The best way to choose a book is to start with how you want to feel, not with what's trending. Name the mood or question you're after, check a book's pace, tone and style against it, read a few pages, and give yourself full permission to put it down. That's the whole method. The rest of this guide shows you how to do each step, with examples.
If you've ever stood in front of a shelf (or a 400-title wishlist) and felt your enthusiasm drain away, you're in good company. Choosing is a skill, and like most reading skills it gets easier once someone hands you the tools.
TL;DR
- Decide what you want from the book first: escape, comfort, a laugh, a new idea, a good cry.
- Look past genre. Pace, tone and narrative style predict whether you'll enjoy a book far better than a label like "mystery" or "romance."
- Sample before you commit: read a first page or two, and use the five-finger test if you're unsure about difficulty.
- Ask a human. Librarians and fellow readers beat an algorithm at matching mood.
- Quitting a book that isn't working is a smart choice, not a failure.
Table of Contents
- Start with the feeling, not the genre
- Learn the appeal elements librarians use
- Pick your "why" before you pick the book
- Sample before you commit
- Ask a person (and skip the algorithm spiral)
- Build a short list, not a mountain
- Give yourself permission to quit
- Choosing books when you're reading for your mental health
- Our perspective: choose like a friend would
- Find your next read with us
- A quick decision path
- FAQ
- Sources
Start with the feeling, not the genre
Most advice on picking a book begins with "What do you like to read?" That question is harder than it sounds, because genre is a blunt instrument. Two thrillers can feel completely different, and a cozy fantasy can have more in common with a quiet literary novel than with an epic war saga.
Try this instead. Finish the sentence: "Right now I want a book that makes me feel ___." Calm. Curious. Wrecked in a good way. Less alone. Brave.
In an NPR Life Kit conversation on finding a book you'll love, host and book advocate Traci Thomas makes the case that a little soul-searching about what you actually want goes a long way. Librarians echo that idea: some of the best matches come when a reader describes an atmosphere rather than a plot, something like a long drive on Christmas Eve, and the librarian works backward to titles that carry that feeling.
We've built a few of our own mood-based lists to show how this works in practice:
- Need a lift? Start with 16 uplifting books curated for your mood.
- Want to laugh? Try 15 funny books, from classics to new voices.
- Craving warmth and low stakes? Browse cozy fantasy for a coffee shop or a family evening.
- Want romance with magic in it? See 12 romantasy picks that go beyond the BookTok hits.
Learn the appeal elements librarians use
Professional readers' advisors, the librarians whose job is to match people with books, don't just ask "what's similar?" They think in terms of appeal elements. A librarian's guide published by EveryLibrary lists the same handful of questions you can ask yourself:
| Appeal element | Questions to ask | Example contrast |
|---|---|---|
| Pacing | Is it a page-turner or a slow, stately read? | A breathless thriller vs. a patient family saga |
| Characterization | Is it a deep character study or a plot-first cast? | An interior literary novel vs. an ensemble caper |
| Storyline | Is the plot character-driven or action-oriented? | A quiet reckoning vs. a heist |
| Tone and mood | Heartwarming, dark, quirky, philosophical? | A gentle comedy vs. a bleak noir |
| Style | Lyrical, spare, conversational, dense? | Short punchy chapters vs. long immersive paragraphs |
The payoff is a more useful memory of what you've loved. Take the last three books you couldn't put down and write one line about each: how fast, how dark, how character-focused. Patterns show up quickly. Maybe you love slow, moody books narrated by an unreliable voice, whether they're set in a Gothic manor or a modern office. That pattern is your real taste, and it crosses genre lines.
The American Library Association's materials for reader advisory make the same point: a guide to readers' advisory for teen literature is built around helping library staff answer these questions confidently, because finding the right match is one of the harder parts of the job. If the professionals treat it as a craft, it's fine for you to as well.
Pick your "why" before you pick the book
Whether you're reading for pleasure, for a book club, or to learn something, it helps to know your purpose. A Shortform guide on choosing a book suggests writing down a few goals or questions you want the book to answer before you begin, which can sharpen focus while you read.
