Do You Remember The Science Fiction Book Club?

by Jeff W Posted on June 6, 2026
Epic Illustrated magazine cover dated June 1985

The other day I was digitally thumbing through an old issue of Epic Illustrated dated June of 1985 and came across a full-page ad for the Science Fiction Book Club. Do you remember the Science Fiction Book Club? It was the science fiction book club equivalent of Columbia House Music for people who loved science fiction and fantasy books. It was a natural ad opportunity for readers of Epic Illustrated magazine which was published by Marvel Comics and featured more “mature” illustrated stories than comic book readers of the time were used to seeing.

But the thing that jumped out at me was looking at the ad and realizing THAT was the specific ad I used to become a member of the Science Fiction Book Club.

And you already know what a fan of science fiction I have always been!

Science Fiction Book Club ad from Epic Magazine 1984

If you look at the ad above you’ll see the 5 books I chose circled in black.

Starting on the top row from the left I chose Heechee Rendezvous by Frederik Pohl because I had been reading his work and had not seen this book yet.

Next to it was The Book of Lost Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien because I had already read The Lord of The Rings Trilogy (and The Hobbit) multiple times in the previous 15 years and wanted to read this collection. Later I would find The Silmarillion and I have NEVER been able to get past the first few chapters of that work. But on the whole, I love Tolkien’s work.

On the next row down and all the way to the right is The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah and, since it was a story based in the Star Trek Original Series, was an absolute MUST for me. I have been a Star Trek fan since 11-year old me first discovered Captain Kirk, Spock and Doctor McCoy on TV in 1966.

Three books in on the following row is Limits by Larry Niven. I had recently discovered Niven and wanted to read his latest work.

And finally, on the last row and the last book, I chose The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. One of the masters of science fiction and one of his greatest (and longest) works.

Oh, and I got the cool FREE carryall you see pictured in the ad to lug all those books around in. Whoo hoo!

Over the years only three of those books have remained with me. The Pohl and Niven books were, after being read of course, either donated to the public library or traded in at a used bookstore. I’ve read the Tolkien book once, the Lorrah book at least three times and have never finished the Asimov book. I’ve kept it with the goal of one day completing it, but we shall see. All three remain packed away in storage while we travel.

Did YOU ever join the Science Fiction Book Club back in the day? Let me know in the comments.

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Advice From A Book

by Jeff W Posted on June 1, 2026

Advice From a Book

  • Be open to criticism as well as praise.
  • Share your story with those it could help.
  • Cover your assets.
  • Mind your Ps and Qs.
  • Have a spine.
  • Form binding friendships.
  • Be of good character.
  • Always read between the lines.

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Review of “King Sorrow” by Joe Hill

by Jeff W Posted on May 24, 2026

I have known of author Joe Hill, adult son of Stephen King, for several years but have never read any of his works. I didn’t really have a good reason, except that I probably was a little fearful that he would not be as good as his dad. And that probably would have been a bit disappointing.

Cover of “KIng Sorrow” by bestselling author Joe Hil.

But recently Goodreads (yes I’m still there and on Storygraph) had a challenge for me and “King Sorrow” was one of the books listed to fulfill that challenge. So I thought I’d knock off, as the old phrase goes, two birds with one stone; read my first Joe Hill book and complete the Goodreads challenge.

I will say that when I started reading “King Sorrow” I did not realize that the book was a doorstop in size, because I was reading the Kindle version and didn’t look at the stats. If I had, I would have seen that it was 896 pages in length and about 250,000 words. That puts it on par with his dad’s “The Dark Tower” or “11/22/63” in length.

Yet Hill showed that he is as good as his dad at keeping a behemoth of a story like that interesting and engaging. The plot was one which held up and the characters were multi-faceted.

In “King Sorrow” one good deed sets off a string of events, both good and bad, that last years for a group of college-aged friends who make a pact with a demon and misunderstand the details and length of that pact. We follow them through their lives as they try to escape the pact and then, at least some of them, try to make peace with what they have done and must do to fulfill their parts in that agreement.

