Everyone is going to be different, but I (an English speaker) keep an eye on best seller lists, award winners (particularly the Booker and Pulitzers), and regularly get newsletters with new books coming out. Of course I am going to miss a huge number of books. But there’s only so many you can read.

I also deliberately carve out some time to read traditional English language classics. I happen to really like Charles Dickens for instance.

Over the years I’ve developed some favorite authors so I’m always looking for new books from them.

If there is something super specific I’m interested in then I would research on-line, go to an actual book store (I happen to have access to Powell’s, one of the best bookstores in the US), amazon, etc. And do my best to sort through reviews and author information to get what I’m looking for.

Wow TIL, this is really good info to know. This sounds like the same thing that’s been happening on Amazon’s site. Authors names aren’t copyrighted so you can call yourself Truman Capote if you want. They shouldn’t be able to use original artwork though (not that it would matter much). I thought this was going to be fairly easy to avoid but without reviews how would you know this book was a fake? I really dislike this timeline in so many ways.

I was there, standing in line with my tween children at best at midnight waiting for the last few books. When we got it home grandpa read it to the kids over the course of several weeks (they could read themselves but then the fights would have been endless and spoilers, omg). And I would read it after they were in bed, usually finishing in a few days.

I agree, I’ve never seen anything like it as a kid or parent, and I don’t think we ever will again. The internet has caused our culture to fragment and just like no one at the office talks about that amazing sitcom episode the next day there won’t be such a publishing phenomenon again in my opinion.

Why? I think it was legitimately driven by the kids and the awesome story and how that story grew up with the kids. The first couple of books were popular but not that popular. It built up over the years. JKR was not only a reliable writer publishing on schedule, but her world was so intricate, it was like the most delicious candy. The midnight book sales were pure marketing and pure genius. I think the last three got that treatment? But it was authentic, it wasn’t fake or PR feelings. The kids and their parents loved the books.

I can’t think of a single parallel with any other children’s book. Maybe Roald Dahl comes closest as I think hard.

I think we need a new dating law, let’s call it Panda’s law. If the subject of Nazi’s or their books comes up on a first date that is the end of seeing that person.

The later books aren’t as popular, arguably for good reason, that might be why you’re having trouble. The later books are generally quite a bit shorter as well (I don’t remember if they all are) so maybe just get a full set of the mass market paperbacks?

You could also check ebay, they sometimes have stuff that’s not anywhere else.

I’m older than you and really liked it. There is definitely some nostalgia points if you grew up in the mid 80s to mid 90s, so no YA is not its target audience.

A broken spine means a book has been opened wider than it should have been. This leaves a very prominent crease on the spine of paperbacks, more prominent than the crease that naturally happens when reading a book normally.

Hardcover books do have a spine, but a broken one is harder to see since, because of how hardcover books are bound, the spine doesn’t usually crease. For a hardcover book I would look for damage along the edge where the pages are pressed tightly together. Is anything failing there, are there any creases that aren’t as obvious or any tearing.