I went out to lunch with a friend today for what turned out to be almost a comedy of errors. The first restaurant we had chosen was closed. So, we looked at our second choice, only to discover it was surrounded by blocked off streets courtesy of a local parade. We proceeded to work our way through three more restaurants before finding one that was open. Clearly, we needed to have paid a bit more attention to what was going on in town that day.
As we sat down to eat, our conversation turned to favorite restaurants we’d found in the past and my friend asked me how I discovered new places. Thinking about it, I realized I use several methods ranging from friends recommendations to travel site information to driving by and seeing a place that looks interesting.
That lead me to thinking about how I choose new books to read and realizing the method is similar. I have a few friends whose taste in books are similar to my own, so I always listen to their suggestions. Beyond that, I sites that are dedicated to books such as Goodreads, and other sites where I can find reader reviews such as publisher’s pages, Google, etc. Sometimes I even select a book by it’s cover, although I prefer to get a little more information if possible.
About a year ago, I stumbled on a third type o information, the Publishers Lunch publication called Buzz Books. From my limited experience, these seem to be published twice a year and highlight upcoming novels and non-fiction books that are due to be published in the next two seasons. For example, the one I just got is Buzz Books 2020: Spring/Summer . I immediately downloaded it and started to read. Well, here, you can read the results of my exploration in the review below.
It isn’t often I sign up to read something that isn’t a full length novel. This is one of the notable exceptions. I discovered a BookBuzz review of upcoming books a year ago and after reading it was determined to watch for them on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I missed the next one, so as soon as I saw this one on NetGalley I downloaded it, put aside what I was reading, and starting reading. It’s a great way to discover new to me authors as well as give me an opportunity to read through some excerpts to help determine if there are books I would like to watch for in the coming season.
After reading through this selection, I wound up automatically asking for two books, then going back to request a third. One of the interesting things for me was in discovering which samples struck a chord with me and which ones kept reverberating in my head once I had finished them. It’s always interesting to me to discover books, or portions of them, that keep calling my mind back to the story, making me wonder what will happen next or how this one might end.
If you are looking to explore new books for yourself or if you are in the business of selecting books to add to a library or bookstore, etc. this might be an effective tool for you. The book itself is divided into some large categories which make it easier to move to particular types of books which may be of interest to you. The categories are widely diverse and range from Young Adult Fiction to Debut Authors.
If you are wanting to explore new opportunities in reading, this is an excellent place to start. My thanks to Publishers Lunch and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital read copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
If you are looking for a way to explore new books and see what interests you, then I highly recommend this method. You can’t beat being able to try out an excerpt before deciding to invest the time and money in a book. If you are looking for new restaurant recommendations, then send me a note. I may or may not be able to help you. Or, if you are looking for a new auto mechanic, you could do what I did years ago, look it up in the yellow pages. I suppose now that would be on the Internet. That’s not always a good method, but it worked for me as I’ve had the same SAAB mechanic now for over twenty years; but that’s a story for another blog. For now, I’ll simply wish you Happy Reading!