The story is a character-driven tale of friendship, love, loyalty and consequences that takes place in a supernatural and dark horror world. Despite its length, as I mentioned earlier, the book holds your interest; or at least it held mine.

As a first-time reader of Joe Hill, I can highly recommend “King Sorrow” to those who enjoy this kind of novel.

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National Grammar Day 2026

by Jeff W Posted on March 4, 2026

Looking through my blog, I noticed I haven’t written about National Grammar Day since 2015, so I thought National Grammar Day 2026 would be a good time to revisit the day.

National Grammar Day graphic of hand with red pen making corrections to a manuscript.

National Grammar Day was established in 2008 by Martha Brockenbrough, the founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar. The day’s motto is: “It’s not only a date, it’s an imperative: March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!”

Lots of punctuation and grammar rules in that sentence, lol!

I used to be a stickler for proper grammar, but over the years it’s been obvious that correct grammar is a losing battle in this day and age of the Internet. There are very few things I read online that don’t, at some point, make me cringe. Even so-called “professional news outlets” post things that are rife with spelling and grammatical errors.

And that’s not even mentioning the failure to follow simple journalistic rules such as who, what, when, where, and why being observed. Poor Cindy has to listen to me grouse about that way too often.

That’s a whole ‘nother post of its own.

But these days I just try and make sure that what I write is grammatically correct. And I’m sure I don’t always succeed, even though I proofread things multiple times and use a spellchecker. There’s no doubt I’ve split an infinitive or two in my writing, put a comma in the wrong place, or misspelled a word. We’re imperfect human beings and I don’t have a personal editor on hand, so I just try and do the best I can with MY writing and limit myself to shaking my head about what I read online.

Instead I just urge you, dear reader, to do YOUR best if you write something to be sure it follows good rules of grammar.

Here’s wishing you a Happy National Grammar Day 2026!

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2026 Reading Challenge

by Jeff W Posted on February 2, 2026

I should have done this last month, but here it is already February so I need to post my 2026 Reading Challenge.

The goal I set this year is to read 4 books each month, for a total of 48 books to read in 2026. That’s almost double the goal I set for 2025, which I exceeded by 43 books that year. I’d like to think I’ll exceed the goal this year, but you never know.

So far, as you can see by the graphic below, I am ahead of that monthly goal; having read 6 books thus far is 2026.

2026 Reading Challenge graphic.
Screenshot

What’s YOUR 2026 reading challenge goal?

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A Book About…ME!

by Jeff W Posted on January 23, 2026

Sometimes, you get an absolutely perfect gift. My brother has always been especially adept at giving me gifts that are thoughtful and special.

One year it was a set of books about the works of one of my favorite modern artists, painter Norman Rockwell. Another year it was a chess set where the pieces were made of lava rock from Mexico (where he honeymooned) because I enjoy playing the game.

This year it was a book…about ME! Or, more accurately, about Cindy, Bella and I and what happens when our RV suddenly becomes a spaceship and the adventures we have across the galaxy. The book is titled, “Jeff Escapes Gravity – Interstellar RV Odyssey” with me on the cover in a spacesuit standing in front of a spaceship view screen and control panel against the blue/black star field of outer space.

Front cover to “Jeff Escapes Gravity - Interstellar RV Odyssey” A Book About…ME!

I know that when I unwrapped it that my eyes MUST have been round with surprise. Then, as I read the first paragraph aloud to Cindy and began laughing uncontrollably, they filled with tears from laughing so hard. That hardly ever happens to me, but I was literally laughing so hard I was crying.

