For many, reading is a seasonal activity. Taking place while posted poolside on a lazy summer day or snuggled up next to the fire in the middle of winter, cracking a cover is connected with vacay. Considered a way to fill time on a plane or in the car, reading for pleasure is something that we should learn to prioritize. More flipping the page and less scrolling the screen, reading is most enjoyable when you have a page-turner in hand. To find out how to pick your next best book, read on.
Join a Book Club
To get the best of both worlds: diving in and hanging out, start or join a book club with your close circle. Keep the number of participants to a minimum (6–8 people), select the book of the month as a club and schedule a time to meet and mingle post-reading deadline. By gathering a group of readers together to embrace a different type of social and educational experience and share ideas, you’ll benefit from a strong word of mouth.
With members of the book club spanning genders, generations, languages, cultures and/or interests, you’re bound to come across a title (or two) that is outside of your norm. Whether you prefer fiction or non-fiction, joining a book club is a good way to broaden your reading material and analyze the text.
Don’t have time to follow a reading schedule or join the conversation in-person? Do the next best thing: get in on the action online. Between social channels and online portals, you’ll find more than one way to connect, chit-chat and choose a book.
Make the List
In the age of the e-reader, (brand new) books cost a pretty penny. While it’s easy to recycle a good read or visit a second hand bookstore, it’s no fun spending money on what you think is a mediocre book. To ensure that you’ll fly through the pages, check out the following established go-to lists: The New York Times Best Seller list, Oprah’s Book Club list, Heather’s Picks list (Indigo) and Scotiabank Giller Prize (shortlist and longlist). To find your next page-turner, pick a title from any one of these reliable sources.
Quick tips: look for other books by your favorite authors (old and new) and learn the titles of current and/or upcoming films of public + personal interest and/or critical acclaim (more and more, the film industry is making movies based on published works).