I love reading about books that I might like to read. Fiction, usually. I like reading book reviews, following readers and authors on Instagram and on their blogs, and learning about new books. And no, this has nothing to do with the fact that I work as a librarian. (My day job is management, and I don’t normally deal with any books at all, and I work in a university library and we don’t usually deal with the sorts of books I like reading.)
I have no idea how I learned about new books pre-Internet. Pre-Internet I was in my twenties, and I never really developed the newspaper reading habit back then. (Is this a shocking thing to admit? I remember one of my professors at uni exhorting me to read the newspaper. He was horrified that I didn’t.) I imagine there would have been book reviews in newspapers. I did start listening to Radio National in my twenties and I recall listening to programmes about books and literature then. I also used the public library more back then, and browsing the shelves was fun, but I did it without any specific expectations – it was all serendipity. I still enjoy serendipity but these days it tends to be in bookshops.
Of course I do read the news (in fact I have two subscriptions to news publications; strictly speaking I still have never developed a newspaper habit as I only use apps) and yes they do have book reviews. I don’t remember which publication alerted me to it, but I love this site and this rambly post is just me saying: if you like American novels, check out this site: 1,001 Novels: A Library of America.
How do you find your next book to read?
5 Comments
I am avid reader of newspapers and have my own subscription to the Sydney Morning Herald – digital + the weekend editions in print. I used to read the Weekend Australian too long ago but I don’t seem to have the time these days. Most of my reading is via web and apps but after a few years of reading the tablet version on the weekends, I missed being able to open up the larger format. It remains a tradition to read the print edition in a cafe over brekky on the weekends 🙂
Me, I don’t like the feel or smell of newsprint on my hands. (I know, I know, too finicky 😀 ) And as I’ve never developed the habit, I don’t miss reading paper editions at all.
Your post inspired me to write up a short post on the same topic: https://www.fionabradley.com/posts/reading-around-the-thesis/ Happy blogjune!
Thanks for stopping by, Fiona! I won’t ask how the PhD is going 😀
I’ve added the three China titles you mention to my To Read list…
I’ve got to an interesting place in my life where I find I pick up a book that belongs to me, that lives In My House, and find that I have forgotten how it ends. If I read the first few chapters and do not pick up enough of what happened next to put me off, I happily reread it. Must have refreshed about eight books over the past year this way. It is hilarious.
I feel mildly vindicated by the fact that Gerald Murnane wrote a very funny essay about forgotten books – I lent the book it is in to my sister in law but I think it is called “Books that have been dropped into wells”.
Leaving Twitter means I am a bit out of the new book loop now. My niece is doing a fine job on Instagram reviewing, if you are interested Con. Her handle is @bridgets_bookshelf. She has two degrees and writes concisely but with some depth. It is sobering when your nieces grow up and turn into critics.