Recently, I surprised someone by saying I don’t choose my next read based on the main tropes in the story.
Immediately, they asked how I do choose.
“Um … author?” My answer came out like a question because even at the time, it didn’t seem quite right.
I often put books on my TBR (to-be-read pile) based on the author or sales I come across. But for me to actually read the book out of the MANY on my pile, something extra has to happen.
But what?
I polled Instagram to see what people there would say.
I asked the question, “How do you choose your next read?”
(Keep in mind that in a poll, Instagram only allows 4 options)
Bookstagram (bookish posts on Instagram) took first place with 12 votes.
Author took second with 10.
Trope and a friend’s recommendation were tied with 7.
Mood was the most common write-in answer with 5 people creating answers that essentially boiled down to that.
Some responses did mention cover, but not too many. I think part of the reason for that is a cover’s job is to convey mood, genre, and author, so for the most part, ultimately, it’s not the cover itself but what the cover represents that inspires the read. (Feel free to disagree! I’d love to hear your thoughts in comments!)
After thinking about these responses, I’ve decided that picking just one is a little simplistic.
What ultimately moves a book from my TBR to an active read is a blend of author, mood, and all-around buzz.
You see, even when a favorite author releases a book, I wait for the mood to strike before I move the book from my TBR to something I’m actively reading.
But, if I see a book being raved about, I’m more likely to bump it up and give it a try myself—especially if the author is a favorite, but even if they’re not.
And that’s where we can all come in! Each review and post and recommendation contributes to a book’s rescue from the TBR. That’s why I’m so grateful for reading communities like this one where we can celebrate Christian romance and talk up the books we love!
So, I’ll put a modified poll below. I’d love to see your responses in comments!
How do you choose your next read?
- Buzz (praise for a book online or in person but from people you don’t necessarily know)
- Mood
- Personal recommendations (these are from people who know you )
- Author
- Trope
Let’s talk about it in comments! And yes, feel free to choose a few options.
By the way, I have book releasing in April. I’m looking for readers who are willing to help with that super-important factor of buzz.
If you love moving romance that dives into deep topics and you’re willing to share about A Surefire Love, you can find out more about my team of advance readers here.
Unless there’s a new release that I can’t wait to get to, I choose my next read by what I’m in the mood for.
Mood is such a big factor!
I think mood is my biggest one, although author sometimes trumps that. If one of my favorite authors has a new release, or I get approved for a NetGalley ARC, those go at the top of my list. Some books I’ve put off for a long time, and then wondered why it took me so long. I’ve got way too many I’ve picked up during sales that get lost on my Kindle 🙂
My Kindle is the same way! It’s so easy to pick them up and then not get to them. Sounds like we have pretty similar styles of choosing our next reads!
I’m on several author’s ARC team, so I definitely read a lot of Christian-based and clean romance and cozy mysteries. If I have time between ARCs, I choose a book according to the title and cover.
ARC readers are so important! Thanks for supporting so many authors that way!
Definitely mood, then author.
Interestingly often it is the cover that will have me skip something in my tbr list.
I never read reviews I’d rather read the blurb or the sample to see what a book is like, so often I find reviews unhelpful and reveal the story or is just a rehash of the blurb. I know they are useful for authors but until my eyes are healed I am only leaving the star ratings.
Thanks for the interesting post. 🙂
I think covers convey a lot of the mood of a book–or at least, they should! So it makes sense that a cover would give you an idea of whether to read or save a book for later. And you have a good point about reviews: they don’t have to be summaries of the story! The blurb is there to describe the plot. The reviews help readers know if it’s done well. And even star ratings without text can help with that, so no shame if writing out your thoughts just isn’t a fit for you right now!
I am on several ARC teams, too, and those books definitely take precedence. Since they are all favorite authors it is not a hardship! When I don’t have an ARC waiting to be read, I primarily go with other favorite authors’ books I’ve been waiting to read. I will occasionally pick a book purely based on buzz or an intriguing blurb, which I guess could include trope and my mood. 😉
It’s wonderful that you’re on ARC teams! And thanks for prioritizing those – it’s so helpful to authors to launch a book with buzz already happening!
