How to Recommend a Book

Reviewed by Gerald Posner

Last Updated: April 28, 2024 References

If you’re a book lover who can’t help but get lost in a story, you’re probably constantly looking for ways to have your friends and family join in the reading fun! Recommending a book starts with your own reading life, since you need to be convinced about the books you recommend. Knowing your audience is equally important, since the best recommendations are well tailored to the genres, tones, and themes that they enjoy.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Testing Recommendation Strategies

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1
Ask them what they last read. You can gather a lot of information by asking about the last book they read. If they tell you they disliked a book they just read, ask them why they disliked it and what kinds of books they like better. Once you get a sense of the kinds of books they like, you’ll be better prepared to make an appropriate recommendation.^{[1]
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- You could also ask if they like a particular genre.
2
Match your recommendation to the theme of their favorite title. Ask them to describe the theme and genre of their favorite book, such as a futuristic city in a science fiction novel. Recommend a book that has a similar theme and genre.^{[2]
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- If they enjoy reading melancholic books set in a post-apocalyptic future, recommend books that explore similar themes and moods.
- If they enjoy reading optimistic books with a pragmatic focus, tell them about related books.
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3
Recommend a classic celebrated by famous authors. It can be more convincing to get a recommendation based on a famous author, such as David Foster Wallace, Stephen King, or Margaret Atwood. Since many famous authors recommend classics, you might end up giving them a recommendation for a classic novel.
- Based on the recommendations of 124 great authors, the best book of the nineteenth century is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
- For twentieth century books, great authors tend to recommend Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.
4
Make a recommendation based on their personal style. Find inspiration for your recommendation by looking at their clothes, jewelry, haircut, and tattoos. Base your recommendation on the ideas, images, and themes you see them expressing in their personal style.
- If they’re really into fashion, you could recommend The Devil Wears Prada.
- If they are really into gothic fashion, you could recommend The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.
- If their tattoo has a fantasy image with a boat, you could look for a fantasy novel with a similar looking cover.
5
Base it on their travel plans. Ask where they would most like to travel, or where they are travelling next. Search your local library or online to find out the most famous books related to this destination. It could be a book about the destination itself, an author from the travel destination, or a book that partly takes place in the travel destination.^{[3]
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- If they are travelling to Columbia, recommend One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
- If they are travelling to Denmark, you could recommend Smilla’s Sense of Snow.
- If they are going to Estonia, recommend The Man Who Spoke Snakish by H.E. Eerik Marmei.
- If they are going to Paris, you could recommend Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner. You might also recommend Paris Peasant by Louis Aragon or The Ladies’ Delight by Émile Zola.^{[4]
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6
Encourage them to read a book about their city. If they recently moved to a new city, give them a book that relates to it. It could be a walking guide to the city, for instance, or a book about the unique art and architecture of the city. Another option is a novel that takes place in their new city.
- If they just moved to New York City, you could give them Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote. You could also recommend Here is New York by E.B. White.^{[5]
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- If they just moved to Toronto, you could give them Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto by Shawn Micallef.
7
Take inspiration from their occupation. If they are passionate about their career or have just decided to change careers, they may enjoy a title related to their vocation. Search for a book that relates to their career, such as a novel with a lead protagonist that has the same occupation. You could also choose a career change or professional development title.^{[6]
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- If they are changing careers, consider recommending Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.
- If they are an architect, recommend Essays in Architectural Criticism by Alan Colquhoun.^{[7]
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Base it on their hobbies. Find out their hobbies, such as tennis, mushroom foraging, gardening, hunting, board games, or watercolor painting. See if you can find any good books about one of their hobbies. You might have to search hobbyist retailers alongside book stores.
- If they are into mushroom foraging, recommend Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World.
- If they are a watercolor painter, consider recommending a book about a famous watercolor painter. You could recommend Paul Klee: Watercolors, Drawings, Writings.
- If they are a gardener, recommend Rhapsody in Green by Charlotte Mendelssohn .^{[8]
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9
Use a referral service. You can find good referral services online or at your local library. You’ll need to fill out a form about the type of book you're looking for to use either service. You should get a recommendation based on the preferences of people with similar tastes.^{[9]
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- If you know the genre they like, look at the list of recommendations related to this genre on a book lovers' website, such as https://www.goodreads.com/.^{[10]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Persuasive Tactics

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Since you are more likely to be persuasive in recommending something you enjoy, it helps to know your own reading preferences. Keep a reading diary, spreadsheet, or keep track of your reading via social media. It’s helpful to write down a few impressions about all of the books you read, which you can draw upon when deciding whether to recommend a book to a friend.^{[11]
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If you’ve ever been given a book by a close friend, you’ll know how convincing this tactic can be! Once you give them the book, they will see it everywhere and feel like they should read it. Of course, you should give them something that is well suited to their preferences, rather than forcing them to read something that you like.
3
Make references to the book in conversation. Start making side references to the book you want them to read. By peppering your conversation with little references to the book, they’ll become intrigued and will likely want to understand more of the context for your references.
- If you are on a hike in the woods and want to recommend the Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer, you could remark, “It’s getting rather spooky, just like Area X in the novel Annihilation.”
- If you are at a bar enjoying a gin and tonic and want to recommend The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, you could say, “It’s like we’re Tom and Daisy in The Great Gatsby. Cheers!”^{[12]
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Take a picture of the book you want to recommend. Post it to your social media, such as Facebook or Instagram. Write a line about why you enjoyed the book. Share the post widely!
5
Don’t be snobby. Although you may feel they should be reading better books and authors, it’s best to avoid looking down on what they enjoy. If they feel you are being snobby or pretentious, it is unlikely they will take your recommendations to heart. Instead, learn to appreciate their taste and recommend books that are generally aligned with what they enjoy.
- For instance, avoid recommending Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time to someone who typically avoids classical novels.

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Tips

If you want to recommend the book to a roommate or partner, leave the book lying around in common areas.

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Warnings

If you talk too much about the book you want to recommend, it could backfire. Instead, tell them little bits and pieces about the book to get them curious.

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