How to Find Great New Books
Hundreds of thousands of books are published every year. For an avid reader, the number of selections available is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because the number of choices help a reader find something he might like; bad because the various options make it difficult for an individual to find something that appeals to his interests.
If you’re taking online college classes, you often are forced to read information you may not be interested in, making finding a book to read for pleasure all the more important. From digging through bargain bins to reading reviews, some ways make finding a book easy.
Try it
Tablet computers make it possible for users to purchase digital copies of books. Amazon and Apple’s digital bookstores make selecting a book easier. Each store allows users a sample of a book before buying it. Reading a chapter or two gives you some insight as to the type of book you’re about to purchase. If you don’t like the small excerpt, you don’t end up wasting your money.
Okay, may be you don’t own a tablet or fancy e-reader. You can always venture to your local library or bookstore and randomly pick books off the shelves and read the summaries. Reading summaries can be time consuming, but if the quick paraphrasing of the book captures your attention, read a few chapters to see if you do enjoy the story. Picking books at random is a crapshoot, but the process does help you find a prized gem every now and again.
Read the Reviews
Reviews can be biased, but these small tidbits of information can make the selection process much easier. Read reviews objectively. Scan through the reviews and then visit a local library or bookstore to read a few chapters. Use reviews as a guide. A guide to point you to books that are garnering attention and then reading them for yourself to see if you agree with the reviewer.
Since some reviews are paid by the publisher, some writers tend to lend favoritism. Other times, the reviews come in from the actual readers, making the information more objective. Apple and Amazon’s bookstores allow for user-oriented reviews, offering a more reliable source of information.
Scan through Blogs
Bloggers offer a user-oriented review. While blogs can post several fun books for individuals to read, most are selected due to the blogger’s personal interests. If you and the blogger share interests, great, you can trust his opinions. If you tend to be a bit weary of someone else’s opinion, you might be wise to pick up the book yourself and read a few chapters before committing to a purchase.
Blogs, reviews and even reading the book can make great methods for finding a hidden gem. Sure, recommendations from friends also work, but you and a buddy may have different interests. Try objective reviews, but try to remain objective when selecting a book by just reading the reviews. Test a book out to see if the reviews are honest.
If literature and writing interest you, you might have a future as a book reviewer. For more information on literature course, writing or colleges, visit accredited-online-colleges.org.
Sources
Whichbook
The Telegraph