SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Herewith a simple question: What is the most important factor in deciding on the next book to read? I am constantly taking out of library multiple books which I never get to because other books come first. I think my rubric is as follows:

1. Favorite Author
2. Continuing Series that I liked
3. Is it at library (that is free)
4. Genre (I try not to read books in same genre repeatedly so this is a double edged sword. Is it in SF, fantasy or thriller, history, and am I interested in this genre at this time
5. Continuing Series that I read a book
6. New author
7. Recommendation, blurb
8. Length
9. Cover art
10. Did I buy it and have not read it yet

What is your process? What makes you read a certain book more than another book? Beside club reads, does any particular reviewers or recommendations lead you to read a specific book ahead of another.

My decision process is no more complicated than "What do I feel like reading now?"

I have a huge to-read pile (legitimately huge, around 10 feet tall - photo in my profile), so I generally have a wide range of choices.

This past week I wasn't sure what I wanted to read, so I opened a number of books and read the first page of each. That led me to finally read A Natural History of Dragons and start Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.

Trike wrote: "My decision process is no more complicated than "What do I feel like reading now?""

^This

I always have lists of books to read but I almost always default to: what am I in the mood to read?

Trike wrote: "My decision process is no more complicated than "What do I feel like reading now?"

I tend to make a few lists of various books I'm interested in at the moment (some for challenges, some that I've recently acquired, often organised by genre) so that I don't get lost in my somewhat vast collection. And then, well, it comes down to that question.

(And sometimes I just scroll through my Kindle book list and pick one at random.)

For me, too, when choosing what to read next (not buy) it all comes down to mood. If I'm really having trouble deciding, then I do what Trike does, read first pages until something strikes me.

Like probably almost everybody else mentioned, whatever I feel in the mood for. Currently I am in the middle of a grimdark fantasy book and feel like reading a book on popular math next.

I use a rubric similar to yours, Jeffrey, to decide whether to add a book to my to-read lists. I put "do I own it and want to let it go" first, though, when choosing what to actually read. However, "is there only one copy of this older book in my library system" comes a close second because I'm afraid they may cull those books.

Cheryl wrote: "I use a rubric similar to yours, Jeffrey, to decide whether to add a book to my to-read lists. I put "do I own it and want to let it go" first, though, when choosing what to actually read. Howeve..."

1. Continuations of series that I enjoy.
2. Favourite authors.
3. Anything that looks interesting in the genres I like.

1. Does it sound like something I want to read right now?
2. Is it part of a series(that earns mega points).
3. Recommendations
4. Author

My selection process for my next book to read is pretty simple:
1. Are my goodreads friends reading and loving it?
2. Do I own it?
3. Am I in the mood for it?

I like to mix up my reading. So if I've just read a sci-fi the next book I go for will be something different, like fantasy, crime or literary. Like everyone else posting here I have a stack of to-read books, both physical and electronic.

What about "Does it look like a well written book, with an interesting story" ?

Strongly connected with "Recommendations" both from friends and here on Goodreads.

I have learned the hard way for every book that I plan to read, to request the free Kindle sample in order to see for myself how the book is.

Best regards,
Andy

I kind of touched on this, but I typically get my books at the library. I don't go in there with books in mind usually, I just browse. So I'd say the cover and back of the book/sleeve synopsis deserves some love. The cover grabs me, I pick it up and read the description, and if it sounds cool, I'll check it out.

If I know that they might be making a movie based on a book - I try to to read the book before actors are announced or a trailer is released. If the movie is good, makes the book more pleasurable; if the movie is bad, I'd have still enjoyed the book!

Also, depends what genre I seem to be going through at the time - I tried to read the more frequently cited books for that genre.

Whenever I hear about an interesting book (friends, NPR, newspapers, magazines, internet, etc.), I add it to my Goodreads to-read list so I don't forget about it.

Then, when I need a new book to read, I scroll through the list and pick one based on the following factors:

- My mood
- Rating on Goodreads
- The genre (I like to mix it up. Reading the same genre over and over again bores me.)
- The length (Long books tend to discourage me. That's why I'm not sure if I'll ever get to Infinite Jest even though it's on my list.)

If I start a series I like to finish it, so books in a series or books by a favourite author do get priority.

