“What book do I read next?” is a fun, important question! I hope it’s one you’ll come to ask yourself often if you don’t already. Books can be thrilling, engrossing, diverting, delightful, calming, somnolent, erotic, inspirational, educational (of course)–all the things. I love books because I can absorb more through reading than I ever could through listening or viewing, and reading often gives me a continuous experience of flow that’s hard to get from other pastimes like watching movies or listening to music.
Find your next book here:
Friends
Talking to other people who read is one of the best ways to figure out what to read next. Some readers level up by forming a book group. Mine started in 2008. Here’s the list of books we’ve read and met to discuss.
The Library
Librarians are wonderful, helpful people. They’re sometimes the ones standing behind the front counter, waiting to scan your library card and the books and/or movies you want to borrow. But when they’re stationed at the counter, they’re on check-out duty. At many libraries, librarians rotate between duties. The librarians on helping-you duty sit off to the side of the counter, or sometimes at a separate desk in a different part of the library. Sometimes there’s a big “Reference” sign identifying the reference desk/station.
You can approach a librarian with a specific question (“Is there a book or resource that’ll help me file my taxes?”) or a more general one (“Can you recommend an exciting book? The last one I really liked was–“). You’ll be glad you did!
Browsing the shelves (also called “stacks”) at the library can be a decent pastime and can lead to great discoveries. If you’re unfamiliar with how the stacks at the library are arranged, a librarian can help. Try wandering around and figuring it out for yourself, though. Learning about how libraries are organized is a great way to learn about how information is organized in online databases and in academia more generally.
Bookstores
Native Books is the best store for writing from Hawaii and the Pacific. Their current location is in Chinatown. You will not regret your trip over the mountain! Right near Mei Sum Dim Sum. Yum!
Book Ends in Kailua is the best general-interest bookstore on the island. Lucky for you, it’s on the Windward side! Lots of used books and a good selection of new. Right next to Morning Brew. Woo hoo!
da Shop books in Kaimuki is small but well stocked with contemporary writing from Hawaii and the US mainland. I approve of whoever is stocking the poetry shelf/table at this store. Go poetry!
Barnes & Noble, downstairs in Ala Moana, has the best selection of new books and the largest inventory overall. So many books!
BookTube
A YouTube search for the word “book” plus some terms that indicate what kind of book or reading experience you’re looking for–“exciting,” “entrepreneurship,” “fantasy,” “romance,” “thriller,” “indigenous,” “viking,” “mystery,” “shoujo/shounen manga,” etc.–will give you a wide variety of review videos to watch. A BookTuber whose personality and reading tastes are compatible with yours can be a good source of new book recommendations.
Podcasts
It’s Lit – Hawaii writers! This is an exciting show because many of the guests are up-and-comers. Check out episode 80, which features WCC alum Ashley Nakanishi.
Between the Covers posts maybe one episode a month. It’s host, David Naimon, says he does around forty hours of research for each show. You can tell! This podcast is based in Seattle and is broadcasted on community radio there.
Bookworm – This show is broadcast on LA public radio (KCRW). Michael Silverblatt is super enthusiastic about everything. He was a student of some of the 20th century’s big-name cool-kid writers at the University of Buffalo in the 70s.
Get Booked – Listeners can email in their reading preferences and recommendation requests, and hosts Amanda Nelson and Jenn Northington will give personalized recommendations on the show. It’s a neat format. The hosts read widely and can make recommendations in what seems like every genre.
Reading Women is a podcast I recently discovered and am probably least familiar with of the shows on this list. I like it! Host Kendra Winchester works with a team of rotating co-hosts to interview what seems like every single notable contemporary writer (who’s a woman).
Sword and Laser is a podcast focused on sci-fi and fantasy books. Hosts Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt discuss recent publications and book news, conduct periodic author interviews, and lead a monthly asynchronous online book club discussion. They even do a March-madness-type bracket tourney every year to determine what the April book selection will be. Fun!
VS is a podcast run by Franny Choi and Danez Smith, who are amazing poets and super entertaining hosts.
Book Reviews and “Most Anticipated” Lists
On the shelf at the library you will sometimes find copies of Harper’s magazine, whose book recommendations column, “New Books,” is my favorite. They also have a “Readings” section that prints excerpts from books that haven’t been published yet. Fun!
If you can find it, the New York Review of Books is kind of like the newspaper for collegiate nerds. Super exciting!
The most widely consulted book review section is the New York Times’s. Most US and international newspapers have their own book coverage. Here is the Wall Street Journal’s books page. See the full list of news wires, papers, and magazines from the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Arts & Letter Daily site here: News Sources List.
Just as it’s possible to stay on top of which new EP or album or movie is coming out soon, it’s (often) possible to know just how long you’ll have to wait for your favorite author’s next release. Check out all the “most anticipated books” lists here (there are so many).
