Need a Good Book?

By Lonica Rowley

I just came across a fantastic website that can help you identify the next great book on your reading list. The website is called Novelist and is offered through EBSCOHost (a very reliable distributor, if any of you are familiar with it). While this site it most often used by librarians who are searching for books on a particular request, its available to the general public, as long as you have a library card.

What does this oh-so-useful site offer you? A whole lot. You can get any of the following:

• lists of award winners, grouped by age categories and topics.


• Author read-a-likes. You can use this feature to search for similar books to those published by an author you particularly like.


• Author biographies.


• Recommended readings, grouped by age categories and topics.


• BookTalks, basically like written trailers for a book.


• Reviews on all sorts of books.

If you remember my earlier recommendations to use Amazon.com to help you identify a book you might like to read, this might start to sound familiar. Essentially, Novelist is an upscale, professional version of Amazon. Their focus is just more literary-minded and people serving, rather than geared towards a comercial, we-want-your-money attitude.

You can access the site through the local library website. Go to http://www.ualibrary.org/ or http://www.columbuslibrary.org/ and select the "research/database" link. Scroll through the listings until you come to Novelist. Select this and the site should ask for your library card number. Upon entry, you'll be admitted to the site and all of it's wonderful resources.

I strongly recommend that you take some time to explore their site and see what they might have to offer you.

What should I read now?

By Lonica Rowley

One of the most common questions I get asked when it comes to literacy is often, "What should I read now?" Finding a good book can often be difficult. I usually look to a few places when looking for something new to read. If you find yourself with this problem, maybe these tips can help you:

1. Look for new releases and books on display. I often browse the "New" or "Bestseller" sections of the library or local bookstores. I actually think that bookstores (like Barnes and Noble or Borders) are great places to find books. I'll spend hours (just ask Scott!) looking through the books they have on display and writing down the titles so I can look them up at the library later. While some libraries do a better job than others, they usually tend to "catalog" books, rather than display them. By looking through book stores I often identify the same books showing up in many different places. Start looking at the airport, grocery store, or book stores and you'll start to recognize the same titles showing up over and over again. In many cases, I can assume that if a book is worth displaying in many different locations, it must be worth reading. Don't get me wrong, this technique (like all techniques) has lead me astray many times, but it has also helped me find a number of great reads. An additional advantage? Most of the displayed books also happen to be the books that people are currently reading and you can then participate in scintillating literary conversations!


2. Weed through book awards. Look to see who has won the Newberry, the Printz, or the Nobel prize (to name a few). Obviously, if these books were good enough to win a major award, they are also probably good enough to merit an attempt at reading. While I haven't been able to find one website that conviently lists all the winners, try this one to get a start.


3. Search for your favorite books on Amazon.com. If there is one thing Amazon has learned how to do, it's market. Amazon can be a great place to look for new reads. Rather than outright searching for something new, search for a book that you really like, or something to you would like to read more of. Click on the book you've selected and scroll to the bottom of the page. Notice the "customers who bought this also bought..." section? These people often like the same books you do, check out the selection presented to you by Amazon and see if anything strikes your interest. More than likely, something will intrigue you.


4. Request the help of professionals. Believe it or not, the librarians sitting at the "Information" desk in the library are more than willing to walk the aisles of the library helping you track down a book that is "Sort of like the novel I read back in college that I can't remember, but really liked..." They can offer all sorts of suggestions and will even provide a mini-booktalk. Telling you about the book and what you might expect from reading it.


5. Consult compiled book lists. I have yet to enter a library that doesn't provide a whole slew of bookmarks listing a number of books on a number of different topics. These books are selected by people who have read and appreciated their literary merits. If you are a fan of Jane Austen, there will be a list for you. If you love to read murder romance fiction, I'm sure there's a list for you as well. This website is one of the best I've found online for offering comprehensive book lists. Check out what they have to offer. You can search for book lists by author, genre, topic, setting, or audience. They offer a TON of selection. Perhaps the list of "Tearjerkers" is right for you. Or maybe you'd appreciate the list of "Cool Reads for Hot Summer Days." Whatever you're cup of tea, there's sure to be a book list avaiable for you.

However you go about finding good books to read, I hope that you do find the book that is just right for you. Don't give up! Just because you just finished reading "The Best Book Ever" doesn't mean that there isn't another one out there you'll wind up liking as much. Hopefully, these tips will help you find that next good book.

What’s Your Literacy Goal?

Most people easily recognize the start of the new year as a time of new beginnings and change. This year, I’d like to encourage all of you to set a literary goal or make a change in some literary way.

Perhaps you want to read more books.

Maybe you just want to finish a book you began earlier.

You might be interested in reading the newspaper on a regular basis.

Writing in your journal daily, or even once a week, might be on your to-do-list for this year.

Whatever your literary goal may be, share it with us for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Borders. All you have to do is leave a comment below, stating your goal and your plan for accomplishing that goal. You will automatically be entered for a drawing to win a great literary prize!

I’ll start. This year I’ve decided that I’m going to keep track of all the books I’ve read. This comes in two parts. I’m on a long-term quest to record all the books I’ve ever read—at least all the ones I remember ever reading—and those I’ll read over the course of the next year.

I’ve found a great way to help me accomplish this goal. I became a member of Goodreads (It’s free and easy!)

Once you create an account, you can search for books you’ve read or want to read, you can rank the books or write a short review.

You can browse through the books you’ve read and sort them by title, author, ranking, or genre.

As an added bonus, you can browse books that you’re friends have read or recommend. It’s a great way to meet new people and new books!

Essentially, GoodReads is a great way to meet my goal of keeping track of all the books I read.

What’s your literary goal? Don’t forget to tell us about it in the comments below for your chance to win a $10 dollar gift certificate to Border! All entries for the drawing must be made by February 5, 2009.