In the spring of 2021, I subscribed to the mailing list of a friendly entrepreneur named Ben, who claimed he was building a site to help book lovers more easily find their next favorite read. “I love walking around the bookstore and browsing until something grabs my attention,” he said. “I want to bring that experience online. I want to help readers bump into books they would otherwise not find and give them ways to follow their curiosity between topics and concepts.”
It seemed like a pandemic project that might or might not lead to anything… but since then, Ben has indeed built a site that not only helps readers find books but helps authors promote their books. This fall, he asked authors to choose their 3 favorite books from the past twelve months of reading, and all of those lists are now up and discoverable; here’s the link to mine (though none of these books will be a surprise to any of my blog regulars).
As an author, I really appreciate this chance to dig into the links between what I like to read and what I write. And as a reader… well, who knew that Robert M. Pirsig (author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) also wrote a book that takes place on a boat?
While nothing can replace the joys of wandering through the physical aisles of a local bookstore, sadly that option is not available to everyone. So, start with my page… or if you want a (much) wider perspective, Shepherd’s own Best Books of 2023 shows what 883 authors (including me) selected. You can filter by fiction, topic, and even search only for books published in 2023.
I can’t wait to hear what you think about this new way to browse for your next favorite read! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go dig into that new sailing book…
Got a favorite way to find books? Share it in the comments below, or send me an email. I read every single message, with gratitude.
