How Do You Choose Yours?

Hello folks,

Today I just wanted to post about my book sourcing methods, and to be nosy about how other people find their next books. I have a few different ways, but I know there must be others!

1 - The Public Library

Lincoln Central Library, aka the Mothership

Ok, so most obvious first! Sometimes I go in and browse the shelves to see what jumps out at me. Other times I search the library catalogue online (last week I went through all 1700 new books that are spread between all the libraries in Lincolnshire because that's how I roll). I also order in a lot of books that I find elsewhere as I don't earn enough to buy all the books I read, and I'm a huge advocate of using your public library to ensure it doesn't get shut down!

2 - Pinterest

Because I pin my read books to keep track of them, Pinterest throws out loads of recommended pins based on what book I have pinned, and about reading in general. This is how I find list of books on Buzzfeed etc, and I often find good choices there although my library doesn't always have in some of the book that I think are maybe released primarily for a US audience and haven't quite made it over the pond yet. Super annoying when that does happen!

3 - Amazon

When I do buy books I always check out the "other people bought" part of the page,and can get truly lost down that rabbit hole for hours! It is my number one strategy for buying my OH books (and DVDs) that are by authors new to him. He says he loves the unknown books, and has started to offer up far less in the way of suggestions around birthday/Christmas time. So next time you're ordering check out other people's purchases, it really throws up a lot of good books!

4 - Podcasts

I listen to a great reading podcast called "What Should I Read Next" by the Modern Mrs Darcy.
Even when I am not interested in the type of books being discussed (think JoJo Moyes etc), I actually just get a big kick out of hearing people talk about reading. Sad? Maybe. But most of my IRL friends are not into reading in such a big way so I enjoy it. Best book I have discovered so far is "The Girl With All The Gifts" by M R Carey, and it also got me interested enough to read "The Martian" by Andy Weir which I was a bit on the fence about.

5 - Book Groups

I was part of my WI's book group, but due to a change in employment I now can't attend. May be a bit harsh but most of the books chosen were not my thing at all, and others were just plain crap! I did read Oryx and Crake as a book club choice which opened up the world of Margaret Atwood, but the good definitely did not outweigh the bad.
I am/was a participant in an online book group where the choices were around sustainability/environmental issues (Non fiction) but it seems to have fizzled out. I guess the problem with online book groups is that it is easy to forget to be logged onto Facebook at the right time. Hopefully it will rise like a phoenix out of the ashes, but I will have to wait and see.


So those are my methods of book hunting, do you have any to add? I am quite keen to expand upon my podcast library, so any reading or sewing podcasts, or even just really great podcasts about other stuff that you can recommend, I would be super grateful!