How Do You Choose What to Read Next?

Posted on by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

If there’s one thing we all have in common as bookworms, it’s the dreaded and insanely huge to-be-read (TBR) mountain.

As if it wasn’t already an inevitable and impossibly tall, it also takes many forms.

Think about it. You’ve got your physical TBR (tip of the iceberg) that continuously stares you down on a daily basis, and then you’ve got the virtual TBR (the hidden bottom of the iceberg) that grows exponentially.

But the worse part of it all is to decide which book to read next. That’s where I thought I’d share some ways that I’ve employed and some I’ve heard others do!

loveatfirstsight

This is when you are wonderstruck by the cover of a book that anything else simply becomes irrelevant. The choice is simple. The choice is made.

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amnesicconsumerism

Every had so many books to choose from that the best solution was as simple as to get a new one to be read next? Nothing like an immediate purchase to solve your dilemma. Let’s just forget about all the books we already have and get a new one!

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arcs

Nothing like piling up on Advance Review Copies and realizing that the deadlines (release dates) are all one after the other! The choice for your next read is pretty much crystal clear here.

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moodcompass

Sometimes there’s just no better way to make decisions than by following our hearts. Forget rationality. It’s all in the emotions!

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comfortread

Just like comfort food, you know these won’t bring anything significant in your life, but they’re so precious and impossible to resist! You’ll gladly take a bite into these and will seek them out whenever you need them!

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randomselection

So many ways to go about it, but the idea is the same: everything is purely luck. Whether it’s a jar filled with the titles of the books you want to read or a flip of a coin, you know deep down that the only way you’ll be picking your next read is by doing it blindly!

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chainreaction

This is only for those who are about to start a new series. Their next book is pretty simple: the next book in the series. Binging a series makes life so much easier, but how do you pick which series to start though? Ha! Guess another method will be needed!

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recommendation

Why make your life complicated? Just let someone else pick your next book for you! Some people just jump from one recommendation to another and never have to pick anything themselves. How great is that?

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sensorygoodness

While some prefer letting their emotions decide their next read, others let their own senses decide. Does it feel good in their hands? Does it smell right? Does it taste good?

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upcomingadaptation

This is an easy way to decide what book to read next. Nowadays a lot of movies are based on books, and what better way to prepare for these movies than to read the book first?

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sizematters

This isn’t what you think! But it is about the size of a book and sometimes this helps immensely in narrowing it down to what fits in your bag—still not what you think. It’s also about how much willpower you got left in the tank to take on a monster book.

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requiredreading

To all the kids who still have required reading because of school. I’m sorry. I hope your teacher is awesome and you get your hands on some good ones!

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diversitythroughchallenges

I’ve seen a lot of bloggers use challenges to pick their next books to read, and it does help immensely. Although you risk having to go through books you might not be in the mood for anymore!

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strategicsystem

I know some folks who have a system they follow to the letter and make sure to cover all bases. Read a heavy and dark fantasy book, then a graphic novel, then a light science fiction, etc. Rince and repeat. The system is almost flawless and sometimes you just have to wonder if they aren’t actually robots.

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Honestly, ARCs have been dominating my reading choices, but I’m trying to find a new balance so I can get back to enjoying classics that I have always been meaning to read! I think it’s time to embrace a strategic system! 😏

And now tell me, how do you choose what to read next? 🤔

Any particular strategy that tickles your fancy? 😋

Until next time,

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Published by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Reader. Reviewer. Researcher. Criminology Ph.D. Candidate. Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Want to know more? Connect with him!

82 thoughts on “How Do You Choose What to Read Next?”

  1. This was a lot of fun, I think you covered just about everything:-) I too am ruled by ARCs and what’s being released next. I’d love to get away from that and having some breathing room, then I think I’d choose a non-review book that I’ve been dying to read.

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    1. It really is amazing when you finally crack open one of those dustry books you got yourself a couple of years ago, instead of a brand new ARC hahahah Hope you get the chance to do just that sometime soon, Tammy!

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    1. You were 110% the person targeted by that point too hahah I used to have a system too that involved ARCs and a rotation with my own books and comic books. Getting back to it slowly cause there’s nothing more satisfying than blitzing through that “list” you make for yourself. 😀

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      1. I have achieved getting on A List!
        My life is Complete 😉

        I don’t tell people to read like I do because someone has to be ready for it for it to work for them. I wasn’t ready until just a year or two ago. But now? I feel like I have achieved Book Nirvanna. I haven’t had a slump in close to a year and I’m pretty blammed happy about that 😀

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  3. Haha..this was such a fun post, and a great read! Lately my to read list has exploded..but that’s mainly because people like you, Kim, Trang, Dani, and Nicole keep adding things to it lol 😂😂 I’m pretty much a recommendation reader these days…gee I wonder why 😂😂

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    1. Hahahahahaah sorry bro. I don’t think I’ll quit making that list of yours any bigger. Too many great books you and I have to check out at some point in our lives! 😛 I could say the same about them anime you keep on reviewing though… So litttttleeee timeeeee!!!