“The stars outside the RV window were moving like startled fish. Jeff sat very still. His coffee cup hovered three inches above the table. Bella barked once and then barked again in slow motion. Cindy slept through a passing comet and snored like a small engine. The steering wheel hummed with a song that sounded suspiciously like a lounge singer. Jeff s hands trembled in a way that made the manual slide open. The manual landed on his lap as if it had bodyguards. The RV smelled faintly of burnt toast and distant rain. A road sign floated by the window, offering directions to Orion. The sight made Jeff laugh in a short, shocked burst. He felt like a tourist who took a wrong exit into space. Bella nosed a drifting kibble and performed an elegant midair pirouette. Cindy shifted, still dreaming, and her hair made an orbit. The ceiling light drifted toward the microwave and then stopped.”

What my brother and saintly sister-in-law had gifted me with was a book that was created (I hesitate to say “written”) by Authortales.com about what happens when our RV becomes a spaceship.

Side view for “Jeff Escapes Gravity - Interstellar RV Odyssey”

What Is Authortales.com?

Authortales.com is a platform that allows users to create personalized storybooks quickly. It utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform user-generated stories into hilarious custom fiction books. The service includes professional covers and engaging content, making it suitable for various audiences. No NSFW passages in here.

Someone, (like my brother and saintly sister-in-law), gives Authortales.com a few key characters (like me, Cindy and Bella), a couple of important settings (like our RV and outer space) and then Authortales.com uses AI to create a personalized story, custom cover art (using a headshot that’s also provided by the givers), and incredible moments with the main characters…all in one amazing hardback book of approximately 200 pages. Then they print the book and ship it to the givers or the giftee.

There’s even a summary and fake review(s) on the back cover, just like any book you would find in a bookstore.

Back cover for “Jeff Escapes Gravity - Interstellar RV Odyssey”

Now, to be sure, the writing is obviously AI and probably primitive AI at that. The writing is (and I’m saying this charitably) BAD, lol! As you could clearly see from that first paragraph above. But none of that matters because the story is about you and possibly your loved ones and you cannot help but read the entire 200 pages, painfully bad writing and all, to see what happens.

My brother and saintly sister-in-law even included a dedication page at the front of the book.

Dedication page for “Jeff Escapes Gravity - Interstellar RV Odyssey”

To be honest, I’m not sure how my brother and his wife will ever top this year’s gift in the future. They may well have hit the pinnacle with this one.

Thanks, as always, to the Bestest Brother and his Bestest Wife for such a wonderful and unique gift.

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Happy National Thesaurus Day

by Jeff W Posted on January 18, 2026

Today, January 18th, is celebrated as National Thesaurus Day in honor of the birthdate in 1779 of Peter Mark Roget who gave us the first thesaurus in 1852. Roget, who was born in London and was a British physician and lexicographer, started his work of research in 1848 and finished it 4 years later with 15,000 words. What we know today as “Roget’s Thesuraus” was first published under the title “Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition.”

THAT’S a mouthful!

But accurate.

Cover of Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus

When I was a wee little Word Of Jeff and would ask my mom what a word meant, she would point me to the Webster’s Dictionary and tell me to look it up. A few years later, when I was in school and had to write a report, she and my dad bought a set of encyclopedias for me and my younger brother to use for research. And at some point, when I was doing more than just parroting what I read in the encyclopedias and expressing myself more fully in those reports, she introduced me to Roget’s Thesaurus.

Ever since then, until online resources were available, there were always two books on my desk or on a nearby bookshelf; Webster’s Dictionary and Roget’s Thesaurus. Today I keep a physical copy of each book in case the Internet collapses, but mostly make use of online sites like dictionary.com and thesaurus.com to inform my speaking and writing.

But as someone who first wanted to expand my vocabulary as a child and then later as a writer and speaker, Roget’s Thesaurus was like a goldmine to me. No one wants to read, or hear a speaker say, the same word for something over and over, if at all possible. With a thesaurus at our fingertips, we can expand our vocabulary and move beyond writing or saying we are happy repetitively. A look inside a thesuraus lets us say or write that we are glad, delighted, overjoyed, ecstatic, jubilant, elated, gleeful or joyous.

