So, you have just finished a fantastic book, and you want to know where to find the best books to read so you can be kept busy again. You have come to the right place.
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So, where can you go to find the best books for you to read?
If you want to find books to read that fit your tastes, it is best to go find the comparisons made by book critics of the same book. Most books tend to have a comparisons list in order to make choosing the book easier for literary agents, so that they will not have to read the entire book. As a reader, you can use this to your advantage to find books that are compared to the one you want to read.
That is one approach that you can take to find books that are good for you, but it is definitely not the only way. For other techniques that you can use to find these books, you can read on this article.
1. Book Critics To Find Comparisons
The first place to look for books to read that fit your taste is by looking at the comparisons list for your books.
Book comparisons are used everywhere in the writing industry, since they make the while process easier for both writers, agents, editors, and publishers. You can use these comparisons as a reader as well.
If you have ever written, and published a book, you will know by now just how often comparisons tend to come up in the writing industry. People will ask you what comparisons do you have for your book in your query letter. Then later the editor is going to ask you for the comparisons. Finally, you publish your book. Now, you will have to work with a marketing team, who will also ask you for a comparisons list.
Then what is this comparison list that we hear so much about?
Harry Potter can be described as Lord Of The Rings in a High school drama. Invincible is a mix of Superman, and the Boys. The First Law Trilogy is often described as a Game Of Thrones story that has been completed.
That is what a book comparison is.
What other books the current book is similar too. So if you want to find out which other books are like the ones you have just finished, its easy. A simple search of what the literary agents, writers, or marketers compared the book to will tell you where you should be reading next.
2. Literary Agent
The second way that you can find books to read that are similar to the one you just finished is by trying to find the literary agent who worked on that specific book you like, and then going to read other works represented by that specific agent.
Literary agents are usually the best place for a person to go to next if they want to be able to find books to read that are interesting to them.
But what is a literary agent?
A literary agent is the person who takes a writers work, and goes to publishers to offer the persons work there. Generally speaking, most publishers do not accept work directly from the writers, other wise they would have to sift through mountains of work. So, they only accept potential books from literary agents.
The literary agents read the books themselves, and if they become a fan of a book, they then take the book to the publisher.
The thing is though, the literary agent usually works with a number of writers, and books. They tend to start liking specific types of books. So, they tend to represent the same types of books.
A simple trick that you can use to find books to read is to simply go out there and find what the literary agents had worked on before. Then, you will often find books that are similar to the one that you want to read at that moment in time.
3. Cover artists
The third thing that you could do which will assist you in finding books to read is by trying to search for the cover artists of the book, and then try to find other works that the cover artists had worked on.
Cover artists are the people who draw the cover page of a book, and find other works that they have done, which will more often than not be similar in topic to the one that they worked on there.
So, what are cover artists?
Cover artists are the people who are hired by the marketing team of a book, though they could also just be hired directly by the publishers for traditional publishing. They are required to do an image for the book. The image usually displays either a character, a setting, or a scene in the story. It’s up to the artist what they will do, though usually they get cue cards.
But the point here is that, the artists usually have to be somewhat familiar with the book, and they tend to choose works that they feel like match their art style.
Thus, the artists usually develop a certain pattern to their drawing, and their book selections, leading to a pattern you can take advantage of, and use to your advantage. By following the artists work, you will have a good idea of what to read next.
4. Author Inspirations
The fourth best place to find books to read is by looking into what were the inspirations of the author when they were making that specific story.
All authors have a form of inspiration which led them to write the story that they wrote at that specific moment. Then of course, there are the book critics who will observe and read a book, then draw upon possible inspirations for the book.
Either option is a viable option that you can use.
First, starting with the author being inspired.
Every author is first and foremost a reader. All authors were massive fans of a book. This then led them to write the book they worked on. You can find these influences yourself through reading. For example, one can clearly see the influence of George R.R. Martin’s work in Joe Abercrombie’s work. However, there are better ways of searching.
So go out there and find out what the author says was the inspiration in the story they’ve created. You can go search interviews. You can look in their own personal letters. There are a lot of places that will assist your search, so do not hesitate.
The second thing that you could do is just read what the critics say is the inspiration for the book.
Critics are profession readers who have read far more books than you. They will surely know which other books this one specific book reminds them off. All you need to do is go to wikipedia, and you will find a list of the inspirations of that specific book, along with influences.
Then you can just go look for those books. You will be good.
5. Rank Lists
The fifth thing that you could do in order to find the best books to read is to go find a ranked list that your specific book of interest is featured in.
An award show. A best books of the summer. A best books of the year. Or any other form of list that the books features in. They will all do, because they tend to be full of the same books that you are interested. Specifically because these lists tend to feature a genre in their options. (e.g. best fantasy books of the summer)
Again, there are millions of readers out there who are specifically paid to do nothing else but reading. It is a little silly to not take advantage of them. The best way to take advantage of them is through these listicles of theirs, which will make everything that much more easier for you.
So what are the action steps here?
Find whatever book you are interested in, and search top books, and write the book you are interested in. If that fails, change to ‘best books… the book you like‘. I am well aware that there is no connection between these phrases, but this still works. So make sure that you use it to your advantage.
6. Fandom Recommendations
The sixth thing that you could do to get the best books to read is by simply following the fandom recommendations
Most people who like the same book you like have read other things you haven’t. It is true the other way around too. You know books they have not read.
Use this to your advantage.
Fandoms are great places for fans. This is because it is here that you get to discuss theories. It is here you get to meet people who like the character’s you like. And most importantly for our cause, it is here you will meet people who like the books that you like.
So try to use them to your advantage.
That sounds far more nefarious than it actually is. All you do is ask them if there is any other show that they like. I personally discovered the Boardwalk Empire from a comment section on YouTube about the Peaky Blinders.
So, you can too.
Go to YouTube videos about your preferred book. Or Reddit. You could obviously go to Quora too. In fact, you could even go to Instagram. You will find that these people are useful in teaching you all the things that you would like to know.
7. Popular Books
The last technique you could use to find books to read is by searching and reading the most popular books of the time.
This one is proper the most dangerous when it comes to your own personal tastes, but also, the highest chance of being rewards.
As things stand, you will find that you have a number of books that you are not interested. The main point of this article was to help you find books that are tailored to your reading experience. The most popular books of the era could help you with that itch.
For example, I found Joe Abercrombie because of how popular he was. You could find the same for yourself.
However, there is the better possibility that you may find something different from your typical reading tastes. Then discover you actually enjoy it. That is the high reward. The high risk is that you may find a book you are completely uninterested in.
Once you have mastered finding the books to read that are to your liking, you will be that much closer to mastering mastery.