I would say I’m primarily a mood reader. However, I read a lot of library books so sometimes I choose one because it will have to go back soon.
Deadlines help us get going, don’t they? I’m that way with book club books sometimes — reading it because I know I need to be ready for a discussion!
This might be an odd answer, but I find deadlines oddly motivating. So the next book I read is usually the next book I HAVE TO read, whether for book club, Bible study, researching for an upcoming appointment, reading-that-one-someone-recommended-before-I-see-them-again, etc. The one with the next deadline (real or perceived) is what gets read. That sounds really joyless, but I promise it isn’t! I enjoy reading, and this just gives me the added joy of crossing something off my to-do list.
In the absence of a deadline (the horror!) I’m probably most motivated by the blurb on the back/inside dust jacket. If that sounds interesting, I’ll read it.
Haha, deadlines help! I’m much more timely about reading when I have an external reason to motivate me, so I get it!
I read a lot of ARCs—250 to 300 per year.
Those are easy to pick. The next one due is the next to be read.
In between, I have a bajillion books to choose from that I’ve purchased or been given. How do I choose between those?
Last year an author I follow posted a link to a blogger that set up a year-long “Read You Bookshelf Challenge.” Last year, it was pretty straight forward. You read twelve book for the year based on the previous book chosen. I went through the cycle several times.
This year’s was more complicated so I took her list and streamed-lined it to fit me.
(The blogger is ChantelReadsAllDay.)
You read so much! I’m sure it’s a challenge to keep your TBR pile in shape when you go through so many, but it sounds like you’ve found a system that works!
I read based on which books I’m editing/proofing which needs to be read before I read other books. Then, I have a list of ARC’s and the order I received them. A few times I’ve put them in the order they’ll release. Then, if I don’t have any of the above, I’ll go to my paperback stack of TBR books and pick from them. Usually, I read the burb on the back before making a decision of which one to pick, but sometimes I just pick the book on the top.
Yes, professional projects certainly to help make our choices for us, don’t they? Sounds like you fit in plenty of other reading too!
Good morning, I usually pick the book by its title and what the blurb says, so I guess I also pick my next read from my mood that I am at the time. Of course if it is a series I jump right to the next book in the series.
Oh, I love that you mentioned title! I didn’t think to add that as an option, but they certainly give an idea of what to expect from the story.
I retired in 2015 from FEMA, at age 70, so now there’s no pressure or hassle to my reading. I had a “classical” “Catholic” education, with an ROTC scholarship, so, I married my girl (55 yrs ago) and we moved to Aberdeen MD, to become an Army Mechanical Maintenance Officer (Oct “67). I was surprised to find myself not flying to VietNam, but sailing with my wife to Germany.
It was an interesting time. We were in Karlsruhe, on the Rhine, a lovely city. I became part of a group which assured maintenance of equiptment left by a unit sent “over there”.
We enjoyed it. We traveled. One trip was to be to Bavaria and Northen Italy; BUT our car broke a camshaft near Stuttgart, and we bought a VW instead.
Sometime later, Russia moved on the Czecks, but we had other excitement. “We” had two boys, and while Kathy took home to family, I had my moldy big toenails removed, by a German doctor, over Christmas !!! and while sedated, thought T saw a little nurse sitting in my wastebasket !
The rest was sweet, Ludwig’s castle, Oberammergau, Octoberfest in Munich – sight was a man on all fours kicking like a mule; took the cable car to the Zugspitze – could see 3 or 4 countries!
Then, home to APG, looked over budding mechanics, took flying lessons and reverted to reserve status, unemployed (!) you know the drill – 40 years of jobs in MD, VA, PA, and Winchester VA – just like up home, but more civilized, less snow and warmer!
Enroute, we had 2 girls – 1 married, had 6 kids, and, with hubby, is getting ministerial licensed; her sister became a missionary. and just married a native – coming home in Spring.