And if we want to find a word that is the opposite of happy, a thesaurus can point us that way to with antonyms that help us say we are unhappy, sorrowful, miserable, troubled, hopeless, or morose.

So today, I want to express to you that I am thrilled, excited, delirious, psyched, pumped and tickled pink to say Happy National Thesaurus Day.

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Happy National Science Fiction Day

by Jeff W Posted on January 2, 2026

Today, January 2nd, is National Science Fiction Day. National Science Fiction Day is a day that celebrates the science fiction genre-its stories, ideas, and impact on science, technology, and culture.

National Science Fiction Day graphic

The date of January 2nd was chosen to observe National Science Fiction Day because it is the birthdate of famed science fiction author (and one of the most influential figures in the field) Isaac Asimov, born January 2, 1920. It has been observed since 2011.

Science Fiction and Me

To the best of my recollection, when I started reading as a child the first genre of interest for me was science fiction.

First, I was reading superhero comic books which are certainly a form of science fiction, such as (obviously) Superman. But even earthbound heroes like Batman and others had their phase of science fiction adventures in the late 50’s and early 60’s.

Three comic book covers; Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman.

Second, the first books I found intriguing were the stories of Tom Swift (or more accurately Tom Swift Jr.) because of their grounding and setting in science and science fiction. Those were followed by authors such as H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and then Robert A. Heinlein, Pohl Anderson, Madeleine L’Engle, Arthur C. Clarke, James Blish, Ray Bradbury and others.

Three images of Tom Swift book covers.

That interest in reading about science fiction also held true in my media viewing choices because…

Third, the first TV series I had real interest in were science fiction based. I grew up watching westerns because that’s what my dad watched and series like Lassie and Rin Tin Tin because what boy doesn’t love stories about dogs, (except maybe the current occupant of the White House) but when shows like The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Lost in Space, Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and The Invaders came on the scene they were all I had an interest in watching (somehow I missed ever even being exposed to Doctor Who in my youth, but I made up for that lack later in life).

Fourth, my favorite movies of my childhood were films like The Time Machine, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes, First Men in the Moon, and Fantastic Voyage (Raquel Welch, notwithstanding, lol).

And I remember being at the doctor’s office when I was 8 or 9 and he asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. My answer; an astronaut. However, my near complete non-aptitude for math scuttled that dream.

But even today, though my reading and viewing interests have grown and expanded, my default subject and genre choice is science fiction.

How Can You Celebrate National Science Fiction Day?

People often celebrate National Science Fiction Day by:

  1. Reading a science fiction story
  2. Watching a science fiction-themed TV show, series or movie
  3. Sharing their favorite science fiction stories or characters on social media (#NationalScienceFictionDay)
  4. Discussing how science fiction inspires REAL science and REAL inventions
  5. Participating in themed events at libraries, book stores, conventions or other gatherings

It is, at its core, a day to appreciate and celebrate the imagination, curiosity, and future-thinking that makes up the basis of what we call Science Fiction.

So, Happy National Science Fiction Day!

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Books I Read In 2025

by Jeff W Posted on December 31, 2025

Well, the year is almost over so it’s time for a post about the Books I Read In 2025.

At the beginning of 2025 I set a goal of reading 25 books this year. I felt like one book every two weeks was an achievable goal that would not make me feel like I had to pressure myself to read a book every week, but would allow me to exceed the goal if I was able.

As you can see from the graphic below (courtesy of GoodReads this year) I WAS able to exceed my goal by reading 63 books in 2025.

Graphic of books read by Jeff Wetherington in 2025

You may also remember that last year I used a StoryGraph graphic to show the covers of books I read. I have been using both GoodReads and StoryGraph concurrently this past year with the intention to drop one of them.

But I haven’t done that yet. I’m still evaluating.

