Hellobee Boards

I have gotten great recommendations from book threads on Hellobee. I know there hasn’t been one recently but you can look at some of the ones that occurred over recent years.
I also look at recommendations from NY Times, Laura Tremaine, book clubs like Oprah’s, Reese’s, Jenna Bush.
What genre of books do you like?

@Mommy Finger: I love Libby and do the vast majority of my reading through there! One way to browse is to sort by popularity and kind of see if anything new sparks your interest. I use theholds list and tags if there is a lot of interest. You can also filter the popular list by “available now” to see what you could try right this minute.

I also listen to the Nerdette podcast and she does a book of the month with two related episodes. I have really liked her selections this year. I also get ideas by looking at “best books of the year” lists like there are a ton of this time of year.

I also tend to read something I like and then look for other things by the same author.

Some of my favorite books I read this year are Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, Oona out of Order by Margarita Mortimore, and The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by VE Schwab.

For light hearted beach reads I do like Elin Hilderbrand. Liane Moriarty also writes good quick reads but a little more depth or JoJo Moyes. For mysteries I like the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.

Just a few thoughts in case any of those are a starting point—have fun!

This might sound dumb, but I think you just have to start trying books that sound interesting to see what you like now. There are some afternoon chats on the website Go Fug Yourself about what people are reading now that always have *tons* of suggestions. Here is the most recent one: https://www.gofugyourself.com/your-afternoon-chat-what-are-you-reading-11-10-2021
Book recommendations are so tricky. I heard really great things about the book Olive Kitteridge, but I couldn't read much of it and found it depressing.

I definitely follow reading list threads on here, on my local moms group, etc and then go read the blurb and if it sounds interesting, put it on hold at the library. (I also keep my kindle in airplane mode when I have a bunch of library downloads - keeps popular library books from expiring if you don’t get them done in time!)

Another thing I’ve found helpful in addition to reading everything by an author once I like a book is to check out something like the Instagram feed for the author - often you can see what they are reading and give that a try.

At my current age (40), I enjoy fluff as well as more poignant books but can’t go too depressing or dark. Also don’t be afraid to quit a book if you’re just not into it, or skip to the end! I love library books for that, no guilt.

I have found Goodreads Choice Awards to be really reliable picks. I'd start there to figure out what you like. If you go to older years you're more likely to find something available now at the library.

I also really like book podcasts to give me some ideas! Sarah's bookshelves live is my favorite (especially the book preview episodes she does). She also has a b log: https://www.sarahsbookshelves.com/

And don't be afraid to quit books if they're not working!! You will find something that connected with you eventually!!