One problem with buying books when they're recommended is that it's a lot easier to buy books than read them. I recently went through my shelves and counted the books I owned but have not read and was shocked.
So my current method is now to read the books that past-me thought sounded interesting.
Yeah that's true. And having a small apartment makes that problematic as well.
I like this Umberto Eco anecdote: https://fs.blog/2013/06/the-antilibrary/. Having a lot of unread books around is a good reminder of how much there is to read, learn, and experience. And it makes reading instead of turning to Netflix an easier decision.
So my current method is now to read the books that past-me thought sounded interesting.