So these are the Books I Read In 2025. Did you set reading goals in 2025 and did you meet or exceed them? Let me know in the comments 🙂

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“Nobody’s Girl” Sells 1 Million Copies Worldwide

by Jeff W Posted on December 16, 2025

Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s memoir “Nobody’s Girl”, published after her apparent suicide this past April at the age of 41, has already sold more than 1 million copies worldwide in the two months since its release, according to publisher Alfred A. Knopf. The publisher also shared that more than half those sales took place in North America.

Cover of “Nobody’s Girl” by Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

Giuffre was a prominent figure in the accusations against the late Jeffrey Epstein that he sexually molested and trafficked underage girls to friends and business associates of his, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Windsor was stripped of his royal titles and evicted from his royal residence by his brother, King Charles.

I had just finished reading this sad, deeply troubling, and rage-inducing book a few days ago. If all the things the author shared were and are true, it should fill any normal father, brother, son or man with disgust.

And it is a true shame that Giuffre is not here to realize that her strength and courage have resulted in her story and book selling more than 1 million copies worldwide.

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The Last Farmer’s Almanac

by Jeff W Posted on December 12, 2025

A little more than a month ago, it was announced that the 2026 edition would be the last Farmer’s Almanac published. After 208 years of providing weather forecasts, crop planting information, recipes, and home remedies the Farmer’s Almanac would be no more.

This is not to be confused with the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which is still being published. I know, it can be six-seven (as the kids say); especially for those of us who did not grow up on farms and did not use this yearly guide.

I was trying to remember when I first laid eyes on the Farmer’s Almanac. It seems that it was probably at my aunt and uncle’s rural home in the early 1960’s where they had a large garden (as opposed to a small farm), that we visited each summer when I was growing up. My aunt kept a basket of rotated reading material next to the toilet in the bathroom and I believe the Farmer’s Almanac was in there among the Reader’s Digest, Country Life, and the Sears Catalog magazines.

Anyway, since this was going to be the last Farmer’s Almanac, Cindy and I decided to order one so we would have it…for some reason. Maybe just to have it, maybe to pass it along to which ever kid or grandkid might want it when we die, maybe to even use it as we travel.

So now we have our copy of the last Farmer’s Almanac and we’ll see what happens.

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Goodreads Choice Awards Readers’ Favorite Books of 2025

by Jeff W Posted on December 6, 2025

Two days ago Goodreads announced the winners of their 17th annual Choice Awards Readers’ Favorite Books of 2025.

Screenshot of webpage for Goodreads Choice Awards Readers' Favorite Books of 2025

For the first time ever, I think, the winners do not include ANY books I read in this past year of 2025. Not one.

Some of the books I have read this year WERE included in the nominations under categories I read such as “107 Days” under Memoirs; “Never Flinch” under “Horror”; and “The JFK Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Kennedy―and Why it Failed” under History and Biography, but none of those won in their respective categories.

To be sure, there are some of the winners that I WANT to read and I’ll probably get to some of them at some point. It just wasn’t this year.

And there are some books under categories that I never read such as “Romance” or “Romantasy” because those are just not in my circle of interest.

But 7.5 million readers can’t be wrong can they? I honestly wish even more voting had taken place because we need all the readers out here that we can get. I mean, to steal the title from one of my favorite non-profits, Reading Is Fundamental.

So, congratulations to all the Goodreads Choice Awards Readers’ Favorite Books of 2025 winners.

Did any of the books you read this year make the list? If so, please drop the title or titles in the comments below.

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The Gales Of November

by Jeff W Posted on November 10, 2025

Today is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald and it just so happens I’m reading John U. Bacon’s recently released book about it, The Gales of November.

“The Gales of November” by John U. Bacon book cover.

Strangely enough, even though I was 20 at the time, I don’t recall reading or hearing about the sinking when it happened.

In fact, the first time I heard about it was listening to Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. And even though I loved the song I remember thinking that it was referring to something that happened many years prior, not something that happened less than a year earlier. It wasn’t until many years later that I realized how close in time the sinking and the song about it were in relation to each other.

