How do you discover interesting books to read?

I often find interesting books on the book lists from Bill Gates (https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books) and Derek Sivers (https://sive.rs/book).

And of course there are many good recommendations here on HN in book-related threads.

One book often leads to another. Often someone quotes other books, and you find that a number of books and talks will quote the same ones.

You do have to go deep and not try to skimp on cost. The good stuff can often be expensive yet well worth it.

HN is particularly good with book recommendations too. There's a lot of tools out there that collect HN recommendations, with various algorithms.

For fiction, I use Goodreads and Reddit to find books similar to ones I've liked. I also like going to physical bookshops and looking at interesting covers or back cover summaries. I then buy the book on my ereader (or get the physical copy if I really can't resist - there's still something about turning the pages for me).

I go to bookshops and look at the new arrivals, then read the blurb on the back of the ones which look superficially interesting. Sometimes they're good sometimes they're rubbish, but you've got to kiss some frogs ...

I participate in book discussion groups with individuals who share my interests.