I just saw someone else’s post asking about books you found organically before they blew up on TikTok, and I totally misread it at first--my brain skipped the "TikTok" part entirely!

So now I have to ask the question I thought they were posing: What books have you discovered completely by chance, with zero online influence?

I mean books you stumbled on, or judged by their cover, or had only the recommendations of friends or family or maybe a random bookseller/ librarian.

For me, the most random finds tend to be in the poetry section--I love looking through the shelves until a title grabs me. But my ultimate chance discovery was just a few months ago The Penguin Book of the International Short Story, which a bookseller literally pulled off a sale cart, when I asked if the store had a short story section. (I have since read it and found a few favorite stories and authors I will be picking up again in the future!)

And my holy grail has to be The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas. I have never seen this mentioned in any online space, which is criminal, because I absolutely adored it. the perfect blend of sci-fi, mystery, and philosophical musings—what would nonlinear art look like? How disconnected would you become with that kind of time travel at your disposal?

So, what’s yours? What books found you?

just completed phase one, and given that the next phase is titled, “maiden no more”, i have a terrible hunch about what’s going to happen in the woods, and therefore, i firmly stand my ground when i say that alec d’urberville needs to die and he needs to die now.

I have zero idea what this book is about, all that i heard is that it’s sad. dunno what i’m getting into but im excited

i see some variant of this question seemingly six times a day and i’m now prepared to give my answer. by which i mean, something that i’m coming up with while waiting for the bus.

step 1. read this article on your phone or computer: How I Learned to Read Way, Way More by John Paul Brammer

step 1a. read it again, if you want

step 2. close your phone and/or computer and put it/them far away from you, ideally in a different room

step 3. choose a book, one you’re curious about

step 4. read the book

step 5. continue reading the book

repeat step 5 until you are done with the book or need to pee or have some important responsibility

ok the bus is here

i see some variant of this question seemingly six times a day and i’m now prepared to give my answer. by which i mean, something that i’m coming up with while waiting for the bus.

step 1. read this article on your phone or computer: How I Learned to Read Way, Way More by John Paul Brammer

step 1a. read it again, if you want

step 2. close your phone and/or computer and put it/them far away from you, ideally in a different room

step 3. choose a book, one you’re curious about

step 4. read the book

step 5. continue reading the book

repeat step 5 until you are done with the book or need to pee or have some important responsibility

ok the bus is here

So I hear about mood readers, I hear about people with a stacked list, but I want to know who or what chooses your next read OTHER than you. I have my tbr and I’m not picky about the order as long as I feel like I’m not doing the same setting/time period really close together. I never want to actually choose my next read because I’m too indecisive; instead, I let external forces choose. Whether it’s a sale on thrift books or my local secondhand bookshop/cafe happens to have it, that’s what dictates my next read. Maybe you could say I let the universe decide, or maybe it’s more accurate to say I’m just cheap and love to hoard books. So add it in the comments, what’s your external decision maker for your next read?

I’ve mostly been reading through Libby and secondhand or library books. Opened a new book for the first time in… gosh, at least a year? Got hit with a heady sniff of that new book smell and I legit think I’m getting overly emotional about it. Might also be pausing my reading all the time just to sniff it. It just smells so good!

What’s something you love about physical books?