Then, just a few months ago when we visited the Great Lakes region, my interest in the sinking was spurred by our tour of the Soo Locks. In looking for books on the subject I came across Bacon’s upcoming (at the time) book and reserved it at my library.

A couple of days ago it became available to borrow and I’ve been engrossed in it ever since. And it struck me that I would still be reading it when the 50th anniversary of the sinking happened, which felt strangely like some kind of fate was at work.

Anyway, I have read about 35% of the book so far and it is very engrossing. And the story hasn’t even reached the sinking yet, but the lead up and history is so intriguing and captivating.

If you have any interest in the subject, this is an excellent book to read about it and I highly recommend it.

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Happy National Author’s Day

by Jeff W Posted on November 1, 2025

Each year on November 1st, we observe and celebrate National Author’s Day.

As book readers, we all owe a great debt of gratitude to….AUTHORS! Because without authors, we would have no books to read. We would have no bookstores, no physical books lining our shelves in our home library or public library, and no digital books filling up our hard drives.

We would not have fiction writers taking us to different lives, different worlds or even exploring our own lives and own world in ways we’ve never experienced or from perspectives we’ve never considered. We would have no writers of non-fiction, experts on subjects we are not but wish to learn more about, helping us to expand our knowledge and intelligence.

In short, without authors we would miss out on a lot of things.

Happy National Author’s Day graphic

History of National Author’s Day

According to the National Today website:

In 1928, the president of the Illinois Women’s Club, Nellie Verne Burt McPherson, came up with the idea to create a day that recognized American authors. She was an educator and quite an avid reader. The inspiration for the holiday came while she was in the hospital during the First World War. She had just read Irving Bacheller’s “Eben Holden’s Last Day A-Fishing” and sent a letter to him expressing her love for the book.

After receiving the letter, he responded by forwarding a signed copy of another one of his stories to her. McPherson, overwhelmed by his generosity, thought of a way to repay the gesture. She concluded that a National day for authors would do the trick and presented the idea to the Generation Federation of Women’s Clubs. The club approved, and in May 1929, issued an endorsement to celebrate American Authors on National Author’s Day.

The U.S. Department of Commerce acknowledged National Author’s Day in 1949. Although it took 20 years, McPherson’s vision finally became a reality and the holiday has been celebrated across the country every year since.

Ways To Observe and Celebrate National Author’s Day

  1. One of the first ways is, of course, to read a book by one of your favorite authors. It might be a new release or perhaps a book you have read before and want to enjoy again.
  2. Buy a book by an author whose work you have enjoyed.
  3. Write a review of a book by an author you found impactful.
  4. Post something about an author you love on social media.
  5. Follow Ms. McPherson’s example and send an email, social media post, or even a physical letter or card to an author whose book(s) you have enjoyed.
  6. Give or loan someone a book by an author whose work you have enjoyed so as to share that joy.
  7. Use the inspiration you may have received from an author’s work to write and become an author yourself.

Whatever way you choose to observe and celebrate this day, I hope you have a Happy National Author’s Day!!

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Where I Find Books To Read

by Jeff W Posted on October 13, 2025

I have always been a voracious reader. From the time I was a 5-year old child to today, reading has been a pleasure that I have forever appreciated.

As a child my main source of reading material was the school library and then the public library. Wherever I have lived for any length of time, I have always made sure to get a library card and avail myself of their shelves and shelves of books. Bookstores were my next step and they complemented what I might see at a library in that, if I really liked the book, I would buy it for my own library.

Then, with the advent of digital reading material, the world of books positively exploded in breadth and depth. That, coupled with traveling for work and then retirement, meant that most of my reading material was going to be digital. There has just been no way to add physical books to our travel trailer beyond a few paperbacks and even fewer hardbacks. Even those get rotated out and back to storage when we return to our home base.

iPad using Kindle App.

