Group Collaboration | How Do You Choose Your Next Read?

Group Collaboration | How Do You Choose Your Next Read?

• Saturday 22 April 2017

It's group post time again and this month we're talking ideas on how to select your next read. The responses we received share favourite ways to choose what to read next, along with those that haven't worked out quite so well.

We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the suggestions below and of course your favourite way/s to choose your next read!


ARCs & Blogging

Of all the responses we received to this month's prompt one of the most popular answers was that ARCs take priority when choosing what to read next. As many of our readers are fellow bloggers we completely understand choosing ARCs over any other reads in order to stick to a blogging schedules.

"If I have an ARC that I've been sent, I'll read those first, in order of receiving them."

"Review copies always come first, and then books I've been dying to read that I own."

"I normally read according to my book blogging schedule actually! The free slots I have I just pick up books from my bought pile."

Library Loans

Another popular response was that library loans were a priority due to the time constraints and those pesky late fines! 

"Next in line is always whichever library book is due next. Because late fines. Eek." 

"[After ARCs] it'll be any books I have out from the library (because we don't want to add to the already-growing late fines!), and then books that have been sitting unread on my shelf for too long."

Follow Your Mood

It seems that a lot of bibliophiles find that the types of books they pick up change along with their mood or other factors like the time of year but if you have lots of unread books sitting on your shelf it can still be tricky to choose. If you manage to narrow it down by mood but you're still stuck between a few different choices why not try out the first chapter of each and opt for the one that interests you most.

"I often find it's best to look at my bookshelves or scroll through my Kindle for inspiration and pick up whichever title appeals most at the time."

TBR Jars

Another popular idea is the 'TBR jar' where you write out the names of the books on your shelves, fold them up and put them in a pretty jar to be picked out at random when you can't decide what to read next. Unfortunately, whilst this sounds like a brilliant idea it does have it's flaws as a couple of our readers highlighted. If you're more of a mood reader a good tip to try is to colour coding the pieces of paper you add to the jar, selecting a different one for each genre or even length of book.

"I tried doing a TBR jar a few years ago, as I loved the idea, but it never really worked because there was always a book I really wanted to read next."  

"I tried a TBR jar once. It didn't last long, because I was never in the mood to read what I pulled out."

If You Liked That...

Another great way to choose your next read is to look for recommendations based on other books you've adored. Websites like Goodreads and Amazon have handy sections suggesting similar reads and bookstores usually have a recommended section but we really love What Should I Read Next? for finding new favourite books.

"I often look at books which have been recommended by friends, or in book stores or online. 'If you liked ... you'll like ...' invariably I do like!"

Take A Chance

If you really can't make up your mind why not leave it to chance? We loved this suggestion of numbering the books and asking someone else to pick at random, or using a dice to decide!

"If I can't figure out what kind of book I'm in the mood for, I give myself 5 or 6 options and then tell my husband to pick a number between 1 and 6. If he's not around, I roll a 6 sided die."

Image via unsplash.com
Thanks to Rachel, Anjali, Lili and all of this month's anonymous contributors.


If you'd like to get involved in our next group post drop and email to bloggersbookshelf@gmail.com or keep an eye out on our Twitter page (@blog_bookshelf) for updates!