Last Updated on October 18, 2025 by Robert Gonzalez
Stuck in a Reading Rut? Here’s How to Find Your Next Book
You know the feeling. You’ve just finished an incredible book by an author you adore. The story world is still vivid in your mind, the characters feel like friends you’re not ready to say goodbye to. And then… the dreaded book hangover sets in. Nothing on your shelf seems appealing. You scroll through endless online lists, feeling completely overwhelmed.
What if you didn’t have to leave that feeling behind? What if you could find another book, maybe even a whole new author, that gives you that same magical feeling?
Trust me, I’ve been there. After binging all of Fredrik Backman’s heartwrenching and hilarious novels, I felt lost. I tried a dozen different books, but nothing clicked. They were either too saccharine or too bleak. None had that perfect blend of deep humanity and dry wit I craved. I was about to give up and just reread A Man Called Ove for the third time.
But then I got smart. I stopped searching for books and started searching for readers. More specifically, I started using the very specific, powerful strategies I’m about to share with you. Finding your next great read isn’t about luck. It’s a skill. And you’re about to master it.
Forget the Algorithm, Talk to a Human (A Digital One)
Everyone knows about Amazon and Goodreads recommendations. They’re a starting point, sure. But they often feel generic, like a robot guessing what you like based on a thousand other people. To get truly bespoke suggestions, you need to go deeper.
My absolute favorite tool for this is Literature Map. It’s brilliantly simple. You type in an author’s name, and it generates a “galaxy” of other authors. The closer another name is to your author, the more likely you are to enjoy their work. It’s a visual, intuitive way to discover new voices.
I plugged in Tana French, the queen of atmospheric Irish crime novels. Right there, clustered around her, were authors like Susie Steiner and Jane Harper. I’d never heard of them, but the site’s crowdsourced data was telling me that people who love Tana French also love these writers. I picked up Harper’s The Dry and was instantly transported to the scorching Australian outback. It was a different landscape, but it had that same slowburn, characterdriven mystery I loved. The connection was spoton.
Become a Literary Detective: Follow the Trail
Authors don’t write in a vacuum. They are voracious readers themselves, influenced by the greats and inspired by their contemporaries. You can use this to your advantage.
Here’s a pro tip from my own experience: pay attention to the “Also by” and “Acknowledgments” sections in your favorite books. But don’t stop there. Follow your favorite authors on social media, especially Twitter and Instagram. What are they reading? Who are they praising? When Stephen King raves about a new thriller, I pay attention. When Celeste Ng shares her favorite recent reads on her newsletter, my TBR (ToBeRead) list grows by three books.
Funny story: I was once listening to a podcast interview with Andy Weir, author of The Martian. He offhandedly mentioned how much he loved the oldschool, hardscifi of Arthur C. Clarke. That single comment sent me down a rabbit hole of classic science fiction that I’m still happily lost in. Authors are your best curators. You just have to know where to listen.
Master the Art of the “Readalike” Search
Librarians are the unsung heroes of book discovery. They’ve been doing this long before the internet, and they’ve developed a powerful secret weapon: the readalike. This is the single most effective search term you can use online.
Don’t just search for “books like Where the Crawdads Sing.” Get specific. Search for “readalikes for Delia Owens” or “authors similar to Colson Whitehead“. This specific phrasing taps into a wealth of curated lists made by library websites, book bloggers, and literary journals. These lists are built by people who have actually read the books and understand the nuances of an author’s style, not just their genre.
For example, a search for “books similar to Project Hail Mary” might lead you to Blake Crouch’s mindbending Dark Matter or the accessible physics in Neil deGrasse Tyson’s nonfiction. Both are great recommendations, but for different reasons. The first matches the propulsive scifi plot, the second matches the sense of wonder. A good readalike list will explain why the recommendation works.
Go Beyond Genre: Identify Your “Book DNA”
This is the biggest mistake I see people make. They think, “I like Stephen King, so I need another horror author.” But what if you don’t actually like horror? What if you like Stephen King for his smalltown Maine settings, his deeply flawed characters, and his sprawling, multigenerational stories?
If that’s the case, you might actually enjoy a book like The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah more than a generic slasher novel. See the difference?
To find your next favorite author, you need to dissect what you love about your current one. Ask yourself:
- Is it their pacing? (e.g., Blake Crouch’s breakneck speed vs. Donna Tartt’s slow, meticulous build)
- Is it their character development? (e.g., the deeply intimate portraits in Ann Patchett’s work)
- Is it their prose style? (e.g., the lyrical, almost poetic sentences of Maggie O’Farrell)
- Is it their sense of place? (e.g., the way Louise Erdrich makes a North Dakota reservation a living character)
Once you identify your core “Book DNA,” you can find matches across any genre. I loved The Night Circus not just for its magic, but for its lush, sensory detail. That led me to Natasha Pulley’s The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, which has a similar tactile, atmospheric quality. It was a perfect match, even though the plots are quite different.
Your Action Plan for Lifelong Book Discovery
This might feel like a lot, so let’s break it down into a simple, repeatable process.
- Pick Your Anchor Author: Choose one author you absolutely love right now.
- Analyze Their Appeal: Write down 23 specific things you love about their writing (see the list above).
- Run the Digital Tools: Plug their name into Literature Map and do a targeted “readalike for [Author Name]” search.
- Do the Social Sleuthing: Check the author’s website or social media for their influences and recommendations.
- Sample Before You Commit: Use your library’s Libby app or Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature to read the first chapter of your top 23 candidates. Your gut will tell you pretty quickly if it’s a fit.
The goal isn’t to find an identical author. That’s impossible. The goal is to find an author who gives you that same feeling—the can’tputitdown, fullyimmersed, slightlysadwhenit’sover feeling. And now, you have the map.
Your Book Discovery Questions, Answered
What if I like an author’s early work but not their newer books?
This is super common! An author’s style can evolve. In this case, look for “debut novels” or “early career” readalikes. Also, check out the authors your favorite author was compared to in their first book reviews. That’s often where you’ll find the closest stylistic matches.
Are paid subscription services for book recommendations worth it?
Services like TBR Tailor or even a personal librarian session can be fantastic if you’re truly stuck and want a human expert to do the legwork. For most people, the free methods above are more than enough. But if you have the budget and want a hyperpersonalized list, a pro can be a great treat.
How can I find new authors in a very niche genre?
Go straight to the source. Find the toprated books in that niche on Goodreads, then dive into the “Listopia” lists and dedicated forums. The readers in these hyperspecific communities are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate. They live and breathe that niche and will have recommendations you won’t find anywhere else.
So, what are you waiting for? Pick that author you can’t stop thinking about. Open a new browser tab. And start the hunt. Your next favorite book is out there, and it’s closer than you think. Happy reading.