You can spend the time you had for reading looking for something to read. There are lists, reviews, recommendations from people whose taste you trust, and books you saved so long ago that you no longer remember why.
Start with what held your attention
Think of the last book you enjoyed, even if you read it years ago. Try to name the part that kept you interested. “I like mysteries” gives you a shelf to search. “I liked the neighbors knowing everyone’s business, and I wanted to see who was lying” gives you something more useful.
Perhaps the plot mattered less than the voice, or you liked learning how a place worked. You may have appreciated chapters short enough to finish during a bus ride. Those details can lead you to books in a different section of the library. You might enjoy a biography as much as a novel if what interests you is following one person’s life.
If nothing comes to mind, start with a subject you have been curious about lately. A conversation about an unfamiliar job, a building you pass, or a meal you enjoyed might give you somewhere to look.
Consider when you will be reading, too. Essays or stories may suit a week when you keep getting interrupted. You might prefer a long novel you can return to for a few pages each evening. Think about what you would look forward to picking up after the kind of day you usually have.
Make a recommendation easier to give
Tell a friend, librarian, or bookseller what you liked about a book when you ask for another recommendation. For example:
“I liked this book because the family conversations were funny, even when things were going badly. I’d like something with that kind of voice. What would you suggest?”
Or: “I’m curious about how cities get built, but I’d like a book written for someone who knows very little about it.”
Ask for one or two suggestions. A long list can put you right back where you started. Ask what made the person think of that particular book; their reason may tell you more than a summary of the plot.
Read some of the actual book
Read a few opening pages from a copy you can browse or an available preview. See whether you want to turn the page. You might enjoy spending time with a narrator you would avoid at a dinner party, or become interested in a question the description barely mentioned.
For nonfiction, look at the contents and sample a section about something you want to understand. If photographs, diagrams, or instructions are part of the appeal, check those too. For an audiobook, listen to a sample. You will be spending time with that voice as well as those words.
If you have two promising options, availability can settle it. Borrow the one you can get now, use a copy you already have, or put in a hold and choose something else for the meantime. You can come back to the other one later.
If you liked the opening, read a little further. If you keep putting it down, consider what is missing. You might be interested in the subject but wish the author would get on with it. That gives you a more specific request next time: something on the same subject, with a quicker pace.