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.
(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.
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.
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.
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!
