3 Tips for Selecting Your Next Read // Frolic Podcast of the Week: What to Read Next

[Note from Frolic: We are so excited to bring you this new series: Frolic Podcast of the Week! Each week, we’ll ask one of our great podcasters to share a bit about themselves. Up next, we have Laura from What To Read Next Podcast! She’s sharing three tips for selecting your next read. Take it away!]

Before I joined the book community, I had the toughest time trying to find what I should read next. My method was to find an author that I loved and then binge on their backlist. But what about debut authors who only had one book out, then that meant  waiting for their next release. I hated being stuck on what I should read next.  Hence my decision to start book recommendation podcast as a way to discover new to me authors, genres and tropes to check out by talking with fellow readers. 

Here are three tips for selecting your next book:

1. Go for the tried and true picks. Who are your autobuy authors? Which tropes do you gravitate towards? What subgenre is your catnip? 

If you are looking to see what trope this book falls, you can find them in the title description or synopsis. If you want a try and true tropestatic book, then check out the Harlequin category romances as they are upfront about what tropes do these books fall. These books are short and sweet.

If you love a subgenre, then pick a new to you author within the subgenre. For me hockey romance is my catnip. I seek out new to me authors like Rachel Reid, Sawyer Bennett to binge on their hockey content. I  am always looking for keywords like Puck and Hockey to see if there are new to me books to check out. 

2. Expand your comfort zone.

What is a trope or subgenre that intrigues you? If you are a fan of Contemporary Romance, have you tried Historical Romance or Paranormal Romances? Perhaps you are intrigued by Romantic Suspense because you love thrillers but wished they had a romantic element. My suggestion is try at least one book outside of your comfort zone to see if it is for you.

3. Seek out book recommendations from fellow readers. 

If you are unsure where to start, here are a few places where you can connect with fellow readers and get book recommendations: bookstagram, booktube and book podcasts. 

For bookstagram, you can follow hashtags such as #romancestagram for romance recommendations.  For BookTube, you can search trope + recommendation or  search a book for a review. For Book Podcasts, you can search a  book title or author to see if it has been covered by the different book podcasts.

Looking for  Book Recommendations? I got you. The What to Read Next Podcast releases new episodes every Monday-Friday. We feature author interviews for recent releases and fellow readers coming to share their own book recommendations. If you want to read more BIPOC romance authors, here are a few episodes to check out: Latinx Romance and Black Romance Authors. If you want to read beyond romance, here couple of episodes that feature Cozy Mysteries  and Crime Fiction.