For many avid readers, the digital age offers an endless stream of book suggestions. Yet, for journalist Rafqa Touma, this constant online curation had led to a frustrating cycle: intense reading binges followed by prolonged literary droughts. Her solution? To step away from the screen and seek the wisdom of real-life booksellers in independent shops across Sydney.
Escaping the Algorithmic Echo Chamber
Touma, a self-described "terminally online book nerd," found her habits dictated by Bookstagram and BookTube. She would chase specific tropes and genres, leading to a predictable pattern. A book would either consume her completely or, if it failed to meet sky-high expectations, result in a grinding halt to her reading momentum. This cycle culminated in month-long reading droughts, prompting a radical experiment.
Her mission was simple: enlist the help of professional booksellers, individuals whose reading patterns differed vastly from her own. She visited several iconic stores, including Gleebooks in Glebe, Sappho Books, Potts Point Bookstore, Title in Barangaroo, and The Press Book House in Newcastle, asking for personal recommendations with no strict brief.
A Flood of Unfamiliar Literary Gems
The response was a deluge of titles largely outside her usual radar. At Gleebooks, bookseller Jennifer passionately recommended Seascraper by Benjamin Wood, a novel she felt was unjustly overlooked for the Booker shortlist. She also suggested Clear by Carys Davies and There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak.
Other booksellers added to the pile. Eamonn at Potts Point Bookstore, a fan of Irish literature, pointed her towards Kiran Desai's The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. Cathal at Sappho Books recommended the translated short story collection Shoko's Smile by Choi Eunyoung. From this wealth of options, Touma selected three books to begin her journey.
The Emotional Payoff: Three Books That Broke the Cycle
Her first choice was The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine, a darkly comic novel set in Beirut. Far from a simple, charming tale, it delivered a profound and moving portrait of a man grappling with trauma and identity, moving Touma to tears in Gleebooks itself.
Next was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, a classic she had always skirted. The epic, grim story of two women in Afghanistan consumed her in two days, its emotional force leaving physical tearstains on the pages.
Finally, Shoko's Smile challenged her aversion to short stories. The collection's final tale, The Secret, about a grandmother and her distant granddaughter, prompted another late-night, uncontrollable outpouring of emotion.
All three books succeeded in transporting her to unfamiliar places and perspectives, precisely breaking the predictive cycle of algorithm-driven picks. The experiment also revived the simple joy of conversing about literature with knowledgeable people.
While she returned to Gleebooks to thank Jennifer and gather more suggestions, Touma's immediate next read was a planned fantasy sequel—a conscious treat after the intense emotional journey. The experiment proved that sometimes, the best algorithm is a human conversation in the aisles of a local bookshop.