Some common "whys":
- Escape. You want to be somewhere else for three hours. Choose immersive, fast-moving, or richly built worlds.
- Comfort. You want a book that feels like a blanket. Choose familiar structures, kind characters, and low-stakes tension.
- Learning. You want a skill or a new way of seeing. Choose nonfiction with a clear question at its center, and note your own question first.
- Connection. You want to feel understood. Choose memoir or character-driven fiction in a voice that sounds like someone you'd want to know.
- Conversation. You're reading for a book club or to talk with a friend. Choose something with a debatable heart.
You can mix them, of course. But naming the main one stops you from picking a dense history because it's "important" when what you really need is a funny novel after a hard week.
Sample before you commit
Bookstores and libraries have an advantage that online shopping hides: you can open the book. Do the same online with the preview or sample.
Read the first page and a random page. The opening shows you the voice. A page from the middle shows you whether the book's texture holds.
Skim the table of contents on nonfiction. If the chapter titles don't make you curious, the book probably won't either.
Use the five-finger test for difficulty. West Virginia University Extension describes a simple check for choosing a book, written with children in mind: read one page and hold up a finger for each word you don't know. Zero or one means it's likely too easy, two or three is the sweet spot, four is a bit hard, and five or more is probably too hard right now. It's a kids' literacy tool, but adults reading in a second language, or tackling a dense classic or a technical subject, can borrow it.
The reason it works has to do with flow. Extensive-reading guidance from Vanderbilt University's research guides recommends starting with books you can enjoy without a dictionary, skipping words you don't understand, and stopping when a book is boring or too hard. Stumbling every few lines breaks the thread of the story, and a broken thread is no fun.
Ignore the cover, or use it. Some readers avoid blurbs entirely and let the cover do the talking; others won't start without the synopsis. Neither is wrong. Just know which camp you're in, and be aware that a cover signals genre and mood more than quality.
Ask a person (and skip the algorithm spiral)
Streaming-style recommendation engines are good at "more of the same." They're less good at "something that feels like the last book I loved, but different." For that, you want a human.
Your public library. Many libraries run personalized recommendation services. For instance, Brooklyn Public Library's Bklyn BookMatch has a librarian build a customized list of five titles after you fill out a form. Check your own library's website or ask at the reference desk; even a two-minute conversation can turn up something an algorithm wouldn't.
An independent bookseller. Tell them the last three books you loved and the last one you abandoned. The abandoned one is often the more useful clue.
A friend with similar taste. Not the friend who loves everything, the one who has opinions.
A podcast host you trust. A good book podcast works like a friend who reads more than you do. You learn the host's taste, and after a few episodes you know when to say yes and when to skip.
Build a short list, not a mountain
A to-be-read pile can become a source of guilt. Instead of a giant backlog, keep a short, flexible list. Our guide to building a reading list you'll actually finish goes deeper, but the basics are:
- Keep three to five books in active rotation, in different moods.
- Mix a "want" book, a "should" book and a "surprise" book.
- Rank by appetite, not obligation. Pick up whichever one you're excited about tonight.
- Let the list change. New enthusiasm beats old intention.
This lines up with advice in a New York Times piece on how to be a better reader: treat your reading as a flexible collection, and if a book is boring, let yourself quit and move on. That keeps reading a source of curiosity instead of a chore.
Give yourself permission to quit
This is the habit that changes the most for people. You wouldn't finish a meal you hated just because you'd paid for it. A reasonable rule: give a book fifty pages, or a hundred if it's long and you're curious, then decide honestly.
Questions to ask at the quitting point:
- Am I avoiding this book, or just tired tonight?
- Would a different format help, such as audio?
- Is the problem the book, or my mood? If it's the mood, shelve it for later. Some books are perfect in a different season.
If every book has started to feel like a chore, that's a different problem than a bad pick. Our 30-day plan to break a reading slump helps you identify which type of slump you're in.
Choosing books when you're reading for your mental health
Many of our listeners come to books partly for emotional support, and that's a legitimate way to read. A few cautions help.