Oh, I forgot, in ’77, we got caught up in the Charismatic Revival, examined the roots, and left the Catholic Church, with a 10-page letter explaining to friends who became not.
So, reading has always been an escape and a chance to soak up new experiences.
Thanks for letting me dribble on like this – such a relief!!
Over the years my focus has remained on the people in the story – what they did, and why, how they interacted with others and why; and the best did that, from Azimov to Zelazny, as did the regency romantics, the Arianna Richmond’s and H.Y.Hahn’s, and now the settlers and cowboys, the billionaire bosses, the hard working “kids”- I love ’em all, if they’re sincere, skilled and in touch with themselves.
Sounds like you’ve had a lot of experiences! I’m glad you get to continue the adventure through reading. There really is so much to experience, and I’m grateful for the windows fiction can provide to show us how life is outside of our own situations!
I’m another one who really depends on mood – I think trope is the next biggest reason, but that’s really related to mood so pretty much the same thing!
I’ll give you points for two separate options 😉 Different books present different tropes differently – a rom com and a more serious tone might tackle the same trope in different ways!
Apart from ARC’s, which take precedence, I read what I’m in the mood for, even if it’s an oldie I’ve read multiple times!! Or a story mentioned in this blog, or an author newsletter….
If a story is by a new to me author, I read the reviews, and the blurb about the author! I need to know if he/she is a Bible believing Christian whose writing has more than token Christianity. Then, to be on the safe side, I read a sample before parting with my cash!
Oh, I love that you reread! I don’t get around to that very often – so many new books to read! But, it can be so relaxing to revisit a favorite 🙂
I am a mood reader. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
Thanks for stopping by, Debra!
ARCs go to the top of the list (and not all the authors I read for write the same genre!)
They are followed by an author/mood combination – I may have 3 books on my TBR pile from different favorite authors – if I’m in the mood for mystery and two of those three are romance, then it’s a no-brainer I will pick up the mystery. If I am looking for a romance, then I will glance at the blurb to see which one most grabs my attention (and that could easily be dependent on my mood at the time).
Then there are days like today when I know that I have plenty of books on hand that I will enjoy reading, but I took a peek at NetGalley and requested an ARC by an author I’ve never heard of before. Yep, I started it this afternoon.
Sounds like a mood reader to me! 🙂 Reading from different genres definitely helps with that. I’m sure the author you picked on NetGalley will appreciate your review too!
It can often be the blurb or someone telling me about a book. I have been in a readers slump and a friend shared the first paragraph of a book and when I got the book I read it that day (ok went to 12.30am the next day). I normally would have taken 4 or 5 days for a longer book and I couldn’t stop it.
The blurb more than cover will be the choice although now that I use kindle more the cover often is the choice. a cozy mystery with a cat may hook me. but its often mood.
Friends’ recommendations can be so on the spot, can’t they? That was how I first discovered Becky Wade. Sounds like your friend knows you well!
It’s so hard to pick only one option! 😂 but currently I am choosing my books by mood if I boil it down. Which seems to be the top choice of the comments are anything to go by! 😁
Yes, mood does seem to be winning, doesn’t it? Welcome to our very big club 🙂
1. Availability – when you read too fast and your life situation allows time to read, you scorn e-books, you’re not crazy rich, and you live 3 hours from the big city library that can actually buy the new books you want to read… well, you can’t be AS picky as you’d like to be (although I still only read Christian fiction and mostly refuse Amish or extreme suspense.)
2. Author
3. Genre (Contemporary romance, fantasy/allegory, historical romance, preferably not a time hop where the book takes place in two different time periods telling two separate stories)
4. Description/back cover
5. Recommendations by other authors whose work I greatly appreciate. I once picked up a fantasy book new to me and the reviews/recommendations were from at least 3 other authors whose work I REALLY liked. Yeah, that book was definitely going to get a chance!
I can see those circumstances under #1 influencing decisions for sure! You’ve got to go with what you can get your hands on! I also love that you mention recommendations by other writers you enjoy – that’s a great way to find new favorites!