Wow TIL, this is really good info to know. This sounds like the same thing that’s been happening on Amazon’s site. Authors names aren’t copyrighted so you can call yourself Truman Capote if you want. They shouldn’t be able to use original artwork though (not that it would matter much). I thought this was going to be fairly easy to avoid but without reviews how would you know this book was a fake? I really dislike this timeline in so many ways.
Everyone is going to be different, but I (an English speaker) keep an eye on best seller lists, award winners (particularly the Booker and Pulitzers), and regularly get newsletters with new books coming out. Of course I am going to miss a huge number of books. But there’s only so many you can read.
I also deliberately carve out some time to read traditional English language classics. I happen to really like Charles Dickens for instance.
Over the years I’ve developed some favorite authors so I’m always looking for new books from them.
If there is something super specific I’m interested in then I would research on-line, go to an actual book store (I happen to have access to Powell’s, one of the best bookstores in the US), amazon, etc. And do my best to sort through reviews and author information to get what I’m looking for.