How do you find good books to read?
Probably you do as I do–listen to recommendations from friends. Many have similar tastes, which is great. But many have different interests. And I try to listen to them too because that expands my range.
I recently listened to How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key. That didn’t sound like a book I’d generally put high on my list, but a friend said it was funny, insightful, and a crazy honest memoir. But mostly it was funny. And she was right!
My grandson was reading Artemis Fowl and I asked what he thought. He was enthusiastic. I also found the book to be fun and creative, a wild and entertaining ride.
Like you, when I enjoy a book, I read other things the author has written. Friends put me on to Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. After the first, I was delighted to keep moving though all the rest.
Goodreads is another way to find out what friends are reading and enjoying. When I see several people giving the same book a high rating, I make note. This (along with the neighborhood book club I am part of) is especially helpful for reading a diversity of author’s and genres.
Finally, I pay attention to books that are referenced in more than one book I’ve read. The one that has risen to the top in recent years is A Secular Age by Charles Taylor. The book came out in 2007, and I have read a half dozen different books which make major use of Taylor’s framework and ideas. I confess that I have delayed diving into it because it is almost 900 pages and probably not the easiest read. But I think the time has come.
I am aiming to read it this year. I’ll report back and let you know how it goes.
I read Dryer’s English on your recommendation. I am very glad I did so. I am a substitute teacher and often find myself reading books that students were reading in class, or that I was reading along to them. I am now currently reading 3 books: 1 is because someone recommended another book by the same author (Amor Towles) in a blog post, and now I am hungry to read all his works. The 2nd book is 1984 which, I read the first chapters to some H.S. students I was subbing for a few years back, and wasr ecently referenced in a book or blog I was reading (was it yours?). The third book is Fellowship of the Ring, which was one of the first books my son read after I taught him to read while homeschooling him.
Brilliant! These are all such great books. I was stunned by A Gentleman in Moscow. Such an amazing book. I’ve read all of Towles’s others as well. Quality stuff. And 1984 is so timeless! Good and scary both.