If you look at my book reviews I have a certain system. Anything in the one to two stars range means I probably did not finish it, and therefore, will not even write a review (unless it was an assigned reading.) Three means that it made me feel a neutral emotion. I don’t hate it, but I certainly don’t love it either. Four stars means I really liked it, but as a reader and writer means that there are things I would change about it. Which means that five stars means that it is absolutely perfect in my eyes and I wouldn’t change a single thing.
I tend to not read books that don’t get a four or higher. Not because I’m not picky, I definitely do have certain preferences, but because I am well aware of what I like and dislike. I only have four books in my DNF (did not finish) section on Goodreads. Two of them were books I had in my library since middle school, and therefore did not speak to me as an adult reader.
I am quite proud of being self aware of my reading tastes and doing proper research on the books I am interested in. I don’t like buying or checking out books that won’t be a proper investment, not just in monetary value, but also in time. I tend to go into an inner rage when I read books that have caused me a waste in time because time isn’t something you can get back. (If you’ve seen my snapchat the evidence speaks for itself.)
How I ensured this wouldn’t happen all started with this simple question: What books did I like as a kid?
Now of course, our book preferences may have changed since we were eight, but I would like to think that there is a reason my younger self liked those books. One that stuck out to me the most was Harry Potter, so I started there. Growing up, I was obsessed with that series. Not necessarily because of Harry himself, but because of the magic, the lore, the character development, the boarding school idea, and more. I don’t plan on reading Harry Potter again, however I do have plenty of magic-focused fantasy books that I like. I have plenty about boarding schools too.
Another book that stuck out to me growing up was Arthur Miller. I loved The Crucible and Death of a Salesman. So when I had major health issues that affected my reading, that made me fall into a further depression, I decided to read plays. The format is easily accessible to those who have health issues or crises of their own, and you could even finish it in a day if you wanted to. I’ve met some people who have even watched the play online and read it as they lines were being recited. Some of my favorite plays besides Arthur Miller is Sweat by Lynn Nottage, and if you watch the recording with it, The Complete History of America Abridged by Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor works too.
Another key element that I liked about Arthur Miller was the theme of a character’s downfall and psychological decay. This led me into thrillers such as the one I am reading now (yes still) Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. But more importantly, it led me into novels with deep but not outright commentary such as The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, Slay by Brittney Morris, and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett.
But if you are in a place where you want something different, something new to what you have been reading, then I suggest reading a genre the exact opposite of what you are reading now. After a while, the books I was reading were getting depressing, so I opted to read something more comforting yet still in my ballpark (in this instance my love for books) and picked up the The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan.
If you are seeing all these recommendations or online shopping and getting overwhelmed I wouldn’t blame you. There are so many books to read and there’s no way you won’t be able to read all of them. How I tend to figure out what should be on my TBR (to be read) list is go to the best sellers list and read, yes actually read, the reviews. Goodreads can be a shitstorm at times, but some people on there know how to write a damn good review. If you can, booksellers tend to have some organized way of seeing the lowest and highest ratings. Be sure to look into why people rated the book so low. Some may not be for the best reasons, like being forced to read it for a class. While others may have good points that you may agree with. But also, see why people loved the book. If they really loved the romance in the book, and you’re not a fan of romance, then obviously don’t put the book on your TBR.
If book reviews are not enough and you, there are apps in the app store made specifically to find your tastes in books, films, etc. Some can be hit or miss, and honestly, I can’t say much in that area. However, if you are a fan of graphs and charts for you reading tastes, like you’re some study waiting to be observed, then I am aware of a few places you can go to.
Bookly is an app with a goal to get you to read more books. Not only does it time your reading, you can also make goals and have stats of how you improve your reading habits overtime. My favorite part of the app is when I finish the book, and I get an infographic about my time with said book. However, I do struggle with actually reading on a regular basis (especially with college), so of course I don’t always like to be reminded that I haven’t been reading.
If free ARC’s (advanced reader copies) are in your area I LOVE BookSiren’s Stats and Trends portion on the profile section. They get data from your Goodreads (and other places if you like) and make a lot of different types of infographics about genres, popularity, gender, book length and a lot more. I have personally never have seen complex info like this, especially about my reading habits, that I could also understand. One of my goals for 2021 is to read more ARC’s and to read more ebooks, so any tips on how to do so (with my sensitive eyes) would be wonderful.
To be quite honest, I meant for this blog post to be an anti-haul of sorts, to explain what I definitely do NOT like. But as you can see, it turned into something completely different. If you would like to see an anti-haul I would love to share it! It is definitely on my list in regards to content, it’s just a matter of where.
rachel hall 