I agree it’s not possible to read everything, but I promise that if you are a habitual reader, you will run out of truly excellent books to read really rapidly. Both because there just aren’t that many and because everyone’s tastes are different.

These days my criteria is: if I heard of the book and it sounds interesting to me I’ll try it. If it fails to capture me within a chapter or two I’m putting it down.

I have a strong preference for queer books (especially queer scifi) and will totally overlook even dramatically negative reviews to read those. But that’s the only bias I have in my selection.

That is quite a restrictive list.

I generally go for:

Is it by an author I like? Is it well written? (Judging by samples).

Then I start to read. Normally I will make it to the end, even if some way in I decide I don’t like it that much. Sometimes I will just give up, if it is too tedious, or too many characters/plots I can’t keep track of, or it turns out to be badly written after all.

The cover

First off the concept, as introduced on the back of the book, or in book-yakking circles (like this) or such must be something that interests me in some way. This means that if the books seems too political in focus ("left" or "right"), for example, I don't engage. That's not what I read SF books for.

Second, if the concept intrigues, I have to get a hint that it isn't just a rehashing of something I've already read. I need to read a new take on a concept, not Yet Another Evil Empire Cut Down By Rebels space opera, complete with laser swords, say...

Third, if it gets to this stage, I'll find a free ecopy somewhere and I'll read the first 50 pages in a "try before you buy" thing. The author has to grab my interest in 50 pages, no more. If by page 50 I'm not sufficiently intrigued that I'm willing to shell out money, I don't shell out money. The ebook is deleted and the book is put into my mental "do not enage" bin alongside books whose very concepts don't interest me.

If, however, by page 50 the book intrigues me, I'll start the difficult task of hunting down hardcopy and buy it when I find it.

I read the back cover and open the book on a random page and start reading. If that page doesn't make me want to read more, then its not for me.

If I'm interested. I open it up to a random page. And read a paragraph. And look at the tone of the author, the quality of the writing, on the quality of their content. And then I make a determination if I'll read the rest of the book

Strangely I don't choose based on any set criteria and my choices often change with my mood. However, I have a threshold that the book must cross to be kept, so that at some point I will reread it knowing what mood im in and looking for that style, otherwise I donate it.

I like the front cover and it doesn't have an obnoxious sticker on it.

Edit: the 1k review thing isn't bad but the 5 star thing is. I'm too jaded with people giving 5 stars because the item was delivered quickly...

After a couple hours of reading, do I still care?

I know I may miss some gems this way, but my reading list is longer than my available time.

I'm a newbie when it comes to reading novels. But I realized that a lot of movies or series I've seen are based on books. It's far easier to get through a book if you already have visual references for the characters and scenes. It's also nice to go back and experience the story from a diffrent perspective. It's like reading with training wheels.

I check cover and blurb, maybe see if there are other books by the author, and give it a chance.

1000 reviews? Nah. I like to read new authors with fresh ideas.

Honestly I just read the biggest classics and hits. Usually they're classics for a reason, and even if it's not to my liking, at least I learn something new and can cross it off the bucket list.

Now that I think about it, scifi is somewhat monocultural - is that a word? - this way. The consensus what's good and what's not, and why, seems to be higher than in real world fiction.

I do listen to more audioshows than books and it's kinda the same. If something becomes very popular, it's likely to be better than average. Although I've found some sleeper hits too, and nothing really bad. Producing an audio show is probably harder than writing a book.

I look at something and decide to read it. If I enjoy it, I keep reading. That's my very strict criteria.

You said nobody wants to "waste time" reading "unworthy" books. But if you enjoy it, it's not wasted time. I didn't even read your whole post, because it seems to me like you spend most of your time trying to find something perfect and very little time enjoying a book. That doesn't really appeal to me at all, but you do you.

My criteria aren't as complex. I usually read the summary or the first sentences and if there is an idea that sounds new to me I will read the book. If it annoys me in the first 100 pages I give up.

You have very strict and specific criteria! I feel like there's just not that much good writing out there, and that I really have to search for it. Of course by "good" I mean in the subjective sense, good to me. There are very well-received books that I didn't enjoy at all, and some pretty awful light reading that I can't stop thinking about, Reviews and ratings really mean very little to me, so I mostly ignore them. That's especially true on Goodreads and BookWyrm where people seem to want to tell you that the book they liked wasn't THAT great.

I just read the blurb, and if it sounds interesting I'll check it out from the library. It's almost always available as an ebook or an audiobook, and even if I have to place a hold I can read a sample. I usually know within the first few pages if I like the style, and if I'm willing to continue. I drop many, many book, and I'm not worried about missing out on anything.

If one of my friends recommends a book I usually give it a shot, but I'm not afraid to drop those either. There are a couple of people whose recs always work out (thank you Cristina!), and those I just jump into right away, but that's only literally two people. Most of my friends don't really read in order to discuss what they're reading, and some don't even read at all 🤷🏻‍♂️

One reason I love libraries is that I can ask random strangers for suggestions.

Well, when the award nominee lists come out, I jump on those if they sound like books I’d like. And of course, new books by past authors I like. And generally books that I start seeing a lot of people reviewing favorably or just getting a lot of buzz I will at least evaluate.

My decision is primarily based on if the concept of the book appeals to me, and general reviews, but reviews don't make or break the decision. If a book is for YA but sounds like an interesting concept, then I'll go for it!

Do I crave to read it today? If that happens every day the book is good. If it feels like a chore the book is trash.

I just check out the tv tropes page and if I like it I read the book.

Needs to be at least a 3 book series, but preferably 5+.

I like the sound of it from the blurb.

It's on Smashwords.

You really only ever know that after the fact, right?

Anyway - mainly from recommendations from either people I know personally, or online people that I know I often share taste with.

Now there's a way to make sure you never encounter anything outside of your current comfort zone.