Published on:
14-August-2024
Written by:
Mohana Prabhakar
Reading time
2 minutes
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With social media taking book reading by storm, readers like you are often left in limbo on what to read next.
Many people ask me for suggestions and honestly, I’m perplexed most of the time. Everyone has a unique taste, experiences, expectations, and interests in what you want to consume, and the little perfectionist//marketer in me wants to suggest the ultimate book that will blow your mind and give you a good bookgasm. Unfortunately, this needs time to understand you better, and we are short of that.
So, I will share my secrets for selecting books for your next read. Let’s go!
Secret 1: Ignore Bookstagram + Booktok suggestions
Why so? Because 90% of the suggestions I’ve read are shit. Most of the overhyped books have a mediocre style of writing, a remix of famous books (yes, HP, LOTR, GOT, etc.), and full of toxic love stories (yes, cringe max!). Books are meant to teach you critical thinking, improve your vocabulary, exercise your imagination, and not always make you feel giddy because of your hormones!
Secret 2: Trust your intuition
Intuition can take you to the books that teach you good life lessons. All you have to do is walk into your favourite bookstore, move slowly through every aisle, and look at the books curiously. Devour the graphics and text on the cover, read the prologue, look at the map (if any), and keep it close to your heart. You’ll feel the urge to read that book. Notice that and buy it.
Okay, this is tough to do and needs good practice. So, don’t get discouraged if you don’t pick the right one in the first go.
Secret 3: Say goodbye to the reviews
One of the major book spoilers is REVIEWS! These reviewers not only bad mouth the book but also ruin some exciting scenes for us (if you’ve spent hours and hours on Goodreads or Reddit). If you’re using your intuition to choose, I warn you not to Google the book titles and look at the ratings or reviews. Some of the best books I’ve read, like Sophie’s World or The One Plus One, have low ratings compared to most raved books by Colleen Hoover.
Secret 4: Movie adaptations suck (most of the time)
I’m not a big fan of books adapted into movies and series, especially when the characters or plot gets dramatically altered. From glorifying Severus Snape to butchering Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the writers and directors have done one hell of a flop! If you genuinely love the movie and want to read the book, go ahead. But don’t pick a book just because movie fans are crazy about it.
Secret 5: Read your favourite author’s works
Yep, it’s as simple as that. Love Stephen King? Make a list of his writings, add it to your TBR, and devour them one by one.
Secret 6: Read about the things you love
Cats? Startups? Intimacy? You’ve got books for everything you think, mate. Choose wisely, though 😛
Secret 7: Search for answers to your life’s problems
"It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem. It’s me."
Books provide a unique perspective on our worries and circumstances. Just a day back, when I was reading the Brothers Hawthorne book, the author wrote a quote that quite stuck with me. It was about the infinite possibilities that life offers, yet we tend to focus on that one fucking logical solution that our mind can’t stop thinking about. It stopped me right there to take a step back and look at life from a bird’s eye view. So, yes, list your problems and find your answers!
And, there you have it!
Remember, the perfect book is out there waiting for you, and it's up to you to discover it. Happy reading!