Finding the perfect book is something we all want. However, it isn’t always easy to tell if a book is any good. We probably pick up more books that we dislike than books we absolutely love. And it is so frustrating!
There are a few steps and things for you to look for when you are picking out your book. If you are looking out for these things like your preferred genre and authors, you’ll be reading your perfect book soon!
Pick a Genre
Picking a book is not always an easy endeavour. You need to know exactly what you are looking for to find the perfect book. Sometimes, you fall on a really good one, but that doesn’t happen as often as you want.
The first step in finding the perfect book is to find your genre. There are so many to choose from. Horror, romance, fantasy, fiction, young adult, and more. It takes time to figure out which one you prefer, but once you find it, it is so much easier to pick a book!
Your genre will be the one that makes your heart jump when you think about it. If you love to be scared, the horror genre might be for you. Fantasy is for you if you spend a lot of time contemplating what superpower you would want. (Mine is teleportation! Young adult fantasy is my cup of tea.)
Once you find a genre that works for you, your options for books are narrowed down. It suddenly becomes so much easier to choose your perfect book!
If you love young adult books like me, check out my list of popular YA books that exceeded our expectations. I know you’ll love the books on the list (that’s why they are popular)!
Look for Authors You Love
Once you have been looking through your preferred genre for a while, you’ll eventually stumble upon some great authors. For me, it’s Sarah J. Maas and Marissa Meyer. They are two of my favourite young adult writers. I’ve loved all I’ve read by them so far.
However, I only found those amazing authors because I spent years reading my preferred genre. It does take time to finally find your favourite authors. But once you find them, it makes it so much easier to pick out a good book. You know that any book by those authors you’ve chosen is worth a read.
Not going to lie, your favourite author won’t always write amazing things, but if you love what they write most of the time that is a great place to start for finding the perfect book for you.
Some authors, like Stephen King, have what feels like hundreds of books. So if you end up loving an author with lots of material, you should have no trouble finding a book in the future. A lot of those authors are still writing. It gives you an unlimited source of good reading material.
Finding authors you love is a great way to find a perfect book!
Look for Similar Plots
The same way you found authors you love, you will also stumble upon plots that you love. You’ll realize after a while that you drift toward certain plots.
For example, when you are reading a romance book, there are so many different tropes, such as enemies to lovers, fake engagement, or forbidden love. I can’t name all the possible plots for the romance genre! Let’s say you end up loving the fake engagement trope. You simply need to look for books with that plot or something similar. If you like the plot of the novel, you are likely to enjoy reading it.
Every book is different! There will be details that change for each one. Even if the book has a plot that you’ve read repeatedly, the differences in the books make the plot new again every time.
When you love a plot, it’s hard to find a book with that same trope that you don’t love. For me, it’s the girl who realizes that she’s special, a princess, or something like that. Nothing beats a story about a woman who ends up being the most powerful one of them all. I won’t name any books because I don’t want to spoil them (Cinder by Marissa Meyer, hint hint), but just know that some books with that plot are just perfect!
When you are looking for the perfect book, you should definitely look for novels with your favourite plots!
Check Out Book Reviews
Finding the perfect book is easy when you start looking up book reviews! One of the most common ways to find a good book is to look at other people’s comments.
Goodreads is typically where I look for my reviews. Most of the time, their reviews are pretty good and detailed. It is especially good at telling us which books are becoming popular.
When I am looking for a good book, I can spend hours looking through books at the bookstore. However, I am usually with other people and they don’t like to spend hours browsing like me. (Sad, I know!) For that reason, I end up drifting toward books I have heard of from others or from Goodreads. Popular and recommended books are usually pretty great!
The problem with book reviews is that not everyone loves the same kind of books. Some people have different author or plot preferences.
You might not even be into the kinds of books that are considered popular. When you like plots and authors that aren’t well-known, it does make it harder to find books. But it’s not impossible! Never stop looking and you’ll find the perfect book for you.
Just Experiment
The one thing all of these previous stages have in common is that you have to know what it is you want. Yet, you can’t know that until you experiment with lots of different books.
As much as I wish the perfect book would just pop out at you, it usually isn’t that easy. We have to kiss a lot of frogs before we find prince charming. You’re not likely to find your perfect book if you don’t give them a try.
It might seem daunting and crazy expensive to just go around buying a bunch of books, but finding the perfect book was never meant to be easy. You’ll never appreciate it if all you’ve ever know are amazing books. You have to read a few stinkers before you find something great. It’s just the way it goes.
Luckily, the reading journey is so much fun! Just because you are looking for the perfect book doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate some average books too.
Finding the perfect book is not always obvious. No one else understands that an adequate book is just not good enough. You spend all that time in the bookstore because you shouldn’t have to settle for a book that’s just good enough when you can have the perfect one!
You’ll find that perfect book soon with these great things to look for! Let us know which books are perfect for you in the comments! You might just be helping someone else with a good book recommendation. Have fun reading!
