I think you're right when it comes to finding new and original ideas by reading less popular texts. This helps you get an alternative perspective than the mainstream. I do feel it depends on whether you're reading to address something personal, or reading for advancing the subject as a whole. If I'm struggling with habits, then Atomic Habits is a good book to read, even if everyone else is reading it. It's not the only one, but a good recommendation saves me time.
I remember one person in the HN comments a while ago say that they would rather than see a list of all the books someone recommends, they want to see the list of books they don't recommend. You can make a better assessment of whether this person has value to add by showing their exclusions in their line of thinking.
I remember one person in the HN comments a while ago say that they would rather than see a list of all the books someone recommends, they want to see the list of books they don't recommend. You can make a better assessment of whether this person has value to add by showing their exclusions in their line of thinking.