How to Choose What to Read Next When Every Book Sounds Good
When every book on your TBR sounds good, choosing your next read can somehow become the hardest part. Here’s how I narrow it down and when I let fate decide.
THE READING NOOK
Finishing a book should make choosing the next one easy.
Right?
In reality, when I finish a book, I look at my TBR, stare at the insane number of books I've accumulated, remember three more I want to add, and end up with even more options than I started with.
The problem isn't that nothing sounds good. It's that everything sounds good at the same time. As I've mentioned before in My TBR Was Out of Control, So I Put It in a Bag, I'm a Libra, so indecisiveness comes pretty naturally to me.
Do I read the fantasy I've been saving? The book everyone keeps recommending? Something short? Continue the series I'm almost finished with? Or should I reread an old favorite instead?
Before I know it, I've spent more time trying to decide what to read than actually reading. I could be halfway through a book by now.
If you do this too, don't try to figure out which book on your TBR will be the best. That's an argument I can have with myself for way too long.
You just need to figure out which book sounds best right now.
I've tried everything from narrowing my choices by mood to literally writing book titles on scraps of paper and pulling one out of a bag. I still sometimes stand in front of my bookshelf hoping something will jump out at me, but I have a much easier way to narrow things down now.
Here's how I choose what to read next when everything sounds good, without turning it into another twenty-minute to-do.
Start with the energy you have
Before looking through your TBR or every book you own, think about what mood you're actually in.
If I'm tired, the last thing I want is to start some elaborate fantasy with strange names I can't remember.
Maybe you just want to disappear for a little bit. Maybe the vibe is a mystery that keeps making you say one more chapter. Or maybe you're leaning more comfy-cozy, where an easy read in bed sounds best.
Or maybe it's a good day and that 800-page fantasy with a diabolical plot about a villain trying to take over the world is exactly what you need.
That's useful information.
Choosing by mood is a lot easier than asking myself What book do I want to read next?
Try asking a smaller question instead:
What sounds good tonight?
Cozy? Fast? Weird? Romantic? Dark? Funny? Familiar?
You don't need to choose the book yet. You're just narrowing down the possibilities.
Block out the noise
This one is important.
Once you've figured out the mood you want, pick three books that fit the vibe.
Then stop.
Do not go back to your entire TBR.
Do not browse Goodreads one more time.
Do not check upcoming releases.
And absolutely do not decide that what you really need is to buy a thirteenth option.
You already have three books you want to read. That's enough.
I think a lot of book indecision comes from continuing to look after we've already found books we want to read. I'm definitely guilty of this. There's always going to be another book that might be better, and that's just the life of being a reader.
At some point, you have to block out the noise and trust that you've already found three good choices. The other books aren't going anywhere.
Read a few pages before committing
If you're still unsure, don't just read the description on the back. My advice is to actually read the books.
At least a page or two.
This works especially well for me because a premise can sound really good, but then I start reading and just don't care for the writing.
And the opposite happens too.
There have been times when a book I wasn't particularly interested in starting sounded way better once I heard the writer's voice.
Don't put too much pressure on it.
Just notice when a book makes you want to turn another page.
If you reach the end of your little sample and realize you've accidentally kept reading, I'd say you've got a pretty convincing winner.
Let yourself “fail”
I think some of the pressure comes from treating our next read like it's do or die.
That's not the case.
You're allowed to pick a book and then realize you're not feeling it.
You're allowed to put it back on the shelf.
You're allowed to start something else.
And none of that means the first book was bad or that you'll never read it. Sometimes a perfectly good book is just the wrong book at the moment.
This is also why I try not to turn reading into another thing I have to perfect. I already have enough things in my life that come with schedules and goals. I have a career. My hobbies do not need to become one too.
I've had to remind myself of that enough that I wrote an entire post about how to enjoy hobbies without turning them into another to-do list.
Reading is supposed to be the break from all of that.
Still can't choose? Let fate decide!
And this is how I eventually ended up with the Bag of Fate.
Yes. I mean an actual bag. Not a TBR jar.
I write book titles on little slips of paper, toss them in, and pull one when I've reached the point where every option feels like a struggle.
There is one important rule:
I get one repull.
I guess I believe in conditional fate.
The funny thing is that sometimes the first pull tells me exactly what I don't want to read.
I'll pull a title and think, Ugh. I don't want that one.
Which can actually be pretty insightful.
Now I know what I don't want, and usually what I was hoping I'd pull instead.
That's what the one repull is for.
Other times, I'm perfectly happy with the result, grab the book, and start reading.
Either way, the debate is over.
If you'd like to hand your own reading decision over to fate, you can try the free Bag of Fate here.
Read the winner
Just start it.
Give it a chapter. Twenty minutes. An evening.
Then ask yourself:
Do I want to come back to this?
If the answer is yes, congrats! You found your next read.
If the answer is no, no big deal. Go back to your shortlist and try the next one. Now you know.
TL;DR
If your TBR is currently overflowing with options:
Decide what kind of genre you're in the mood for.
Pick three books that fit the mood and stop browsing.
Read a couple of pages from each if you're still unsure.
Let yourself choose “wrong” and move on if you're not feeling it.
If you're still hopelessly undecided, let the Bag of Fate do the dirty work.
Start the winner and see if you actually want to keep reading.
You're just deciding which one gets to be read first.
The rest of your TBR will still be there tomorrow.
Probably with several new books added to it, if you're anything like me.
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