favorite so far (although there’s not that many in total to begin with). I loved it so much! 5 stars. Ironically took me the longest to read out of these, but it was because I wasn’t always in a reading mood, not for any other reason. I already intend on reading “The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” sometime soon, cause it’s by the same author.
The one I dropped is:
- “Hurricane Heels” by Isabel Yap. There were some magical girl anime that I really liked, which is how I ended up picking this book, as I searched for magical-girl-like books. I didn’t end up liking it too much tbh, so I never finished it. Only read 12%, to be fair.
Currently reading:
I think I may have made a mistake by starting too many books, haha. I have these as “reading”:
-
“Coraline” by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman has written some stories in Doctor Who, which is how I came to know about him. 24% so far, but haven’t read it in a while.
-
“Vicious” by V.E Schwab. The first real book in the series I mentioned above when talking about “Warm Up”.
-
“Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell. This I’ve read more of recently. Yesterday, actually. 21%.
-
“Pew” by Catherine Lacey. Also read more recently, as opposed to Coraline and Vicious. Two days ago was when I last read from this. 31%.
Anime, Cartoons and TV Shows:
As for my tastes in non-book fiction, I’ll mention some of my favorites here, in case you (or someone else finding this) knows about them. There’s not a lot of books I’ve read all the way through yet, so some non-book favorites could be helpful in recommending me books, I feel.
Some of my favorite anime in no particular order: Non Non Biyori, Steins;Gate, Vinland Saga, Bocchi the Rock.
Some of my favorite TV shows in no particular order: Doctor Who, 12 Monkeys (for the latter, I’m specifically referring to the TV show. I haven’t seen the movie that its premise is loosely based off of, because they’re not really related beside a common base concept). Just these 2 really, I mainly watch anime.
Some of my favorite cartoons: Gravity Falls, Avatar: The Last Airbender.
I consider physical books to be merch, so I buy them when I already like the story, or want to support the author specifically. Otherwise, when I want to try a new book, I go to the library
See if your local library occasionally runs a booksale. I get most of my books that way. Their prices are competitive with thrift stores, usually about $1 paperback and $2 hardcover. But because it’s run by friends of the library, tends to be higher quality and better organized. At those prices, I can afford to be disappointed, and sometimes get pleasantly surprised.
I’m not sure how helpful this will be, but generally speaking, I tend to only buy books that I’ve already read and enjoyed enough to want a copy of my own, with exceptions being sequels and authors I know I like. (I also usually buy used, when I do.) Depending where you are, you probably have a few (legal) ways to do it this way, too.
If you want to read something specific:
- Libraries. If you’re interested in a new release or very popular work, you might have to wait a while for your turn, but otherwise, it should be relatively easy to get a lot of things, either in person, through library apps, or through interlibrary loans.
- Kindle Unlimited. I don’t personally have experience with this one, as I’m not a big Amazon fan, but seems like a good way to stretch your book allowance/limit regret at picking a dud.
If you just want to try a variety of things, risk-free, to see what you might like:
- Little free libraries. Heavily dependent on whatever others donate, but if you’re lucky enough to have one near you, you might find something worth trying.
- Public domain. Obviously, limited to very old stuff, but maybe you’ll find something interesting.
- Assuming you’re reading fiction, some publishers, fiction magazines, and authors offer free things (full e-books, excerpts, short fiction, etc) on their sites. Short stories can be a great way to get a feel for many authors quickly.
–
As to your other question: I find paperbacks way more comfortable to hold one-handed; no need to choose between eating and reading! They’re also usually smaller and lighter than hardcovers, so you can 1) fit more in less space, and 2) carry more at once when you move or rearrange.
