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by swaggyBoatswain 2784 days ago
Not OP, but I've read a ~200 fiction books and ~50 nonfiction books over my life.

Usually I pick books by the following:

- If I haven't read a single book for fun, I would pick a popular fiction or nonfiction book. Its a good starting point. Things like "Top 10 books in X category" from goodreads are good examples, or "r/askreddit favorite books"

- After reading 5-10 different books, I'll get a feel for what I like and don't like. I'll search "site:reddit.com similar books to X" and grab recommendations. Compare these to amazon's bestsellers and goodreads.

- For nonfiction books, I generally am more picky. I usually have a list of people I follow, some write reviews on books they read. I have had a few people I respect read "Ego is the Enemy" so I picked that up recently, and its something I struggle with sometimes so it's ideal for me. Nonfiction books are most powerful when you read it at the right time

- For nonfiction more textbook-like books, or something more informational, I usually let reddit / goodreads /hackernews decide what's good and what's not.

I started to read less fiction now, I've seen the same plot rehashed too many times. Nonfiction books are interesting to me at the moment.

I guess it really depends what you want to get out of your book. Do you want escapism, inspiration, or change?