Sometimes I get a craving for a specific kind of book, but don’t have anything on hand. For example, I want to read a meaty Christmas romance that’s not too sweet. Or an angsty fantasy novel set in the renaissance.
The problem with these extremely specific cravings is that there might be none or very few books out there that fit the bill. And maybe I already read most of them. For instance, I like other-world fantasy romance, but there’s not a lot of it out there.
So, what to do when you want something specific but it won’t present itself? Here’s my handy list:
- Who do I know that’s written this stuff before? Check if they have anything new out.
- Check what my google-fu can dig up. This can for example lead to handy suggested reading lists in forums I never heard about.
- Check out similar books on Amazon or Goodreads and see if anyone made a list
- Badger friends for recommendations.
- Ask Twitter for assistance.
- Ask a genre guru, like a review blog or Facebook page.
What about you, do you have any handy tips to share?
Amazon would be the first place to go to. I type the name of the book in the genre I want that I read and enjoyed, then dive into the “Alsoboughts” list for titles that sound interesting. It’s amazing how many gems I found like that!
Amazon is very handy, isn’t it? Although at times I mostly get things like “Also bought Harry Potter” or other mega bestsellers, which is a bit less useful…
You can also type the genre instead of a title. Fantasy Romance, for example. Or for you, I typed “Romance on other worlds” and it came up with a list. And then you go from there! Good luck, and thanks for the other ideas!
Yes, good point Jennifer! If you can identify a sub-genre, that really helps. Like medieval time-travel romance, say.