However, aside from those, I have so many books on my to-read list (over 400) that it's difficult to decide, so I mostly let fate decide for me. I loaded them all onto my kobo. On the kobo you can see the last 5 books loaded on the front screen. So I pick one of them. That way I only ever have to choose between 5 books, rather than 400. Each time I read one it disappears off the front screen and I get a new book to go into my selection of 5. It's always fun to see what will pop up on the front screen next.

Of course, that system would work even better if I didn't keep buying new books and loading them onto the kobo. And it doesn't work for print books.

Mood, always mood. Even if I've just bought new books, I don't start them unless that's what I'm in the mood for at that particular moment in time when I'm looking fot something new to read.

Over the past couple of years, my priority has been getting through my backlog of books. When I first bought the original Kindle years ago, I loaded it up with a lot of books, mostly free books such as the ones from the Baen Free Library. There are other books I don’t own that I would really like to read too. But I figure, if I want to read books I have and I want to read books I don’t have, then it’s more logical to read the ones I already have first.

If I read a book that’s the first in a series, and if I like it well enough that I want to read the rest of the series, then I’ll immediately finish the rest of the series before I move on to something else. I feel like I appreciate the payoffs and catch more nuances when the details of previous books from the series are fresh in my mind. I hate that feeling that I’m reading something that should mean something to me but I can’t remember what.

Other than finishing up books in a series, I almost always choose something from my backlog. I’ve mainly been reading the ones that either aren’t part of a series at all, or else they’re part of a series that’s complete. Aside from that, I’m not too particular about which book I choose. Mainly I just try to mix it up a bit using a combination of genre, year published, and page length. I think synopses usually give way too much information about a book and spoil a lot of the fun, so I try to pick a dozen or so different books and load them on my Kindle in advance. By the time I actually read a book, I often don’t remember much about what the synopsis said. This means that I'm not usually choosing a book to read based on what it's about. I just pick from whatever genre I'm in the mood for and I tend to alternate between longer/shorter books and older/newer books.

Ha! Before seeing this topic, I just proposed it for our podcast discussion next Tuesday. :) Or a specific variation of this topic: given that we all have large and growing TBR lists, how do you pick which of those to read next.

I'm not in any way consistent. But a rough flow-chart would be:

1) Is it from the library,
* high on my list
* and due back soon?
* Especially if I had to request it, and there's others in the queue so I won't be able to renew it

2) Did I commit to discussing it with someone? (Beta reading, ARC copies or something I've committed to review)

3) Research I need for something

Otherwise, any of:

4) Catches my eye
5) Feel like something different
6) It's been sitting on my Kindle for a long time
7) I'm reading for some specific reason
8) Book club discussing it now/soon
9) Next in a series (used to drive straight through, now I bounce around much more)

Series. Do I want to start a Book 2, and then inevitably a Book 3 after that (can you just skip the last volume like that? I can't).

Sometimes I like a good standalone before going into a Book 2.

I've realised that I sometimes will get stuck in genres for awhile - for instance, this month I'm on a real urban fantasy kick (thanks, Hounded!) and have read some of the other choices that came up in the poll.

Trike wrote: "My decision process is no more complicated than "What do I feel like reading now?"

I have a huge to-read pile (legitimately huge, around 10 feet tall - photo in my profile), so I generally have a ..."

Yep. Depends what mood I'm in. I tend to read true crime, historical, science-fiction and classics as well as fantasy. I'm more likely to pick up something from an author I've read before or a book I really like the look of.

Been on my kindle for a while.

Found it on the shelf - thought I must read that....

I eyeball the books I have on hand and pick one. Mood is important.

Usually I simply rotate through different sub genres of SF. I'll read some urban fantasy, then military and/or space opera, followed by horror, then a few classics, rounded out with dystopian, etc etc. Of course Nebula, Hugo, PKD, and Locus award winners will take priority.

It's usually reading the flap copy or some other description that gives me a sense of "that's a cool idea," usually an angle that is interesting, or, less commonly, a completely new idea I've never heard anyone even attempting.

Like the other posters I do like to mix it up. (I love J.G.Ballard but can't imagine just downing one book of his after another. I've been reading his collected stories for several years now.) If I read a genre novel, a fantasy, I'll read a contemporary novel or a crime novel. This keeps the genres fresh to me because I'm fresh to them, not jaded.

