Which book should you read next? These websites will find the best book for your tastes and recommend titles by experts and famous people.
No matter how cooped up or bogged down you feel, books can be your escape. You can dive into a world that takes you away from harsh reality. And if fiction isn’t what you seek, you can learn more through engaged reading than any other media.
After all, successful and intelligent people don’t talk about the TV series they’re binge-watching, they talk about the books they are reading.
These websites take different routes to suggest books to read. Some work like multiple-choice apps, while others take the effort to ask experts what they think you should be reading. But whichever path you take, at the end of it, you’ll have a new book to enjoy.
1. Next Book to Read (Web): 3-Step App to Find Book Recommendations
Don’t you love it when an app does exactly what it says without making you jump through a million hoops? Next Book to Read helps you find a book that you’ll like based on your tastes. It’s a simple three-step process to get 15 recommendations each time.
First, pick genres that you’re interested in. Next, pick a few books you’ve already read and liked. At this step, you’ll also see four sliders to give weightage. You can look for something from the same author or series. Or you can find books with similar themes by dragging the Category or Description sliders.
The app will then deliver 15 book recommendations in a neat grid of covers. Hover over a title to read its brief description. There’s an option to email the list to yourself, and you can remove titles before the mail is sent. It’s a convenient way to discover new books to read and keep track of them.
2. The Quarantine Book Club (Web): Q&A Video Meetings With Authors
The Quarantine Book Club is an online space to interact with authors in a Zoom meeting about their creations. Hosted by US-based design studio Mule Designs, it’s a chance to get the book tour experience from the comfort of your home.
The website lists all upcoming authors and the books they’re talking about. Each meeting has a $ 5 entry ticket, much like some real-life book signings and readings where you have to purchase the book to gain entry.
And just in case your economic situation isn’t great, don’t worry. The Quarantine Book Club has free entry voucher codes for each talk. Similarly, if you’re dissatisfied with the experience, you can ask for your money back.
The Zoom interactions are similar to what a book tour has. The author talks about their journey with the book, answers questions from the audience, and has a free-flowing interaction. The illustrious list of authors includes Cory Doctrow, Arjun Basu, Ariel Waldman, and many more. Check the website weekly for the updated list.
3. Good Books (Web): Books Recommended by Successful People
Successful people read a lot. You’ll often find interviews or blog posts where they talk about a few books that helped them achieve that success or changed how they approached life. Good Books rounds up book recommendations by those who’ve made it.
The illustrious list of people includes Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Ariana Huffington, Emma Watson, Noam Chomsky, and many, many more. Search for a person you admire and you’ll find the books they think you should be reading. You can also browse people by the industry they’re famous for.
If you browse by books, you’ll find how many successful people say it’s a must-read. The top 100 books list is a good way to find new titles that many achievers think is worth reading. You can also browse by category and check new featured titles.
4. Five Books (Web): Expert Recommendations on Their Subject
If you want to learn more about viruses, find out what an expert on the subject recommends you read. Instead of relying on suggestions by friends, Five Books seeks out experts and authors to get five book recommendations about their chosen field.
This cool website takes a different approach than just compiling recommendations based on different interviews and blog posts. Instead, Five Books conducts an interview with the expert.
After the expert names their five suggestions, the editors ask a series of questions about the books and why the expert considers them important. The interview is as illuminating as any critique or review of the book you’ll read online.
There are various ways to browse Five Books. Choose a genre, a region of the world, lists and round-ups, popular book awards, and new releases. The “popular expert interviews” is a good place to start.
And don’t forget to check the list of most recommended books, which is where many experts from different fields agree on a classic. It’s a unique way to find book recommendations to read.
5. Book Series in Order (Web): Read a Great Fictional Character’s Adventures
Books have given us some of the greatest fictional characters, spread across series. James Bond, Miss Marple, Jack Reacher, Katniss Everdeen, and so many other characters are who we fall in love with. Book Series in Order (BSIO) lets you find all books that feature one of your favorites.
For example, if you like Jack Reacher, you’ll find all the books by Lee Child where he features. The website provides both the publication order and the chronological order. So you could go by the correct order of Reacher’s life rather than jumping back-and-forth in his timeline. You’ll also find other books and short stories where Jack Reacher has appeared, and a short biography of the character.
The website’s browsing experience lends itself to discovering new books. It suggests a new book of the month, featured authors, featured series, lists and best-ofs, and a newsletter with six to eight titles every fortnight. Each book title has quick links to pick it up on Amazon.
The Heavyweight Book Recommendation Sites
The websites on this list are some of the newer ways to find the best book to read. Of course, the internet has several book recommendation engines and forums that are much more popular.
From Goodreads and Gnook to Riffle and Whichbook, you need to try out these heavyweight book suggestion engines too. They are the best sites to find what book to read next.
Read the full article: 5 Fuss-Free Websites to Find What Book to Read Next
