MPKGD Many moons ago, I ranted (well… wrote) about the fact that “people don’t read anymore”… such a funny thing to say!
Anyway, reading is so much easier nowadays; the amount of material is actually close to bombarding (not that I am complaining).
Here are some places to go and look for books. (DISCLAIMER: I am not sponsored by any of the websites and places that I am about to mention! I just absolutely love using these resources)
For the Complete Newbies
These are for those that have only started their reading journey of, any age. We all had to start somewhere.
a. Your Teacher
Whatever your relationship is with your teachers, you will always depend on them in any way shape or form especially when it comes to reading. Since they are the ones who will teach you to read, then they should be dependable on the reading material that they give you.
There are a lot of books primary school teachers use to teach, usually they are your picture books. They can be from websites such as: https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/learn-english-free-books/ (Thank you, Emma for this site!). It looks campy but it works. Then when students are comfortable with basic words they can read lengthier books. It can be books written by Edward Munsch or The Magic Treehouse or those black and white sketched images of Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. Some of the classics like Charles Dickens novels have abridged and illustrated versions making them a good introduction to the classics.
b. Your local library
This is the reason why libraries exist and why librarians do what they do: because they love books enough to want to be surrounded by them everyday of the week and talk about them to anyone who will be willing to listen to them.
Come on, seriously. As booklovers, we all wanted to have this job.
That place is a treasure trove of things to read with people who can help you get comfortable with reading. Before we had all the websites and the apps that tell us what to read, we went to librarians and ask them what to read and where we can find them. There was a joy in finding books. And seriously, go to the library, it helps your favorite authors too.
Libraries now come in multiple shapes and sizes. It can be your traditional brick and mortar buildings housing thousands or millions of titles. They also have an online version of libraries; this one gives you access to your local library and gives you a chance to borrow from other libraries if your local ones don’t have a copy. Online libraries also give you a chance to borrow audiobooks if you are just dipping your toes in the audiobook world. And there are the Little Libraries wherein volunteers set-up tiny libraries creating a community of book readers.
Here are a few links to get you started:
This is my local library. Pretty much a brick and mortar store that gives access to a lot of books, DVDs, and computers for those that do not have any.
The online library.
There were some books here that I had to request from Washington DC because the Canadian libraries didn’t carry a copy.
This is the Little Free Library. They are available in multiple countries and in multiple neighborhoods. If your neighborhood doesn’t have one, you can always start one!
c. Your Friends and Family
For the lucky ones who are surrounded by friends and family that read a lot of books, considered yourselves the lucky ones. I mean seriously, growing up surrounded by books may be one of those quiet luxuries people that people miss out on.
I am one of those lucky ones and I am going brag about it as long as I shall live. I am so thankful to my parents for being bookworms themselves and building an entire library in our house. And from there, they helped mold my literary life. They showed us what books to read by telling us stories about the books that they have read from their childhoods, or from the books that they heard from their co-workers, etc.
Friends that are readers can also help with your literary journey. Your friend’s favorite genre can also become your own favorite genre, and you can start from there.
For the Intermediate Readers
These are for those who are already reading but are still looking for their niche or their favorite genre. These are for those who do not yet know where to look for books that they like and are still exploring what the world of books have to offer.
By the way, most of these offerings are pretty overwhelming. But, these are very much expected since you are trying to develop that niche.
d. The gigantic bookstore chains
A lot of social media influencers do not really like big book chains because they follow the “algorithm”. Well, they do, but that is not necessarily a bad thing because everyone must start for somewhere.
When someone enters these book stores, they would see what the new trend is or what the month’s celebration is. There would be something like a “Popular on Booktok” or “Exploring Romantasy” or “If you like [insert movie title here], then we recommend…” tables right by the entrance.
Below are some links for bookstore chains:
e. Google Play Books and other online stores
Just like any other bookstore, online bookstore also do the trick. They might even have a bigger collection than physical bookstores because they can carry classic books that physical stores don’t. They even have out of print books.
f. Amazon Kindle – Kindle Unlimited
This is pretty much the same as the Google Play books – I just placed this as a special mention because they have this thing called the Kindle Unlimited wherein you can “borrow” books. Each book can be “bought” and then returned after you finish it. What makes this different than a library is that there is no due date; although there is a limit to how many books you can borrow at a given time. Otherwise, this is a pretty good place to start your reading lifestyle.
