Reading is food for the mind, so making sure you keep growing your mind and learning even after you’re finished with school is essential. But, how do you find the title that will make you excited to turn the page? Here are some ways you can find the right book recommendation for you. 

Check out your local bookshop and local publisher’s online shops

There are quite some gems hidden in plain sight, you just need to know where to look. A quick google search for ‘Maltese books’ will return some results, but it’s not the same as having a genuine conversation. 

Visiting local shops (in person and online) such as Merlin Library, BDL Books, Agenda Bookshop, Kixott, Mallia and D’Amato, and Meli’s Bookshop will give you the opportunity to ask the bookworms that run that shop about what they’ve read and liked.

And you can browse various Maltese book publishers’ catalogues online! Here’s a full list of all the exhibitors that were at last year’s Book Festival for a quick guide to their website. They know their books inside out and will definitely find the right match for you! 

Visiting your local bookstore and supporting small publishing businesses has never been this easy.

Visit a book festival or fair

With various book festivals and fairs being held across the islands on different days, you can uncover your next read in no time. Check out the Campus Book Festival in March, the Malta Book Festival every November, The Mediterranean Festival of Literature in August, and various other fairs organised by local publishers and booksellers that pop up along the way.

Just check out Facebook events and see what’s going on close to you.

Spend some time at the library

Having a whole host of different genres and publications that span hundreds of years, libraries are one of the few places that hold an infinite amount of knowledge. Being one of the few remaining places where you can just sit and read in, do you know where your local library is?

Stocking both local and international titles, you can also gain access to the plethora of local and international books and e-books they have available online. You can become a member of Malta Libraries by applying online from maltalibraries.gov.mt.

The service is free of charge. As a new member, you will receive a membership card by post which gives you access to all physical public libraries in the network as well as to thousands of Maltese and English digital titles that can be read on your tablet or phone, via the Libby and Octavo apps.

Did you know that when you borrow books from a public library you help authors by adding to their Public Lending Rights remuneration on loaned books?

Follow local book influencers 

Who knows, you just might find your next best read through someone’s book recommendation. The internet is filled with people giving their opinion on almost everything, including some who share book recommendations! You just need to know where to look, and here’s where you should be able to find some human beings who absolutely adore books. 

Check out book clubs and groups on socials such as Il-Kamra tal-Books, Islanders’ Book Club, Il-Malti: Il-Letteratura u lil hinn, Malta Book Lovers’ Club, Favur Kultura ta’ Qari; and influencers like Once upon a Maltese Reader, Luke Galea, Mallia and D’Amato Booksellers and reading.is.everything.

Take a look at blogs such as The Maltese Reader and The Bobsphere; local pages like the literary column, Pagna Letterarja on Illum. 

Check out video book readings by local actors; book podcasts like Kwarta Ktieb; video book trailers like the read.learn.repeat series; or the National Book Council’s youtube channel where you’ll find video reviews, radio programmes, short films and movies based on Maltese literature and interviews to local and foreign authors.

See if you can get on Booktok. Just open up Tik Tok and take a look at the #LovinBookReviews, coming up soon with a new inspiring series.

You can also check out a directory of Maltese writers on the HELA website. Since it allows you to search both by name and genre of writing, finding your next book recommendation is as easy as pie.

Check them out and show your support.

Follow the National Book Council

Providing the island with updates on the latest Maltese-literature related news and useful resources for all types of writers, publishers, and readers – the National Book Council is your one-stop-shop for everything book related!

Check out ktieb.org.mt to see the latest news, initiatives and opportunities. This is Malta Book Fund month: don’t miss the opportunity to apply for a publishing or translation fund. Don’t forget to check out the history of National Book Prize winners for inspiration for your next read.

Watch this video 

Check out how these three self-proclaimed bookworms used the same four building blocks to come up with three totally unique stories. All three participants love reading, and that’s how they got the chance to foster their imagination and let it flourish into something new.

Be inspired, check out all of the amazing publishers we have on our islands, and grab your next read. 

Where do you find your next read in Malta?