Bibliotherapy, the intentional use of reading to support wellbeing, is studied in clinical settings. A 2024 article in PMC, Literary Prescriptions: Applying Bibliotherapy in a Psychotherapeutic Context, looks at how clinicians can match reading material to a patient's goals. A systematic review of long-term effects of bibliotherapy in depression treatment examined whether benefits last, and the authors describe bibliotherapy as potentially helpful for moderate depression. That does not make a book a replacement for treatment.
If you're dealing with depression, anxiety or another condition that affects your daily life, talk to a licensed clinician, such as your doctor, a psychologist or a therapist, and ask whether a reading list could complement your care. If you are in crisis in the US, you can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
For reading alongside professional support, these are good places to start:
- Clinician-recommended books on depression, covering skills, story and safety
- CBT workbooks plus memoirs about anxiety
- Three books about ADHD that actually help
- Bibliotherapy books for kids and adults
One practical tip: pick a book that is accessible to you right now. A brilliant book you can't concentrate on won't help. Choose something short, a voice you like, or an audiobook.
Our perspective: choose like a friend would
We've spent years talking with authors and readers on the Bookaholic Podcast, and one thing keeps surprising us: almost nobody picks books the way they say they do. People say they follow bestseller lists, and then they tell us the book that changed their year came from a friend's offhand comment, a library display, or a guest on a podcast.
That's why we think the best way to choose books is to treat it as a relationship rather than a research project. Authors tell us again and again that they write for a particular reader at a particular moment. Your job isn't to find the objectively best book. It's to find the book that meets you where you are.
So we encourage three habits. Stay curious about why a book appeals to you. Be generous when it doesn't, because a book that isn't right today may be right in a year. And talk about what you read, even badly, because conversation is how taste grows. That's the idea behind our community, and it's why we love hearing from aspiring writers too: the same questions you ask as a reader (what pace, what tone, what voice) are the ones writers wrestle with on the page.
— Deirdre
Find your next read with us
If you'd like a guide while you choose, the Bookaholic Podcast brings together author interviews, book reviews and book news in one place. Start with the Bookaholic overview episode, or visit our home page to browse episodes and our literary merchandise. Hearing an author talk about their book for thirty minutes is, honestly, one of the best ways to know whether you'll love it.
A quick decision path
When you're stuck, walk through this:
- What do I want to feel? Write it in one word.
- What did I last love, and why? Note pace, tone and style.
- Where can I get two or three candidates? A librarian, a friend, a podcast.
- Do the first page and a middle page hold up?
- Is it the right difficulty and length for this week?
- Start it. If it fails after fifty pages, move on without guilt.
Five minutes of this beats an hour of scrolling.
FAQ
How do I pick a book when I don't know what I like?
Start with a mood and a few short, low-risk reads. After each one, note what you enjoyed or disliked about the pace, tone and characters. A library is ideal for this, since borrowing costs nothing and you can ask a librarian for help.
What should I read next after a book I loved?
Look for the same appeal elements rather than the same genre. If you loved the voice, find authors with a similar voice. If it was the pacing, find books that move at that speed. A librarian can turn this into a list, and some libraries offer it as a free service.
Is it okay to stop reading a book I don't like?
Yes. Reading should be a source of curiosity, not an obligation, and quitting a poor match frees you to find a better one. Try about fifty pages first, and consider returning later if the timing was the issue.
How can I tell if a book is too difficult?
Try the five-finger test: read a page and count the words you don't know. Two or three is comfortable, and five or more suggests the book is too hard for now. It was designed for young readers, but it's a handy check for adults too.
Sources
- NPR Life Kit: Find a book you'll actually want to read
- EveryLibrary: A Librarian's Guide to Choosing the Right Book for You
- ALA: Teen literature readers' advisory guide
- Shortform: How to choose a book to read
- West Virginia University Extension: How to Choose a Book
- Vanderbilt University Research Guides: Tadoku, extensive reading
- Brooklyn Public Library: Bklyn BookMatch
- The New York Times: How to be a better reader
- PMC: Literary Prescriptions, bibliotherapy in a psychotherapeutic context
- PubMed: Long-term effects of bibliotherapy in depression treatment