There are about 100,000 books written every month. Amazon Books lists 112,119 new releases in the last 30 days, with 54,277 more books "coming soon". With a nearly infinite number of pieces to choose from, how do we cherry pick only the best of the best of the best?
Goodreads will filter mediocre books out of your life. Goodreads is a website that consolidates peer reviews of nearly every book written and helps you "meet your next favorite book".
Set a high bar for books you will consider. Goodreads uses a 5 star scale to rate books. By setting a high threshold (personally - 3.8 or greater), you can spend less time contemplating mediocre reads and more time reading really great books.
Use the Goodreads mobile app to check ratings on the fly. Goodreads' iPhone app helped me snag Life of Pi (3.85) from a packed bookshelf in my friend's Alaskan cabin. I avoided my father's fervent recommendations to read Swamplandia! (3.18). And I no longer waste money on questionable titles at Ferguson Books (local bookstore)! My reading list has never been so clean.