(Yes, I do realize that there is that on-going controversy/issue with Kindle books and whether or not you can still buy and download them. But the Kindle option is still here because it is a good place to start).
g. The popular blogs or websites
Ok for this one, it might take a little bit more familiarity to get to know. These are popular blogs and publications that review and recommend books. Yes, these my sound like a niche find but these particular websites are amongst the most familiar ones. New book readers can even spot the names of these websites in their local bookstores and have something popular recommended to them.
Here are some places that you can start with:
h. YouTube
Love or hate Youtube, but this is already a good place to start reading. You can literally type out “book recommendations” on the search bar and then a multitude of Booktubers will pop up recommending books about everything. There would be horror books, fantasy books, books that they decided to read for the year, books that they hated, books that they love, book rankings based on whatever genre that they love to read. There is a video on just about everything.
They do stick to trends, mostly, but once the Booktube gets into your algorithm, then you can branch out from there.
For the advanced readers
These are for those who know exactly what they want to read and stick to what they are comfortable with. These are also for those who want to find a community of readers so that they can talk about their favorite books without end.
i. The independent bookstores
Ok this isn’t exclusive to advanced readers; I merely suggest this to advanced readers because they would have more understanding of the book world and the importance of the independent book stores to the general book population. Plus, these independent bookstores have more niche audience. Meaning they do have a target and if ever you are not the target then you wouldn’t really find the bookstore (unless of course you walk down their street and walk-in)
Bookshop.org – You may use this website to look for your independent bookshop. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work outside of the United States (I tried, I live in Canada).
j. The independent blogs and social media
Once you fall down in to the rabbit hole of books, your social media will edn looking like a never-ending list of books to be read. Then through the social media accounts you will find bloggers like me that have websites that offer a lot more book reviews and more book related stuff.
I say that this is for the advanced reders because casual readers may not come across such platforms if they do not intent on reading more about books and more stuff about books.
k. Secondhand bookstore websites
Ok, let’s face it a book collecting and reading hobby can be quite expensive so we go and look for the cheapest and most viable option out there.
Here are some links:
l. Advanced Readers Copies (ARCs)
Speaking of getting cheap books there is a way on how to get “free” books: Advanced Readers Copies (ARCs). These groups or companies (sorry, I am not sure what to call hem) partner with publishers and writers to get a copy of their book to give to readers so that they can be reviewed before publication and/or printing. The exchange for these free books is that a) you have to read them within a certain time frame, and b) you don’t really get to keep them. But it does feel like you are part of the cool kids club wherein you have access to things that most people don’t still have ~ yet.
I am a reader for one of them. I am with Netgalley and have had the pleasure of reading a lot of marvelous books with them.
m. The Apps
The millions of apps that are out there that will help you go and look for the books that you have. This is like the gateway to a fully committed and addicted life of the book community. Perfect for the introverts that do not want to go out of the house and meet other people but want to blab about books.
Goodreads – This one is a classic. This was one of the pioneers of the online book community, if not THE pioneer. Very easy to use: create your account and write the books that you have read and join a community if you would like. At this point, there are a lot of people who don’t like how barebones the site looks and it looks like it has not been updated in the past 10 years, but I do like how it is. Still very simple and not addicting. The whole site looks so mellow and boring that it reminds you that you shouldn’t really be wallowing online and should be actually reading.
Likewise – I like this app: its pretty simple to use. With a community of people, I can ask and get recommendations on books, shows, and movies
Fable – I haven’t used this but this is more like a book club and movie club. Like you get to meet individuals who like the same things and then just talk about it.
Storygraph – I haven’t used this but this site seems to be the new craze in the book world cause you can track your readings as if it were the stock market. For those readers that LOVE graphs, this one is for you.
Threads – Say what you want about this app, but so far this is the least distracting of all the major social media platforms. You can easily find a community there
Have fun reading!
