Ask HN: How do you find new books to read?

5 points by ahmedfromtunis 14 days ago | 7 comments

I'm looking to update my reading list of 2026 to include anything interesting that was recently, or about to be, published.

The internet is of course full of lists about the "most anticipated" or "the hottest" books of the year/summer/etc. But these are not what I'm after.

My reading habits are a bit out of sync with the mainstream and rarely feature in lists of most popular books. (If it helps, some of my favorites include Apple in China, The Chip War, Spec Ops [by McRaven], and Chokepoints.)

I thought Goodreads would be the place to find stuff like that but was shockingly lacking.

How do you guys find (good) books to read?

downbad_ 14 days ago |

I use Hacker News. I used to use r/books but I stopped because more often than not, what they mention there doesn't appeal to me.

I use Hacker News. How? When you're reading through threads, people often just mention a book related to the topic at hand. And I check it out.

There are lots of smart people here, and it's reflected in the books they read.

But, while you wait to find books to read, here are some interesting threads for you.

Ask HN: What nonfiction books do you keep rereading?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40277933

Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23151144

Good luck. The universe is expanding, read and let your mind expand too!

NarcisMirandes 13 days ago |

I keep a document with a list of possible books. I separate it by subject or genres. To feed that list:

- Suggestions from other people: HN, podcast, X

- Repeat the same author when I find a book I like

- Suggestions from Amazon and Everand. Based on a book I liked

I also keep another list of the books I liked more. Then I ask to an AI. If I like those books what other books I would also like?

rishabhpoddar 12 days ago |

- Asking google / gpt - searching for "books like ...", and then seeing goodreads review. - Often I see people on X post about books, so I add it to my "want to read" section in goodreads. At this point i have nearly a 100 in there, so good to go for 2-3 years.

hnthrow10282910 14 days ago |

Book store and check reviews or summer reading lists on the times or library.

elgrob 14 days ago |

At the local library

codingdave 13 days ago |

Wander the shelves at book stores and the library.

hgsocket 12 days ago |

nowadays, we can ask LLM for great books recommendation, and it turns out to be pretty accurate.