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  5. This was such a great post! I could see myself when you talked about ARCs, and I am such a mood reader that some of your suggestions aren’t even options for me. But it’s still such a brilliant post! ☺️

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  9. Everything you just read applies, although first pick is usually a book I committed to read and the date is rapidly approaching. I also choose to mix genre’s so I don’t get bogged down by reading to many fantasy novels in a row… lol. Fun post!

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  10. Hahaha loved this post! 😄 I think I use almost every strategy you’ve mentionned 😂 most of the time I buy books just for a cute cover or because they cross my path and tickled my curiosity. But when it comes to chosing what to read (yes I usually buy books and read them a year later… 🙄), it’s usually a random choice 😂. Also I love reading people’s favourite books because it makes me feel like I know them better 😄
    Maybe next time I should try to taste them! 😋

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    1. Oh my God, I do that too! It’s already so sad that I there’s barely any readers among my friends, if I find out that they have a favourite book, I’ll go to great lengths to read it hahahah You sure can learn a lot by reading their favourite books, and it’s always so satisfying to talk about that book with someone!

      Noooooo! Hahahaha I don’t recommend that strategy!!! 😛

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  13. I’m 100% a mood reader, and that’s pretty much all the thought that goes into what books I pick up next (I’ve never really thought about what’s behind my mood, if that makes sense) but I get the whole ARC thing though. Even if I am in the mood to pick up something else an ARC with a set deadline has to come first. 😀
    Great post Lashaan. 🙂 ❤️

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  14. This is such a great post, I love it 😀 I have to admit that I’m picking up whatever I am in the mood for at the moment – sometimes I’m looking at the book size too, if I’m going on a holiday or something, or I’m looking at whether I have an e-book or a physical copy, because e-books are way easier to carry around hahaha 🙂

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  17. I have done almost all of these at one point 😂😂 but most common for me is Mood Reading, Love at First Sight, and Chain Reaction. If I feel forced to read a book that I am not feeling it will trigger a slump so I definitely can’t plan out my TBR! Great list 🙂 this was awesome and fun to read!

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  22. Great article! I have been known to buy books and then end up reading a book I’ve had for well over a year that was collecting dust on the shelf, LoL. I usually end up reading stuff that’s going to be adapted. I just finished up reading a book and found out half way through reading it that there was a sequel. So my indecisiveness about what to read next was real easy for my next book to choose to read, LoL.

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    1. Thank you so much! Tell me about it. I feel like it’s a bookworm curse. I also use the movie adaptation thing as an excuse to prioritize certain books. 😛 Oh snap, that must be a wonderful surprise for you, not so wonderful for all the other books who thought they’d be read next. 😀

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  23. This is great, I agree with all of this. My main one is mood, and lately I have been binging on series, which is very off for me, but I am enjoying it.

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      1. I was binging Binti, but needed the third one, and now it has been Percy Jackson. I’m a little late to the game with that one, but I’m hooked:)

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  24. Loved this 😀

    I spent a whole month reading ARCs and still failed the deadlines, so i just gave up basically and picked up a love at first sight book. It was awesome! ❤
    Usually i pick them quite randomly, depending on my mood 🙂

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  29. Awesome post! I definitely struggle when it comes to knowing what to read next. I try to keep my books in some kind of a priority order, but it all quickly falls apart!

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  33. Lately I’ve been taking on WAY TOO MANY blog tours… So, that’s pretty much been my reading list. I can’t wait to get back to reading things that I’ve chosen!!! I don’t have that luxury for a while though… Which is both good and bad. I mean, I hate making decisions, anyways! 😂😂

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    1. Hahahah I also realized how much I missed reading books I got for myself since the day I picked up Vicious, Night and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I’m back into that “review copies are my TBR” for a little while, but man… I think we need to make it a resolution or something to read more of our stuff or something. At this rate, I’d never read everything that I want to read! 🤣

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  35. This was such a fun post to read! Personally, when I don’t have a book I need to finish by a particular date, I usually just close my eyes and scroll for a few seconds through my TBR list and read whatever book my cursor is closest too. It’s completely random, but it’s fun.

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    1. Ouuuuh, I like the strategy. Digital randomness! I’ve heard people use a random number generator and just pick the book on their Goodreads’ TBR based on that number too. It would of course mean that your TBR on Goodreads are books you own are easy to get! 😀

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  36. Good question. In my case, since I go to the library every week, I look for any new books that might be out by the writers I follow. If none, then I get the earlier books (in the order they were written) of the newer writer(s) I have started following. If not that, I will look at titles and covers and may read the blurb on the inside cover of the cover and/or title that might catch my attention.

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    1. I like how structured your reasoning is. There’s a prioritizing system in the way you pick your books that I love. You probably get through so much more books of an author you love than others would like that. I feel like it’s something I might start doing in the future (talking about a couple of years here). Too often I find myself reading new releases (released in the last 2 years).

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