How do you pick your next book to read?

As I said before in the first post I ever wrote here, my love of reading initially came from both of my Grandmothers (one a 1st grade teacher & the other had a collection of romance books like none I have ever seen) My Mom would also always have a book in her hand.






I started my serious reading around age 9 or 10 with Nancy Drew, The Bobsey Twins, Beverly Cleary, any & all by Judy Blume. Then moved on to titles by Stephen King and my all time favorites Gone With the Wind and North & South. These last 2 are the books that sent me off into the world of Historical Romance.


















I spent many years reading Julie Garwood, Hannah Howell, Gaelen Foley, & Elizabeth Lowell, just to name a few. It wasn't until just recently (the past 5 yrs or so) That I have expanded my literary horizons and broken off into paranormal, mysteries, thrillers, and yes even erotica.













I don't think I would have ever expanded into other genres if social networking sites were not in my life. I connected with other readers, writers, and many other people out there in the great big world who, like me, doesn't go anywhere or do anything without a book in hand. By connecting with other blogs, book sites, Twitter, FB etc I have come across so many new to me authors, stories, & series that I now have a hard time keeping up. I have notebooks with lists, I have sticky notes all over my desk, computer, & the wall behind it. These sticky notes have authors & series I have read and info about new releases coming up. I have wishlists a mile long on Amazon all of these things just to keep track of my next great read.




So my question to you is how do you keep track and find new books or authors to read? Do you pick a great looking cover? Do you read reviews? Friend reccomendations? Check out author websites? What is the best way to discover your next great read?