QotD: Book Recommendations

Where do you get recommendations for new books to read?

This is one of the hardest things (for me anyway) about being an avid reader. Looking for new books to read. I'm constantly struggling to find good recommendations.

I mostly enjoy fantasy/science fiction based novels when I'm feeling in the mood for some fiction and there's a TON of crap out there in the category. It's really hard for me to sift through that. Amazon.com's recommendation system is generally pretty accurate when it comes to narrowing down what I might like and what I won't, although it's not infallable. I turn to message board threads a lot for ideas too. For example, I learned about A Song of Ice and Fire based on a thread on the mikeportnoy.com forums, I believe.

Friends are also a good place to turn, when tastes overlap. For example, I'm reading the Xanth books because a friend recommended them.

When I'm in the mood for non-fictiony things, a lot of the books I read are based on (and this is sorta sad in a way I guess) the interviews they do on The Daily Show and The Cobert Report. If they're talking about a book that seems interesting and the author doesn't sound like a total bore, I'm more likely to pick up that book later on. I don't grab every book that they talk about, and I also usually check reviews before reading them since having a TV interview doesn't necessarily mean they're a good author…but generally that system has worked out well for me. Web forums also play a role here too.

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