Finding your book-love

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, June 2018; written by Michelle Lampton.

It’s a familiar story. You amble into a library or bookstore. It’s evening, the light from outside has already waned, leaving the space with the feel of someplace intimate, atmospheric.

You’re here to find your next book-love.

And you do. It’s sitting on the shelf under an angelic halo, or perhaps tucked away in a secret-looking corner, patiently waiting for you.

And you just know it’s the right book. You can feel it in your waters. You’re secretly giddy with excitement to let its writer loose in the fields of your mind.

You take it home.

Then, the unthinkable happens… It turns out to have been the exact wrong book.

But you’re mature enough to deal with disappointment, so you simply find another book.

Until it keeps happening, to the point that reading becomes not only unattractive, but stressful.

You’re not alone. I’ve been there multiple times. And rest assured, there are ways to reclaim your enjoyment of reading.

Here’s my personal arsenal:

Don’t give writers endless lines-of-credit against the valuable hours of your life. I set a thirty-page limit: Baby, hook me by then, or lose me forever! This also serves as a conscious reminder that encountering a miss doesn’t have to be a big deal.

Try a different type of book. Read a graphic novel. (Did you know there are serious biographies and even political non-fictions in graphic novel format now?) If you’re a fiction reader, pick up a non-fiction title about something fascinating or helpful, like a book on human sexuality, or on which plants, mushrooms, and berries are edible out on the trail. If you usually read non-fiction, pick up a novel about an area of non-fiction that appeals to you. For example, if you love aviation, pick up a book like The Aviators by W.E.B. Griffin.

Or, read a children’s novel. They’re fast reads and there’s as much variety and talent as in the adult writing world. Icefall, by Matthew Kirby is a juvenile thriller about the daughter of a Viking chieftain and reads like a shorter, faster-paced version of a Michael Crichton novel. James Patterson has a juvenile novel series about treasure hunters.

And don’t forget Young Adult. There’s plenty of romantic angst, thrillers, and action titles there. Many of the most popular fantasy books of late are YA. And, (gasp!), they even have non-fiction books that take on topics like math and science in cool, entertaining ways.

Use a database like Novelist. They’re an incredibly handy way to find books that read like ones you already know you love. The Library subscribes to Novelist as a service to our patrons. It’s an amazing resource, check it out. (Or ask a librarian!)

Read some fan-fiction. If there’s a television, movie, or book series you like, go to a website like “Archive of Our Own” and find a few fan-fiction pieces with good reviews: You already know you’ll like the characters and the setting, so the battle is already half-won.

Speed-date audiobooks. My personal rules are simple: Five titles; each new candidate gets a max of fifteen minutes; first one to get my attention wins. Bonus: I can multitask while selecting a book (like doing my dishes). And just because I start in audio doesn’t mean I end that way. If I’m hooked, I’ll often stop and go pick up a paper copy.

Finally, talk to your librarian or local bookshop owner. Seriously. Sometimes just talking about books is all the therapy you need.