You could also ask if they like a particular genre.

If they enjoy reading melancholic books set in a post-apocalyptic future, recommend books that explore similar themes and moods. If they enjoy reading optimistic books with a pragmatic focus, tell them about related books.

Based on the recommendations of 124 great authors, the best book of the nineteenth century is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. For twentieth century books, great authors tend to recommend Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

If they’re really into fashion, you could recommend The Devil Wears Prada. If they are really into gothic fashion, you could recommend The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. If their tattoo has a fantasy image with a boat, you could look for a fantasy novel with a similar looking cover.

If they are travelling to Columbia, recommend One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If they are travelling to Denmark, you could recommend Smilla’s Sense of Snow. If they are going to Estonia, recommend The Man Who Spoke Snakish by H. E. Eerik Marmei. If they are going to Paris, you could recommend Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner. You might also recommend Paris Peasant by Louis Aragon or The Ladies’ Delight by Émile Zola. [6] X Research source

If they just moved to New York City, you could give them Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote. You could also recommend Here is New York by E. B. White. [7] X Research source If they just moved to Toronto, you could give them Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto by Shawn Micallef. [8] X Research source

If they are changing careers, consider recommending Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. If they are an architect, recommend Essays in Architectural Criticism by Alan Colquhoun. [10] X Research source

If they are into mushroom foraging, recommend Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. If they are a watercolor painter, consider recommending a book about a famous watercolor painter. You could recommend Paul Klee: Watercolors, Drawings, Writings. If they are a gardener, recommend Rhapsody in Green by Charlotte Mendelssohn . [11] X Research source

If you know the genre they like, look at the list of recommendations related to this genre on a book lovers’ website, such as https://www. goodreads. com/. [13] X Research source

If you are on a hike in the woods and want to recommend the Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer, you could remark, “It’s getting rather spooky, just like Area X in the novel Annihilation. ” If you are at a bar enjoying a gin and tonic and want to recommend The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, you could say, “It’s like we’re Tom and Daisy in The Great Gatsby. Cheers!”[16] X Research source

For instance, avoid recommending Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time to someone who typically avoids classical novels.