How agonizing is it to choose a book to read these days?

bookbandit

How do you pick a book to read when you have so much to choose from?

jhsurti

Meself 1-5-2018 10:19 AM
It probably is the biggest dilemma the reader coterie is facing today. With every author vying for t ...

Ditto with me too. As I mentioned in another thread, first 20-25 pages - no go? - forget it! Shortlist books depending on general reviews and reputation of authors if they have previous books, then trial and error! Thanks to forums like this that allow us the luxury of trial and error! If there were no ebooks and we still had only paperbacks/hardcovers, that would be a real real dilemma because one would have to part with cash and trail/error would be an expensive proposition. In which case I would have relied on libraries.
I remember what we did in our college days, a few friends got together and each one bought a different book. And we circualted amonst us. That worked quite well till the college lasted!

Meself

It probably is the biggest dilemma the reader coterie is facing today. With every author vying for the same genre and topic; there exists so many books to chose from. The sheer number of books written on the same topic is daunting. At the moment it's all trial and error for me. I pick a book, read it and if it is unable to hold my attention for at least 20 pages, I give up and move on.

bookbandit

Meself 1-5-2018 10:19 AM
It probably is the biggest dilemma the reader coterie is facing today. With every author vying for t ...

That is very wise. No point persisting with a boring read. I have a lot of difficulty with this. Jettisoning a bad read. But now I have a folder for it and I promptly consign a book to the "abandoned" category.

cynic

jhsurti 1-5-2018 11:20 AM
Ditto with me too. As I mentioned in another thread, first 20-25 pages - no go? - forget it! Short ...

Same here. If the book does not hold my attention for the first couple of chapters, it is off into the DNF bin. I earlier felt a compulsion to read every book from start to finish. Not anymore. I use Goodreads to categorize the books I want to read. And have a shortlist folder for the ones readily available. Beyond that, it is trial and error for me too.

I feel there are more authors that readers these days.

jhsurti

"I feel there are more authors that readers these days."

That was a good one!

bookbandit

more authors than readers! hahahaha! yep. so much for publishing!

Kindleking

There are some steps i follow before starting on a book - 1.i go to book stores spend some time there in reading the summaries and reviews on the book,2. Get suggestions from my friend circle who are into books, 3. Obviously sites like Goodreads help, 4. Do a lot of research on the Genres I like and best books which fit into it.

bookbandit

Kindleking 5-5-2018 02:25 PM
There are some steps i follow before starting on a book - 1.i go to book stores spend some time ther ...

I miss going to book shops. The one I frequented, Strand in Churchgate mumbai, closed for good a few months ago. There are others I could go to, but I can't take the time anymore for numerous reasons

jhsurti

bookbandit 6-5-2018 11:44 AM
I miss going to book shops. The one I frequented, Strand in Churchgate mumbai, closed for good a f ...

Yeah. I too miss those visits to bookstores. Time constraints too.