Tips for Finding Good Books

Note to self: Don't promise to share another blog post the next day unless you already have it written and ready to publish. Murphy's Law of Blogging guarantees that the next day will not lend itself to writing in any way. When this happens, the only thing to do is keep it short and sweet and congratulate yourself on not disappointing your readers.

Here are a few tools that have helped me find good books.

• Make a list of recommendations.

Many times, someone would mention a book that piqued my interest. But when I went to search for it at the library, I had already forgotten the title or author. So I turned to a blank page in the back of my planner and started writing down every book that was recommended to me. Soon, I had a list of almost thirty books. When I'm ready for new books, I simply pick a few more off my list and put in my request at the library. No more wandering down the library aisles racking my brain for the name of that author.

• Download the Good Reads app. 

This quickly became my favorite app on my phone. I now keep my list of recommendations on this app instead of in my planner. I like that I can create different "shelves" for children's books or books I think my husband would enjoy. But my favorite features of this app are the reviews and descriptions. I'm not one of those people that likes to start into a book completely blind. I love knowing what other readers thought of the book. Usually, after reading the description and a few reviews I can decide whether it's a book for me. Another nice thing about the app is that you can rate the books you have finished. Good Reads will then recommend other books to you based on your ratings.

• Don't be scared to quit.

I generally like to finish what I start. But I've realized there's no point in wasting time on a book I'm not enjoying when there are so many other good ones out there. Recently, I started a book by an author someone had recommended to me. At first, it was a sweet story about faithfulness in the face of disease. But it turned into a bizarre custody battle over a little boy which was not something I cared to read about. I abandoned it with no regrets and moved on to the next book on my list,

I hope this has been helpful in some way. I think finding that book you can't put down is one of the most satisfying feelings. Happy reading!