January 16, 2015

Tried & Trusted

One of the great things about the internet is that readers get access to a whole variety of opinions – whether personal or professional – regarding books. From reviews on blogs to Goodreads ratings, publishing authority newsletters to Twitter, there are just so many ways to find out what people are thinking of a certain title. It’s really awesome, but it can also get really overwhelming to try and sift through all of the sentiments you encounter.

This is when it really helps to have friends who know your reading tastes well. If they have read the book, then they’ll be able to tell you whether or not it’d be your kind of read. As a bonus, if something wasn’t on your radar, then they’ll bring it to your attention if they think you’ll be interested in it. While I won’t get into details, let’s just say that I trust the ladies below when it comes to recommendations since they have proven themselves, time and again. (If you’re interested, check out Shae’s book canaries post. I share somewhat the same attitude.)

Today’s post is all about celebrating excellent recommendations from my friends, really, as a way to honor these people who have introduced me to some of my most enjoyable reads. (Note: I only picked one recommendation per person, but trust me, I have gotten way more than one from each person mentioned here!)
Hannah: The Lynburn Legacy // my review is up next week!
Kelly: As Long As You Love Me // my review is up next week!

These books were fantastic reads! And these people have, time and again, given me great recommendations, and so, I trust that they will have many more for me in the future. Now, it wouldn’t be a recommendations post without sharing a few of my own…

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas
Ransom by Julie Garwood
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

For more recommendations, you can check out my “All Stars” page! Now, it’s your turn – Do you have trusted recommenders? What books have you read solely because someone recommended it to you? Which books would you recommend? Hopefully, you’ll get a recommendation out of this post – and if not, feel free to ask me for one in the comments or on Twitter!

6 Comments:

  1. I love that we all have our own go to people for recommendations! I've taken your recs quite a few times and you've yet to let me down! :) I also love that you recommend Ransom by Julie Garwood; it's such a good book and one of my faves by her (which says a lot because I've loved everything I've read by her!)!

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  2. I love most of the books in your rec list! I've been hesitant to jump into adult romance but I think I'm going to have to try it out starting with those you recommended above! :) Thank you for such a wonderful post!

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  3. Sadly, I do not have a trusted book recommender, so I always feel like I'm taking a risk whenever friends or book bloggers suggest something. Part of this is probably because I'm not certain what my favorite types of books are myself. Aside from "good ones", which is pretty subjective. My goal is to find that go-to person for book recs though.

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  4. I'm not really into taking recommendations, which is a little different. For me, i go on twitter and post a picture of a few different books and just ask which I should read. I'm always very unsure about people going "oh you should read..." because what if I don't like it, right? maybe it's just the skeptic in me but it's so awesome that you've got a group of people who can give great recs

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  5. Awww, this is a sweet post, Alexa! I'm not a huge fan of recs, since I'm a really picky reader, but there are some friends I trust completely. If it wasn't for you, I may not have read the Incarnate series, so TY! :) And of course I love the rec of BED. <3

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  6. I read this when you posted it but never commented. Recs from trusted friends are the best thing ever, especially for when both people love the book. (It's a little sad when it doesn't work out.) Glad to know you loved Parker. I just remembered to add "reread & actually review" to my ever-growing to-do list. <3

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Thanks for leaving a comment! I love seeing what you have to say, and will try to reply (here or on Twitter) as soon as I can :)