How To Curate Your Own Booklist - And Stop Reading What Everyone Else's Reading

Two things I only recently realized: it's ok to read multiple books at the same time, and it's ok to not finish a book as long as you made an effort to get over the first couple of pages. I think a lot of the stress that comes from choosing "the right books" comes from this idea that reading a book is a significant time investment. A book is not a girlfriend/boyfriend: it's ok to engage with multiple at once and to let one go when you're just not into it lol

for people like me in a big city and no money to spare, go to your local library to roam around! bonus: it's quiet, there is not a lot of people and usually it's a calm environnement to look at. Also a good reason to get you out of the house once in a while

I had this problem. I would look at "Best Books" lists and it only left me feeling anxious. Last year I started reading what I wanted most, even if it was really unpopular, and I feel great now. The authenticity gives me the feeling of freedom.

Completely agree. Nothing better than wandering around a book store.

I agree; more people need to use the bibliography. I learned this in grade school when we had a library hour. It became ever more critical by the time I reached college as needing to write papers. Reading notes, bibliographies, and references guide me in finding new books to read.

going to a bookstore is still my favorite way to discover new books. I started to read bibliography recently and I found it so interesting

such a great video! i think this is why i urge young readers to just read everything (nonfiction, fiction, essays, short stories, manga, etc) because when you end up reading everything, you get to decide what your reading tastes are, and, thus, can form your own reading list 💫

Great video. Your advice reminds me of something I heard from Kubrick, who said (paraphrasing) that there are just so many books in the world that it’s a near impossible task to try and figure out which are the best/most important to read. And so what he did, and suggested, was to browse the library or book store and randomly select books. Then read a bit and see if it’s interesting. If it is, then keep reading. If it isn’t, then put it back and grab a different book.

Also, I often find that a good book will lead to other really good books, either by author, or subject, or direct reference.

Either way, I think the best thing to do is to keep reading. Your own unique reading list will make you all the more a unique person with a unique experience and perspective.

Cheers

thank you for making the video, because I'm reading multiple books and having so much fun with it. If I don't like a book, I'll let it go and never read it again-plain and simple. Finding the "right books" to read annoyed me so much-I like just picking up a book and reading it and having a good time with the world and the characters before I say goodbye to it.

I like your idea of making your own list! Everyone wants to be authentic but then look at the goodreads lists 😅 You can literally tell what videos people watched on YT. I'm reading multiple books simultaneously and sometimes this leads me to read just one type of books (like non-fiction, then fiction, then professional books and so on). A couple of months ago I understood I read almost no fiction (maybe, I just got tired of it getting Master's in English Literature). Recently I came across Charlotte Fraz's recommendation on how to sort the books so that you avoid reading just one kind of books and burnout (in sections like non-fiction, modern fiction, hard science, etc). I already have my own booklist, based on the taste, topics of interest, need-to-read for the uni, or recommendation, so just put the items in these sections and filled out the empty ones with the fiction books I wanted to read but didn't find time to.

On purposeless roaming, especially if you're on a budget:

If you are in college and trying to build your curiosity back up, wander your campus to look at the "free" shelves and abandoned workspaces. I have picked up so many books on campus that the library was getting rid of, the faculty read (or was published in!) and wanted to pass forward, that students decided they didn't want to keep or resell, etc. It's really good for non-fiction especially.

For everyone, AAUW chapters often have huge used book sales you can browse—thrift stores are fun to peer around too.
For a free option, look at your library! Wandering the library is so fun and there are so many unique books there—many in circulation. :) For me, it really brings back childlike wonder. I spent a decade as a kid roaming in library and picking up either whatever sounded lovely or whatever came up on the WorldCat searches.

I have two primary ways of finding new authors to read: 1) What books does an author I enjoy like to read themselves? For example, I enjoy reading Truman Capote, who was a fan of Willa Cather, who I am now a fan of because of that connection/introduction. 2) Who were the contemporaries of an author I like? Truman Capote was a contemporary of Carson McCullers and George Plimpton, two authors who I would have never have found on my own. A downside to this connection method is that you may end up down a rabbit hole of a particular era or genera, and it may be harder to get a wide survey of literature in general.

Finally - if you are not enjoying a book, abandon it and protect your time, energy and enthusiasm for reading! Life's too short to be spent on a miserable slog of a book!

I love your take on roaming a bookshop! I recently have visited a bookshop after years of only ordering online, and in a bizarre way, it felt so much like coming home. I immensely enjoyed staying there for an extended period of time and browse through multiple books, and I was surprised to see that a lot of other people there also seemed to be taking their time. Usually you always see other people being in a hurry, so it was such a stark contrast, seeing people slowing down, maybe even sitting down with a book or two for a couple of minutes, and there even was a small group of foreigners coming in to the English books section, and discussing the newest works there!

We hope you’re doing well, Robin. Keep making more amazing content for us to enjoy watching.

I have to say, your videos have made me a better undergraduate student. I feel more confident in my skills because your advice helped me built critical thinking, autonomy and trust in my abilities to understand literary work, to come up with my own arguments. I also enjoy your straightforwardness and it turned out very beneficial to apply it to my own work. Thank you so much for taking the time to make those videos 😊

Yes! The first thing I look at is the bibliography. Its length determines how excited I am about a book. Great content; been enjoying your videos the last few nights.

I read 'How To Live' by Sarah Bakewell a few years ago. Highly recommended

People’s recommendations have let me down a lot. At least it taught me what I know I won’t want to read.

Wonderfully done, Robin. Everyone does seem to get stuck in these circles. Thank you!

My reading preference is all over the place most times but eventually I would stick to a genre that I like the most and read whatever the library in my area has to offer in that genre. Sometimes I do go on YouTube or TikTok for recommendations with hesitation because often times books from these areas are bad (in my opinion).