10 Fun Ways to Pick your Next Book to Read

When your TBR (to be read) stretches too long, or you’ve fallen into a reading slump, or you just can’t decide what you’re in the mood for, it can be hard to answer the question ‘what book should I read next’? Whether it’s something entirely new or an old book collecting dust on your shelf, this list will help you find the perfect method to pick your next read.

The New New

Sometimes, whether you have two or two hundred unread books, the ones you already own don’t seem appealing. Buying a recent release with good reviews and an even better premise can be a great way to find your next read, break you out of a reading slump, and provide a world or an author for you to get hooked on.

The Speed Date

Give a few books a try by reading the first few lines, a paragraph or the first page. This can work with books you already have, books in a library, or books in a store, so it’s a pretty accessible method. Whichever book seems to hold your attention and leaves you wanting to read more the most is The One.

The Phone a Friend

What are friends for if not helping you pick a new book to read? This can either be in the form of a recommendation or simply asking them to pick a book from your existing TBR on your behalf. Just remember not to blame them if you end up hating the book. You were the one that asked for their help after all…

The Blind Date with a Book

I love the idea of going into a book blind, with as little information as possible, and this is the most effective way to do that. Esty is a great place to go if you’re looking for a mystery book to read or literally ‘a blind date with a book’ as it’s often called. Usually, you pick a genre, a type of book (hardback, paperback), and a condition (new or used), and you’re sent a mystery book.

The only issue with this method is that the more of an avid reader you are, the more likely it is that you may have read the book before, so beware of that.

The Alphabet Scramble

Pick a letter, any letter, whether it corresponds to the first letter of your name, your pet’s name, the current month, or even just a random one, and then read a book with that letter as the first one in its title. I would recommend you avoid the word ‘The’ if you’re looking to keep your potential options narrow though.

The TBR Jar

A TBR jar is exactly what it sounds like—a jar with your TBR inside. This works best if your list of unread books is on the hefty side as it will increase the shock factor of whatever slip of paper tumbles out.

I have two TBR jars myself, and they’ve helped me more than anything to revive my excitement for my existing TBR, forcing me to dig up books I’d forgotten I even owned.

The Number Gamble

Another way to pick your next read is by assigning each of the potential books you could read a number and then running the numbers through a random generator, which can easily be found on Google. You can either do this with all your books (especially if you have a written record of your books), or just a few of them.

The Literary League

This method relies on a process of elimination. Again, this method works best if you have a record of your books to draw upon, but you can easily make one for this purpose. Once you have that, group the books into threes as far as you can, and choose one book from each set of three that you would be most interested in reading. Continue to group the winners into brackets of three (or two if necessary) until you have one book left and you’ve found your winner! This method is most effective with a book bracket to help you along.

The ‘google it’

The internet is a wealth of tools and information that you can tap into, and this method is self-explanatory, involving a quick search for tools that will make your decision process easier. This one is a great way to find recommendations for books that you don’t own yet or if you’re looking for a new release to read. There are so many great resources online that can point you in the right direction such as Whichbook or your Goodreads.

The Social Media substitute

What do you do if you’re at the end of your tether and you can’t do something anymore? You sub someone else in. If you happen to have a social media account or two, a little post on a story—especially if it’s a poll on Instagram—should garner results even from those who don’t necessarily know what you’re talking about. You’ve already decided to relinquish control of the decision and ask for help, so it does not really matter why people pick something or offer a suggestion, as long as they do.

That concludes my list of 10 fun ways to pick your next book to read and I hope one of these methods is the key you need to beat the indecision. Do you use any of these methods already? Or do you have any I mentioned that you swear by? As someone who struggles with their huge TBR, I’d love to hear about them.