Tips and Tricks for Finding Books

Hey everyone! Welcome to the Tips and Tricks for Finding Books section of the blog! Here, I will discuss all of the tips and tricks for you to use, and that I personally use, when trying to decide what my next literary adventure will be. These range from things such as genres and sub-genres, book length, series' or standalone novels, cover designs and synopses and much much more! So with that, let's get started!

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Tip 1

It is always a good idea to have a preferred social catalog with access to a big enough database of books for your needs.

Such social catalogs would include the likes of Goodreads, Book Depository, LibraryThing, Readgeek, Amazon Kindle and more. Personally, I find these sites and - where they have access to it - their apps extremely useful and handy as such an avid reader. These services provide every reader access to a large database of books online to view, rate, discuss and research. Furthermore, they also have access to author's pages so, if you decide that you like the writing and stories a particular author, all you have to do is give them a follow and you can be updated about any new releases. So my advice here is this: if you haven't already, please do check out one of the many sites available to you. It's free to create an account. I've been a member of Goodreads for many years now and it has never let me down. With this in your back pocket, you'll be minutes away from book recommendations, reviews, upcoming releases and so much more every day! You can keep track of the books you are currently reading, add books to your shelf to be read and mark the books that you have already read thus far. Having a preferred site is the handiest thing to have within arm's reach if books are your passion. I definitely swear by them!

Tip 2

Know yourself.

I'll admit, this tip does sound a little obnoxious. I bet you're reading this thinking, "What's this one on about? Of course I know myself!" Well, of course you know yourself and who you are personally but, in my experience - and I'm sure many others' too - we don't really know ourselves when we're choosing books. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure many people find books they enjoy very easily, but I know myself that it can be quite tricky to find the perfect book. So when I say "know yourself", what I really mean is know what you're into; genre, subgenre, book length etc. Many people generally stick to one or two genres and that's totally fine, it's what they like. However, if you're a person who struggles to find that book or hesitates whether to read a particular book because you're just not 100% sure that it's who you are and what you're interested in, then this tip is for you.

I've been reading since I was a child, I'm sure a lot of you guys have been too. I'll be honest and say I was such a Tracy Beaker fan growing up for any of you guys who loved (or still love) Jaqueline Wilson. Though, as I grew older, so did my interests. My liking to certain genres and types of stories changed along with who I was and who I am today. It took me a while to figure out what genres I prefer; do I like longer books or shorter books, standalones or series'. So what I decided to do was to try everything. Yup, you read that right. I read all sorts of books (except for horrors, they freak me out). Even just reading the first three chapters of the book helped me decide whether this was the book - the genre - for me. And honestly, it helped me. By reading all sorts of genres, I was quickly able to eradicate the genres that didn't peak my interest and focus on the ones that made me think "hey, you know what, I actually kinda like this one." Sure, it meant taking the time I could have been using searching for other books, but in reality, how do you really know that you wouldn't like a book unless you give it a shot? Because of this method, I've realised that I'm prone to reading Mysteries, Suspense and Romance and Fantasy. So give it a try and do let me know how it works out for you!

Tip 3

Do your research.

This one is simple really. I'm sure many - if not all - of you already do this one. "Do not choose a book by its cover" is a well known saying around the globe. Tons of people take it as a set rule when choosing a book to read. However, it may be surprising to know that no matter how many times we tell ourselves that little snippet of advice, it's actually hard to follow. Without realising or even meaning to, we can decide whether or not we want to read a certain book in a matter of seconds by merely glancing at the cover. Of course, we don't mean to, but subconsciously, we do it. Whether we're looking at books online on Goodreads or in our local bookshop, we don't actually pick up a book by looking at anything else first other than the cover. The cover is, in fact, our initial impression of the book. For example, though I currently have many many books in my library that I have yet to read, I was scrolling through my recommended books on Goodreads just the other day when I came across a book. The first thing that I noticed was its cover. So, because the beautiful cover peaked my interest, I clicked on the book named "The Gilded Wolves" written by Roshani Chokshi and read the synopsis. I thought to myself "okay, Historical, Romance, Fantasy and Young Adult", immediately noting whether I'm interested in the genres and sub-genres. Then I turned to the comment. Surprisingly - though not by much - the top comments first referenced how the cover was what initially caught their attention. I was guilty of this too, so I couldn't say much, but I did do further research. I checked the ratings of the book on multiple databases, read the synopses, checked the that the genres were to my liking and researched the author. Now, I haven't read the book just yet as I just started another book, but I'll be posting a review as soon as I do, so keep an eye out guys and we'll see just how much a cover can influence our interests!

Tip 4

Series' and standalone novels: the key to patience.

Have any of you sped through the first few books of a series only to find out that the next book won't be released for another year or more? I definitely have and it SUCKED!! My friends call me a bookaholic and an exceptionally fast reader, mostly from the fact that I read 8 books between December 25th 2020 and January 25th 2021. I read... a lot. But what aided me in getting through so many books without losing my patience was, linking back to Tip 3, the research I did prior to beginning my books. I tend to lean towards a series of books rather than standalones. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love a good standalone book that ties up the story nicely, but I just love those series' that allow me to develop an understanding, love, hatred and knowledge of the vast array of characters through multiple books. Plus, it gives me more to read! The tip that lies here though is this: always do your research on a series.

Make sure that you'll be interested for the long run, but don't spoil the next books in the series for yourself. Just look up ratings, do your research on the author and their other works and see if they are capable of writing a series of books. And also, I cannot stress this enough: check to see when the next book will be released!!!! Many people lose their patience when it comes to waiting for the next book of a series to be released and they end up losing interest in the series altogether. If you're going to commit to a series, be sure that you're in it to win it, no matter what. For example, my friend and I read the book "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Sáenz years and years and years ago! I think we were in maybe 1st or 2nd year of secondary school at the time. The book was published in 2012. Sáenz is working on a sequel that he's supposedly announcing this month - February 2021. Nine. Years. Later. Now usually I'm not a patient person, but we have been waiting for this book for years! And though I have attempted (now special emphasis on attempted) to practice the skill of patience, I still find it extremely difficult to wait for release dates with the books I read. So I do urge you all, make sure that you can see yourself waiting years for the next book of your new favourite series!!

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With those in mind for now, I trust in you to go and find that perfect book!

I don't want to overload you all so, I will post more tips and tricks monthly for you guys to enjoy and put into practice!

Enjoy!