5 Ways to Find Your Next Book

The theme for Teen Read Week this year is "Read for the fun of it!"

This seems like a no brainer for me. Reading has always been fun (except that time I had to read Billy Budd by Herman Melville—that was torture because that Melville just droned on and on. About what? I can't even say because I slipped into a comatose state by the third paragraph).

But I'd pick reading a good book over going to a party EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

So, it breaks my bookish heart when I hear people say they hate reading. I try to understand and respect that statement, because it's probably like me saying I hate math (except that reading is awesome and math is the devil. Just kidding. Sort of.).

For years and years, I believed that I hated math. But what I really hated was rote learning, which is how math was taught to me. When I was doing research (soooo much research) while writing Love and Other Unknown Variables, I realized that there are plenty of mathematical theories that are fascinating. And when certain concepts were explained to me, really explained and not just shoved down my throat, I could see that they were beautiful in their own math-y sort of way—that these formulas could open new worlds for me once I understood them.

And I started to see that math and art aren't really all that different. Which is why I gave Charlotte one of my favorite lines in LAOUV.

"You and me, Charlie, we're on the same team—both artists. We just work with different mediums."

So perhaps people who don't like reading, just haven't found the right book yet. They haven't found the book that opens up new worlds for them.

But with so many books being released every year, how's a person to find the right book?

I've found a few great resources that work for me.

1. Librarians—Go ahead. Ask them. They are dying to put books in your hands! And they get this beautiful, slightly manic, gleam in their eyes when you ask for help finding something to read next. Plus, they're tenacious. They won't rest until you're happy. So even if you hate the first book they suggest, they won't get their feelings hurt and be resentful. Nope. They'll make it their life's mission to find you YOUR book.

2. Booksellers—What I said about librarians above goes for these lovely book angels as well. You'll know the good booksellers by that gleam in the eyes I mentioned before. Look for the gleam!

3. Book bloggers—Over the years, I've built up a network of book bloggers whose opinions I trust implicitly. There are bloggers for all types of books. I follow those that mostly blog about YA books. It takes a little time to figure out which ones you share similar tastes with. But sometimes, I've found both my favorite books and bloggers by taking a chance on something I wouldn't normally pick up myself. You can take a peek at some of my favorite blogs here on Bloglovin'.


4. Famous people you admire—These days you can see what just about anyone is reading by following them on social media platforms. Emma Watson, of Hogwarts fame, has a book club on Goodreads called Our Shared Shelf. Andrew Luck from the Indianapolis Colts has a book club, too. Here's a whole mess of celebrities with book clubs in this USA Today piece entitled Celebrity Book Club 2016. It's one thing for your English teacher to assign a book and a very different thing when Beyonce tells you to read one!

5. Get lost—Seriously. Go to the library and just get lost wandering the aisles. See something you like? Try it. It's free. Read the first 25 pages. Don't like it. No big deal. Keep wandering.

Don't be afraid to try new genres and mediums. Don't like classics? How about a graphic novel version of the classics? No time to read? How about an audio book?

The library is like a giant free travel agency with free trips to anywhere you want for FREE. What do you have to lose?