People like what they like.

As kids, we're willing to try new things (generally). We branch out.

As adults, we eventually find a comfort zone, also known as a rut. That ruts kicks in around 30. The tastes you have are the tastes you will have the rest of your life.

Unless you're intentional about seeking out new things.

In an age of algorithms and pattern detection, it's easy for websites to know what you like. It's easy for Amazon to send you a sale on something that's Just. Your. Type.

But that's a problem if you don't like ruts.

We have options. We can join book clubs. We can look at Buzzfeed lists. We can pull from bestseller lists.

My favorite though? People I know making recommendations. They know what you like, but they're also different from you and can help you branch out to something you might not have seen.

I won't lie: I don't read recommended books all that often even when I ask for recommendations, but some of my absolute favorites have been recommendations.

Some of the ones that jump out were Night Circus, Beach Read, and HP. None of them books I'd had a real urge to read before someone recommended them. And then after that, they become their own subgenre in my head that lets me find similar books to read.

And what's even better than a book recommendation for branching out? A gift because now I either have to ignore the book mocking me from the to-read pile or give it a go.

Deacon King Kong was a gift. As was the book I'm reading now (This Is How You Lose the Time War), which has somehow managed to be just as phenomenal if not even more so. Same person gave me both books, and I kind of hate that they managed to hit a home run on both books.

So if you're in a rut and want to branch out, just ask your friends for recommendations. They just might surprise you.

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