Your Library: the no-judgment zone

Looking for your next favorite read?  Look no further than your favorite librarian please.  Libraries and librarians have the keys to help you find your next favorite series, character, or author.  If you've ever asked a librarian for help finding something new to read, you will recall how that person's face lit up with excitement.  They eagerly started asking you questions and you stood back and wondered why you were getting the third degree.  However, your answers to a few key questions will help the librarian help you.  Those are the "book seeds" that will help you branch out in your reading adventures.

For example, if you tell someone that the last three books that you enjoyed were The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Allen Addison, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, and Star Lake Saloon and Housekeeping Cottages by Sara Rath they are not going to automatically recommend that you read the latest Dresden Files book by Jim Butcher because that is what they like and are currently reading.  They are going to ask you what it was specifically that you liked about the books you remembered.  The books you listed are clues for a librarian to follow as they contemplate which direction to steer you.  The questions will become specific to the books you mentioned.  

They may ask you what you have read recently that you really didn't like.  Maybe the last book you couldn't force yourself to finish was Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.  Naturally the next question to follow will be what didn't you like about it?  There are no wrong answers to any of these questions.

What you like to read is your choice, your preference, for your own enjoyment.  Librarians aren't waiting to sit in judgment of you because you would like to read something similar to Fifty Shades of Grey.  They can't wait to tell you to try Sylvia Day's books next.  They are eager to share their own catalogs and websites like whatshouldireadnext.com,  librarything.com, novelist, or overbooked.org with patrons who like to explore on their own.

Come and ask the experts what you should read next.  Then make sure that you tell them on your next trip how much you liked (or didn't like) their recommendations.  Tell them what you think they should read next.   It's an imperfect science but one that can be an endless source of enjoyment.