Great question, btw.

Do I get into it right away? Probably my only qualification.

♥,
Cat at Galaxy Press

My process is similar to what many of you have posted, with one addition. I have a small number of books that I like to reread every 3 years or so, so every few months I'll pick one of those, in between the new-to-me books. Currently my reread list consists of: The Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Dune series, the Foundation series, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, any book by Thomas Pynchon, the Complete Sherlock Holmes, the Lensman series, the Silmarrillion, and possibly a few others I've forgotten.

I do agree on the re-read of Dune. It's about time for me to pick that up again.

♥,
Cat at Galaxy Press

Ah, I do this a bit ... randomly, I guess?
If there's nothing on my shelf that catches my eye I set my 'sub' list to the oldest added book and read that. I actually made a 'soon' shelf here on Goodreads for books I suggest to myself to read. Haha. :)
But these are also selected by factors of 'this sounds interesting right now', 'oldest book on my list' and the like.
Continuing a series ... well, I have to admit, if a series gets me hooked extremely I get myself all the books of the series and read it in one go but that doesn't often happen.
So far I haven't been re-reading any books in the last couple of years but I guess I'll do that next year. :)

If I'm physically in a bookshop, the process is simple.

Browse.

Find a title/cover that looks interesting.

Speed read the book to see if I like the writing style, general plot and ending. (Yes I always check the ending first)

Buy the one(s) I like most.

I read mostly fantasy and history, and if I've had a lot of one often shift to the other.

Other factors:
Author [not only if I like a given author, but I quite enjoy trying out new ones]
Impression I get from the sample (I almost always check the sample first)

I forgot about another book on my re-reading list: The Carpet Makers.

I also like to intentionally pick something every 6 months or so that is outside of my normal SF/fantasy comfort zone, just to keep me grounded. Usually I pick something "classic". Recent choices include Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Third Policeman, 1984, Miller's The Crucible, and Camus's The Stranger.

Aside from the author, I believe the synopsis and reviews from my friends play a great factor.

V.W. wrote: "If I'm physically in a bookshop, the process is simple.

Browse.

Find a title/cover that looks interesting.

Speed read the book to see if I like the writing style, general plot and ending. (Yes I..."

I have to say, this is the best one so far.

♥,
Cat at Galaxy Press

Since I always seem to have a list of rules for reading (taking the GR challenge up a notch in difficulty) what I read next is almost like completing an assignment: what's due next. The thoughts in my head frequently go like this: Let's see I've done my non-fiction for this month, but not my classic literature, but book group is in 12 days so I better read that title first. Then if I finish BG book and CL book before then end of the month I might have time to squeeze in a "free choice" book before starting the cycle for next month.

I always have multiple lists to compare against when picking within a category.

Trike wrote: "My decision process is no more complicated than "What do I feel like reading now?"

I have a huge to-read pile (legitimately huge, around 10 feet tall - photo in my profile), so I generally have a huge to-read pile (legitimately huge, around 10 feet tall - photo in my profile), so I generally have a wide range of choices.

This past week I wasn't sure what I wanted to read, so I opened a number of books and read the first page of each...."

Me too!

I do try and preference library books that I have to return, or if I joined a buddy read on goodreads (although I've gotten to the point where I won't join a buddy read until AFTER I've started reading the book). I also tend to read in cycles. Science fiction / fantasy / horror is about a third of my reading. I'll read several books linked somehow -- like -- "literary" 19th century British novels, then I'll pick up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, followed by lighthearted fantasy novels, then I'll hit a grittier fantasy novel, so I'll read a few of those, then it's on to a set of Non-fiction European Medieval History books (written for the educated lay reader), then to lighten the mood maybe a lighthearted historical romance novel, followed by historical mystery novel, and so on. Goodreads / challenges pushes me to try novels outside my normal round of topics/genres. I've looked at my reading lists and about 2/3rds of the books I read are new-to-me authors. I don't normally do re-reads (except for Leo Tolstoy).

And ... I've been blest with a son who likes to read so I'll read whatever he's reading when I'm invited to do so! He's into thick Russian novels, non-fiction modern European history, and science fiction novels that also exist on film (like "Game of Thrones" or "Star Wars"-inspired novels).