If you’re like me, you’re probably anticipating a family vacation during the summer. Or at the very least you’re looking forward to some down time swinging in the hammock in the back yard or lying in the warm sand on the beach or sitting in a comfy chair outside a mountain cabin.
Whether you have a long car ride ahead of you, or whether you have to spend a day in an airport changing planes, there’s one activity most people DO (or at least intend to do) on every vacation and in every travel situation.
Can you guess what it is?
Yes. Read!
Almost every time I go on a trip, I bring books.
Next week, I’m taking a trip to the far northern reaches of Michigan to the Keweenaw Peninsula, the setting of my third lighthouse book.
I’m going about as far north in Michigan as you can get!
I’m super excited because I get to live in the assistant light keeper’s cabin for an entire week overlooking Lake Superior. It will definitely be hands on research!
Here’s Eagle Harbor Lighthouse. This picture doesn’t show the assistant keeper’s cottage, but it’s right next to it.
In between all my research and hiking and sight-seeing, I hope to relax with a book or two. Reading equals relaxing. Can I hear an Amen?!
As a special trip gift to my kids, I bought them each a book just for the vacation (yes, I’m teaching them right priorities at a young age!).
The trouble is, with the millions billions of books out there, how can a reader find books that are worth the purchase? As I browse through books, sometimes I’m overwhelmed with knowing which ones I’d really love and which ones won’t hold my interest. Unfortunately, I’ve paid good money for books that I end up not liking.
How do we avoid wasting money on books that are just so-so and instead find books that we’re certain to enjoy?
There aren’t ever guarantees, are there? Even our favorite authors sometimes write stories that don’t resonate as well as others.
However, here are a few ways I’ve learned to narrow down my book search:
1. Find recommendations on Goodreads. I find lots of new reading from browsing various lists on Goodreads under “Listopia.” For example, if I want to find popular YA books released this year, I do a search on Listopia for “YA Novels of 2014” and get a couple pages of popular lists.
Also on Goodreads, anytime you’re visiting the page of a book you like, if you look in the upper right-hand corner, you’ll see a section labeled, “Readers Also Enjoyed.” It lists books that are similar in genre and style.
2. Look at suggestions on Amazon. If you go to a book you like on Amazon, you’ll see two places “Frequently Bought Together” and “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought.” If I see a book there that perks my attention, then I go over and check it out further.
3. Look at what books friends are reading. I pay attention to what my friends are reading when they mention books on Twitter, Facebook, book groups, or other places, especially the friends who share the same values and interests as me. I figure if they rave about a book, it will likely be one that I enjoy too.
4. Ask authors for suggestions. From time to time, my readers ask me for suggestions for books that are like mine. I often give ideas for those authors I feel are closest in style to what I write and am always happy to help other authors gain new fans.
5. Evaluate what everyone else is talking about. Word of mouth is usually one of the best ways to see what’s most popular. I often get ideas from my daughter who is an avid reader. As a teen, she usually makes it her full time job to know what’s in and what’s out. 🙂
Do you take a book on vacation? And how do you narrow down your search for books that you know that you’ll like?
Jody Hedlund
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Great recommendations, Jody! When I send out my quarterly e-newsletter, I always include a section on what I’ve read, am currently reading, and have on my TBR pile. The two times that I dared to leave out that section of the newsletter, boy, have my readers let me have it! So I couldn’t agree more with your “ask authors for suggestions” point.
I always have a book with me, in some form or fashion. If it won’t fit in my bag, then I have one on the Kindle app on my phone. 🙂
I’m pretty boring, actually. If I’m purchasing a book, I wil almost always stick with authors whose books I’ve loved in the past. If I come across an new author whose book sounds interesting, I will generally look for it at a library first, then if no one has it, I will read reviews – what bugged people the most? how many 1 star reviews did it get? etc. If there’s nothing that stands out, I may buy it, especially if I’ve heard some of my fellow book addicts talking about it. I’m very picky about what I spend money on. I won’t like everything I try, but I’d rather not spend $15 and then find out I couldn’t stand it (which I’ve done a few times).
I hope you have a great trip!
~Sarah
I love reading. I am generally have my Nook with me where ever I go. I check out the latest free books, by searching under $0.00. As my Nook can carry a great number of books, I never run out.
I get most of my book recommendations from word of mouth. There are two facebook groups, which deal with Christian fiction, to which I belong. I love reading the recommendations on those and also I keep an eye on the books being released by my favorite authors. I listen to a lot of audio books, as well. These recommendations are generally from my friend that works at the library. She gets suggestions from other people there and passes the books onto me.
I get e-mails from Christian authors, and request their books from the Bookmobile that comes to my place of employment every 3 weeks. Once I find an author I like, I read her/his other books! I also get a monthly e-mail from Bethany House publishers, and this includes free e-books for the current month. I get free e-books for my Kindle, daily, thanks to e-mails from Christian authors.
I love my Kindle (I have over 400 books on it currently) because it’s easy to carry–my personal opinion re: Kindle is that I enjoy reading fiction on my Kindle, but for any study books, I WANT a (hard copy) REAL Book, because I underline, highlight, and write notes in the margins & the front of the book for references!
Yay books! At least one goes with me everywhere. Usually two — a spare just in case I finish the first one faster than I estimated. 🙂 As for selection — blog reviews help. And scanning through the websites of my favourite publishers to see whats new and exciting. And I love to browse in a bookstore. Covers beckon me, jacket blurbs entice — I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to book selection. I’ll happily try out as many new-to-me authors as I can afford. 🙂
I always take 2 or 3 books with me on vacation! I take my 2 notebooks I have that list all my books by alphabetical order according to author! I have two libraries hence the 2 notebooks! I go to every bookstore I can find and I have to know what books I already have. Plus I can read on my kindle fire or my iPhone because I have about 800 books on them! I am truly a bookworm!
I particularly enjoy it when writers, editors, or agents whose blogs I follow ask their readers to comment about what they are currently reading, or want to read, or the best book they’ve read so far this year. Those comment threads are treasure troves of new to me titles and authors.
Not that I need another title to add to my TBR stack… but no, of course I do! Maybe three. 🙂
Your trip sounds wonderful, Jody. About a decade ago now I and a group of friends did a self-guided tour of quite a number of lighthouses along the Oregon coast, even one friend who was afraid of heights. He made up to the top of every lighthouse. Lighthouses have interested me ever since we began visiting Hatteras and the Outer Banks, NC, during my childhood.
PS: I also keep my own reading log on my Pinterest page. Whenever I learn of another author keeping such a public log, I check it out. I love to know what other writers are reading. It’s fascinating to me, especially if they’re an author whose books replenish my own creative well, to discover what books are filling theirs.
Hi Everyone! Sorry I wasn’t able to respond to each of your comments individually today! I’ve been busy all day getting ready for my big trip! Thank you all for sharing your thoughts! Wishing you all many hours of happy reading! 🙂
Jody, I loved this post. I do some of them, of course, but I’ve never tried the Goodreads Listopia. I plan to put that one to use.