What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book?
I am the ultimate mood reader. I pick out books to read right when I want to read them. I can’t make a list of books that I want to read, say over the next two months, and have any expectation of reading them in order. If I buy a book and don’t read it right away, I’ll never read it. Something shinier will come along. So how do I find books?
Browsing
The main way I pick nonfiction to read is by browsing the Libby App. My library has a good selection of ebooks so I quite enjoy browsing the app to find the latest nonfiction books they have in.
I tend to put a lot on hold and then – not read them when they come in. I have several that I keep telling the library to send to someone else and offer them again to me later. These are usually books that I would probably like but that I just don’t feel like reading right at that moment.
Social Media
I used to get lots of recommendations from Twitter but I’ve been off there for a year. The only social media I use now is Mastodon, which has a pretty good book community. I also get some recommendations there from news sites like NPR.
I also follow a lot of book blogs through my WordPress Reader. I’m adding a lot just from these Nonfiction November posts.
My Goodreads TBR
This is a wild thought, huh? I recently was going back over some of the books that I had put in my TBR and then forgotten all about. Past me picked some interesting books. I’m going to make a point of picking some books from there and actually reading them.
Netgalley
I only use Netgalley to get foodie books. I browse their Cooking and Food section and get a lot of good cookbooks and memoirs from there.
What am I looking for in a nonfiction book? I want a book that tells a good story. I don’t want it to read like an academic textbook. I’m looking for entertainment with my learning. I’ll read about pretty much any topic. I’m especially a sucker for histories of something offbeat and specific. One of my all time favorite nonfiction books was about the history of bananas, after all.
I also like it when the author inserts themself into the story. If they are going off to research something and the books turns partially into a travelogue about their research, I’m all in.
I also like memoirs of people who aren’t necessarily famous.
Head on over to Volatile Rune to see what everyone else is looking for in a nonfiction book.
I love browsing the “new books” shelf at my physical library for my mood reading. Otherwise, I work from lists of a gazillion titles I’ve saved. lol. That banana cover is the best! 🙂
Oooh, these answers speak to my soul! I am SUCH a mood reader and can have a brand new book in my bag as the top of my TBR and wander into a bookshop or library and forget all about it. Nonfiction November has helped me set a yearly goal for some of my nonfiction and stick to a theme (sometimes)
If you love when authors insert themselves into the book, you might like Will Storr vs The Supernatural – he absolutely geeks out about his experiences with ghosts.
I love blogging theme months because it gives me some focus for my reading too.
Nice responses! I love hearing where people get their book ideas! Mine is other bloggers to a huge extend – and sometimes I get books from them as well as ideas!
I was working on a project to get my Goodreads TBR organized a bit more and I found a lot of interesting books that past me added and current me forgot about. They look really good! That project has fallen a bit by the wayside but at least I’ve got a few of those titles knocking around in my brain again.
I’m very much a mood reader too. I can do more freeform reading challenges but I signed up for too many this year that were a bit too specific and I’m failing miserably at them. Oh well.
I know the something shinier syndrome – I suffer from it too. In fact I’ve just been out and bought a book on the history of mathematics because it had a lovely cover. I love the idea of a book on the history of bananas.
“If I buy a book and don’t read it right away, I’ll never read it” I feel this so hard! Not saying I will never read a book if I don’t read it right away but sometimes it can take up to years. Glad I’m not the only one though!