The movies you have watched recently or the books you are reading, how did you come to hear of them?

Isle of Dogs, because, well, it is Wes Anderson, and puppets!

Movies I just hear about around, people talking, friends asking if I want to go, stuff like that.

I do most of my reading on a nook, and I get an email from BookBub every day recommending a number of titles at a deeply discounted price. If it sounds interesting, I research the title; if I’m still interested, I’ll buy it. I have have some authors and series I really like that way.

A certain Little Penguin likes the same types of movies that I like, I often go by her recommendations.

I got many of my suggestions for a good book right here on Fluther! Right now reading a book called The Bricklayer. It is a murder mystery written by a former member of the F.B.I. I have a Kindle and do most of my reading on Kindle.

I subscribe to the New Yorker and read the reviews. I scan headlines online from my local paper and other sites like the Guardian and NY Times.

For movies, I’ll also scan the showtimes at the theaters around me and look at the summaries for something intriguing.

I have an Amazon Prime subscription, and scroll through its recommendations for me based on my history, as well a movies and books they’re promoting for whatever reason.

Similarly, Goodreads.com recommends books to me based on my history. I keep my profie updated with books I’ve read.

My elderly, declining mother likes detective novels. I read the books she talks about to give us a topic for conversation.

I am reading the Wizard of EarthSea. I got it from a reading list from my summer school.

LeGuin is outstanding. When it’s really hot out, I reread The Left Hand of Darkness. (Cold and snowy planet)

I picked up Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven based on a Fluther recommendation. Her writing is beautiful. In contrast I am often surprised to try popular authors and find that they are clumsy with conversation and plot and continuity.

My friends and I discuss what we read as well as films. We don’t always agree, thank God. My closest friend, who lives in Europe, loves Netflix like I do but his offerings are not the same. We find that irritating often.

I have a bunch of authors that I really like, so I’ll read practically anything written by them.

When you order books on Amazon, other suggestions pop up that other people, who have liked the book you are buying, also liked. You can go down a deep rabbit hole that way, and find all sorts of things that you otherwise might not have known about.

Also, our farmers market has a free lending library, in which you can take, or donate, as many books as you want. You don’t have to bring them back, although I usually do, and just swap them out for different books. I take all of the books I’ve purchased to this book exchange. I’ve found some wonderful things there.

With movies, I watch a lot of stuff on Netflix, and you can set up your profile (and rate movies you’ve seen) to get suggestions for othet movies you might like. I also enjoy reading the reviews on this site. Sometimes a well written review will be the thing that makes me to decide to choose a particular movie, that I might not have chosen if I had not read that specific review.

As far as movies at the theater, I either see trailers on TV, or at the theater when I’m watching another movie. I know what types of movies I like, and which genres I don’t like.

Sometimes my friends and relatives will reccommend a book or movie.

I also read reviews in our local paper, and entertainment publications.

Films:
The SO and I track down top rated movie lists on the internet. We also have a copy of the “1000 Movies You Must See” book and track them both on the book’s checklist and on IMDb. Any films on our list that can be tracked down, their name is put on a piece of paper and put in a hat. Whenever we are ready to watch a new one, we take turns drawing a name from the hat.

It’s proven to be a hit or miss method. There are some films that have been brilliant and many that have been absolutely disappointing.

Books:
A family beach holiday is about to start in about a week. Most of the adults bring along reading material to consume while relaxing in beach chairs under a cabana. I’ve packed at least six books. Some were recommended by the SO who has already read them. Two are ones that are still referenced despite their age.

I scroll through the schedule for several cable channels, and look for things I haven’t seen. I watch 60–90 movies a month.
Right now I am reading 3 books, and about to start another while on a cruise to Alaska. They are all well known works, and I have only read one of them before.

Every year I look at the “Year in Film Calendar” on Wikipedia and jot down movies that sound appealing to me, same for books. Also, I follow the careers of a lot of directors so I usually know about the movie months in advance.