Being an avid reader for a little over ten years now, I don’t know how I’ll ever finish reading my ever-growing to-read list in this lifetime! But, with over 400 books on my TBR on Goodreads, maybe a better question is how did I find so many good book recommendations?

Bookworms, grab a pencil and some paper! Today, I’m revealing where I find book recommendations.

Goodreads

Yeah, this one is kinda obvious, since I referenced it in the intro, but Goodreads has been the #1 fueling source for my TBR list since I first made an account back in 2014. Not only does Goodreads allow you to find numerous recommendations for best-selling books, but it also allows you to befriend other readers, including readers who double as authors (like myself)! Over the past several years, I have met many indie Christian authors through Goodreads, and have discovered dozens of indie titles there, such as the Castaways trilogy by Jes Drew, and The Electrical Menagerie by Mollie E. Reeder.

The Blogosphere

Way back when I first started blogging on Authoring Arrowheads, I interacted way more with other Christian book bloggers and indie authors, and had the opportunity to join many wonderful blog tours and read e-ARCs. Though I don’t dedicate as much time to reading blog posts by my fellow bloggers much anymore, (I’m sorry, y’all. I really need to be better about that!), if you’re an avid reader who likes to read book blogs, I highly recommend scoping out the handy dandy blogosphere for ARC teams in your preferred genres.

YouTube

While I love watching a few authors on AuthorTube (Bethany Atazadeh, Mandi Lynn, Sarra Cannon, and Abbie and K.A. Emmons), I’ve never been a big BookTube viewer. However, I did join Abbie Emmons ARC team for 100 Days of Sunlight before its release in 2019 because of her channel, and I’ve added several books to my TBR thanks to Kendra Christine, who mainly posts a variety of Christian content, but who also does reading vlogs and book hauls from time to time. She covers a lot of nonfiction Christian books, and mainstream mysteries, which I’ve been drawn to more and more over the past couple years.

Instagram

More recently, I’ve been finding some additions to my TBR on ol’ Instagram, more famously known in the book community as #bookstagram. Instagram has basically become the first place I find out where authors I’ve read before are releasing new books, as Bookstagram is a great place to release promo images or Reels to promote books. A few of the best recommendations I’ve found via Instagram thus far have been If the Broom Fits by Sarah Sutton, Fable by Adrienne Young, and Dearest Josephine by Caroline George.

Amazon

I’ve got to hand it to Amazon… for the most part, their recommendations are pretty on point. One day, while I was being a creeper of the sales rank for my own book, The Crush, I peeked at the recommended titles and discovered a gem: Under the Magnolias by T.I. Lowe. Though I ended up buying the book on sale at Hobby Lobby rather than Amazon, I really enjoyed the book earlier this year. Although I haven’t always been impressed with some of the books Amazon outright recommends me (because, trust me, though I won’t name names, there have been some stinkers!), I’ve also discovered some amazing books through looking at the Kindle Deals page every day, like God Greed, and the Prosperity Gospel by Costi Hinn, or Me, Myself & Bob by Phil Vischer. I had never heard of either of those books before discovering them through the Deals section, and bought them on a whim. I ended up loving both!

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

So, now that I’ve uncovered the secrets of where I find book recommendations, I’m passing the baton on to y’all! Where do you find the best book recommendations? Let me know in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