We both like to read, a lot. We like to read fun and entertaining books. For us, a short book is under 300 pages (and we rarely read a novel less than 200 pages) and a long book is more in the 700+ range (and we do love a well-done saga). We receive bookish emails, follow bookish blogs, listen to bookish podcasts, and belong to bookish Facebook groups. The input into the TBR list comes from a wide variety of sources and we don’t always remember how a book got here, however I will mention Anne Bogel (of the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog and What Should I Read Podcast) is responsible for several of our favorites over the last couple of years. Sometimes the book isn’t even on the TBR list, but something about the cover strikes us (yes, we 100% judge books based on their cover and we’ve found some great romance novels via the cover and marketing copy), someone who’s reading taste we trust recommends it, or it’s on the landing page in OverDrive. Some of our most favorite Kindle Unlimited reads have come via Facebook/Amazon suggestion (which gets dangerous because of how those algorithms work – deep dive this here). Because we read a wide variety of genres, the input also comes from many sources. We know what we like, but we are also open to trying new things.
Have a suggestion for us? Keep reading to learn more about our reading guidelines and expectations.
Our minimum guidelines for titles include an entertaining or informative text, good writing, characters to root for (fiction) or a sense of connectedness to the topic (nonfiction), and solid editing. Beyond that, it depends on what expectations are set. Some titles just don’t live up to the hype surrounding them while others are gems because we had no expectations beyond being entertained through a fun story (with the aforementioned good writing and solid editing). If a title is on a list for a major award, our expectations are going to be different than if we purchased the ebook for $0.99 (or less) on Amazon. We do read award winners and we read free books, and everything in between. While some of the titles we select won’t be for you, we hope some will and we hope you’ll be interested in a title that will stretch your reading boundaries as other readers have expanded ours.
If you wrote a book that you think fits within our guidelines and expectations, visit this page for more details.
If you your favorite book fits within our guidelines and expectations, and you’d like us to read and review it, contact us and tell us why you think it’s a good fit for Heart.Wants.Books.
