I spend about 1 hour a week at the bookstore, usually taking random books and reading the first page(s).

I also try to discover new books on Amazon from time to time by going over their selections and recommendations but I end up reading the same circle of authors.

I think your idea is brilliant by matching my IRL process. I wish you a lot of success.

EDIT: about the website itself it's nicely done, minimalist and easy. I'd change the "Choose a genre" button to a dropdown. Also I'd have the top navigation (the exploration/submit buttons) merged with the right one with the menu following the scroll. This would be a a good incentive to navigate around (easier and faster too).