A bit over a month ago, I posted about a quote I saw—”I ran out of books in my to-be-read pile”—and wondered how anyone could run out of stories to read. I shared how I’m constantly adding new books to my TBR pile (faster than I can read them, in fact) due to:

new releases from auto-buy authors
backlist of enjoyable, new-to-me authors
books on sale that sound interesting
recommendations from friends and those whose opinion I respect (“influencers”?)

I also mentioned that I keep myself open to new possibilities—such as new influencers and recommendation resources—which has helped expand my reading of stories from authors in marginalized communities. If all we pay attention to is a very small bubble of sources, we’re less likely to see release announcements or recommendations for diverse stories.

I’d have missed out on many of my favorite books of the past year if I’d limited myself that way, so this isn’t just a call to do the literary equivalent of “eat your vegetables.” Good stories are good stories.

But if we don’t know where to go to get recommendations beyond the “usual,” we might get stuck in a reading rut. Rather than limiting ourselves to just a few resources for their recommendations, let’s share ideas for other lists and sources to try.