(As an aside, Cindy and I really miss being able to just step into a room and get one of our books off the shelf. It’s probably the main reason we look forward to settling down again in one place someday. But not today, Satan. Lol!)

So, since I can’t search through the local library and, even if we stop and visit a bookstore we can’t really add physical books to the weight of our travel trailer, I’ve had to find other ways to locate digital books I’d like to read.

Most of the time, I’m finding books to read in four places; magazines, TV shows, websites, and emails. Let’s take a look at them in more detail to see where I find books to read.

Booklist October 2025 cover.

Magazines

Of course, I’m talking about digital magazines since, like books, I can’t add the weight of all the weekly, monthly or quarterly magazines I read to the RV…and there a quite a few.

SFX Magazine– Though it is mostly a publication about Science Fiction and Fantasy movies, SFX also has book reviews. Typically one to five pages of them. And, since I’m a huge SF & F reader, a lot of the books reviewed will appeal to me.

The New Yorker – Each week, there are at least four book reviews. Some are bestsellers, some are niche titles.

Booklist– A monthly magazine for librarians and the entire magazine is listings and reviews of upcoming books and reviews of books that are already out. It works great for librarians wondering what to put on their shelves, and just as well for readers seeking the same.

The Week– A weekly (imagine that) magazine that includes The Book List each week with a variety of genres listed with pocket reviews.

Writers Digest – Though most of the features and articles are geared to writers, they also typically provide book reviews of a few new published writers in each issue.

TV Shows

The Daily Show– Usually has at least two book authors on as guests each week. Usually non-fiction. I’ve been surprised at how many new writers/genres/subjects I’ve found interesting and followed up on by reading their books.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – Occasionally has a famous or not-so-famous author on to talk about their new book.

Jimmy Kimmel Live – Like Colbert, occasionally has a famous or not-so-famous author on to talk about their new book.

Most likely the other late night shows (Fallon, Meyers, etc.) have authors on as well, but I haven’t seen those to say for sure.

The Daily Show logo
StoryGraph logo

Websites

Goodreads – Seeing books friends have read or, more usually books that are recommend based on what I’ve read, is a good source of finding something new to read. However, I am trying to break free of what big corporations like Bezos’ Amazon are offering. But it’s difficult sometimes, especially since I also find suggestions through…

Amazon Kindle-Most of my ebooks are read on my iPad Kindle App, so I cant help but see suggestions from Kindle and I’m also a member of Kindle Unlimited (for now) so I get quite a few books through that program. But, I keep chipping away little by little to break free of what one of the major TechBros is selling. Someday I will be free at last.

StoryGraph – Part of that breaking away effort has been to look into moving away from Goodreads and after a year of comparison StoryGraph (so far) looks like it will be that replacement. (I tried Hardcover, but it was not well-populated with books, even bestsellers, and the UI was clunky so I gave it up after 6 months). StoryGraph, like Goodreads, offers many suggestions from fellow readers and many based on what I’ve read.

Mastodon – A social media app that has a huge book reading population. Hashtag #Bookstodon 🙂

Bluesky – Another social media app that has a sizeable book reading population. Hashtag #BookSky 🙂

Emails

Probably the least-used source of suggestions on what to read.

Amazon Suggestions – Being a member of Kindle Unlimited it is inevitable that I receive emails from them trying to sell me their new releases. I lightly scan these. And if I see something I like, I typically look for its availability through my library app, Libby.

Libby Newsletter – Once a week, Libby sends out a very nice email showing what’s been borrowed the most during the previous month, new releases and specific genres that rotate in the spotlight.

Reactor – Reactor, formerly Tor.com, is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books. They put out an email newsletter that contains listings of new books in those genres and reviews of some of them.

Reactor logo

Of course I get suggestions in person as well from family and friends, as well as simply perusing bookstore shelves, but the above is pretty much the bulk of where I find books to read.

Where do you find your books to read? Do you have any suggestions to add to what I have listed above? Please leave a comment and share with all of us.

And keep on reading!

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