Have you read this book?

Working in a public library I get asked that question all the time. Unfortunately, the majority of the time I have to answer "no." I'm not sure if our library members think that I have read every book in the library - actually every book that has ever been written. Or, as I suspect, I just don't read the type of books my members read - should I?

While it is impossible to have read every book every written - I do try to keep up with books that are coming out and are popular. I do this by reading Good Reading magazine, looking at the book reviews in the newspapers, subscribing to ABC Book Show and Tuesday Book Club emails, following what people are reading via social networking tools etc etc. I should probably buy the Saturday Sydney Morning Herald - but sometimes it's a matter of finding the time. How do you keep up with what books are coming out and are popular?

The next most popular question I get asked is "I don't know what to read next. Can you recommend a book?" I then go through the process of asking what books they have read in the past and what they liked about those books - sometimes this is hard to extract. Most respond with nice book, thick book, mystery etc. I think our members have difficulty in describing what they liked. Then you can use tools like Who writes like..., Novelist, etc etc. What tools do you use to recommend books?

I think what people read can reveal a lot about themselves. I often find myself checking out people's book cases to see what books they have. Unfortunately, with the introduction of ebooks this will no longer be able to happen. How will people share their book cases??

However, sometimes people read things that you would never suspect they would read. I suppose that's why I always feel that reading is such a personal hobby. I sometimes feel uncomfortable recommending books to someone because I am sharing something that I really enjoyed and I may even be very upset and disappointed if they don't enjoy it. I always say that reading is very personalised and even if I enjoyed it they may not.

For me reading is in phases. When I was a child I loved all the Enid Blyton, Fear Street, Babysitters Club, SE Hinton (still enjoy and will always love), etc. Then I moved on to reading a lot of murder mystery like Jeffrey Deaver and James Patterson. I went through a stage of reading the Stephanie Plum series. I'm now stuck on romance - I love Australian rural romance but also love Nora Roberts, and have just discovered Linda Lael Miller. I also love and will always love Nick Earls.

I have ventured away from fiction but not really as often as I should. I have read a number of biographies - Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Michael J Fox, Richard Hammond, etc. I have read some travel bios "Sleeping around: a couch surfing tour of the globe."

What do you like to read? Do you go through phases? Do you find it hard to venture away from a genre you like?

Since this year is the National Year of Reading - I am going to try going out of my comfort zone when it comes to reading. What are you doing that's special for NYR2012?