I do the following for non-fiction titles:

Make a list of book titles from the footnotes of books I am currently reading. Then just check the average review on Goodreads, if it is over 3.5, I give it a go. This allows me to read about different subjects from respected subject matter experts (since they have been cited in a book I enjoy) while also making sure that they are well written and accessible to a noob (3.5+ rating).

For fiction, I just pick a random book from my local library. Surprisingly, this has served me well so far.