Books are one of my favorite things in the whole world! I honestly don’t think that I could survive without books, and I’m always on the lookout for new books to add to my very lengthy “to read” list.
One of the kindest things a person could do for me would be to give me new books. A few weeks ago my grandma gave me a box of books that she no longer wanted and told me that I could go through it and see if there were any that I wanted.
I was thrilled! I couldn’t wait to open them up and start looking through them. One of the first books that caught my attention was titled, Confessions of an Imaginary Friend by Michelle Cuevas.
The title alone made me laugh, and I decided then and there that I was going to read that book.
This book probably isn’t one that I ever would have read, had it not been in that box. (I don’t typically search on Goodreads, “books about imaginary friends”)
I would like to have book reviews and suggestions as a part of my blog and call it “Book Box”. I was thinking that to start I would share a paper that I wrote for school about finding a new book when you are out of ideas.
At the end of the paper, I give a little teaser to a book that I absolutely love. I will be doing my first review next week, and it will be about that book.
I hope you enjoy my paper and hope it will help you, make you laugh, or both! Let me know how you liked it, what your favorite book is, what books you think I should read, your imaginary friend’s favorite book, or anything else related to books or my blog.
How To Find a Book You’ll Love
You’ve just finished your book and it was so incredibly good that you can’t imagine finding another book that can compare to it. You’re in that unbearable position where you desperately want to find another book, but there’s not one that you can think of, that interests you in the slightest. What do you do? You come to me. I’ll solve your problem by teaching you different ways to find the perfect book when you are at a loss.
The first of my secrets is to take a break from reading altogether. This will only work about half the time though. One of two things will happen after you tell yourself to stop reading. The first thing that could happen is your mind will be struck by fear from the mere idea of such a thing. As if your life is flashing before your eyes, you will see all the books you long to read. If this happens; you have fixed your problem. Find one of the books that you saw in your near-death experience and go read it.
If you tell yourself that you are no longer allowed to read and you can still breathe normally, then the second effect from this solution is upon you. You will go through your reading break only to become more miserable, losing sleep, and stressing about not reading, and you still won’t have a book. It’s now time you move on to the next step.
Get in your car and drive straight to the nearest library or bookstore where you will be surrounded by hundreds of marvelous books to choose from. Choose a genre that interests you, and go to that aisle. If someone else is on the same aisle sneak over to them and see if their book looks like one that you would like. If it does, steal it right out of their arms and run off with it. Don’t do this if they are bigger than you and look like they could beat you up – I know from experience that football players get angry when you steal their book.
Okay, so maybe don’t steal a book from anyone, but stay on your aisle of interest. Close your eyes and run your finger along the spines of the books closest to you. Stop suddenly and abruptly pull the book from the shelf that your finger is touching. Do this a few more times until you have an adequate number of books in your arms. After finding somewhere comfortable to sit, look at the titles you have chosen and read the back blurbs. If one or more of these books looks good to you, then go home and read! If not, continue reading these instructions.
You know how people tell you to not judge a book by it’s cover? Well, here’s your chance to do exactly the opposite of what they tell you. Look at the covers of books all over the library, and if the cover looks exciting then pick it up and add it to your pile. If it looks boring put it back immediately! The last thing you need right now is a boring book. (Unless you like boring books, and then there’s just something wrong with you as a person.)
Still haven’t found a book that seems exciting enough to compete with the last one? It’s okay. There is still hope for you. Call up a friend and tell her your problem. If she’s a reader then she will understand and be very willing to help you, but if she’s not, hang up and call a new friend – a reader friend this time! Why did you even call that person in the first place?
Your reader friend should be able to tell you about tons of amazing books that they have read and think you should too. They will probably overload you with books to the point that you will have enough suggestions to last forty-three years.
If for some reason your friend doesn’t have book suggestions, doesn’t like to read, or is a selective mute then it’s time for one of my last ideas. Go home. Stand in front of your bookcase. Morn about not having another one to add to your shelf. Think about all the beautiful stories that you have read in the past. Tearfully remember all the good times you had with these books. Now stop crying and choose one of your favorites off the shelf. The book you are holding is the one for you. If you are feeling like there can’t possibly be another book that will bring you the same amount of joy that you received from reading this one, then read it again.
Rereading great books is just as good or better than finding a new book. Books are like friends and if you told your friends that you would only hang out with them once, then you would have a sad existence. You should hang out with friends more than once and you should read books more than once.
My final idea – and the one I should have mentioned from the very beginning – read The Candy Makers by Wendy Mass. It is truly one of the best books in the world and you must read it!
I’m glad that I could help you on your quest to find a new book. Hopefully you will be satisfied with whatever book you choose. If you ever have problems again with being bookless then just think back to my suggestions or go steal a book from some unsuspecting person’s arms.