One of the many benefits of my library career has been learning about all kinds of tools and resources that staff and patrons can utilize for their bookish pursuits. Today I'm highlighting Novelist Plus, a great resource for book recommendations and read-a-likes that can be accessed through your local library or with a personal subscription.
Novelist Plus
Book Recommendations - Read-a-Likes
Novelist Plus is perhaps my favorite bookish resource. Have you ever finished a book and wanted to find a book with a similar vibe? Search for the title of the book you enjoyed, and you can choose to see author read-a-likes or title read-a-likes. You'll also see appeal terms that describe the various aspects of books such as tone, pacing, genre, etc. These terms help you determine what *exactly* it was about the book that you enjoyed.
Here's an example; we recently read The House in the Cerulean Sea and loved it, so I want to find a book that will give me those same warm fuzzies. The appeal terms tell me that I should look for a title with a heartwarming tone, and perhaps a theme of chosen family.
Here's the best part - on the very same page, you can search for other books based on the appeal terms and subjects.
When I just want to browse for a new book to read, Novelist Plus comes in handy too. On the home page, you can browse genre lists and appeal combos. I'll admit that I do judge books by their covers.. so this is a great way to browse covers in a digital format.
If you're interested in checking out Novelist Plus and you already have a valid library card at your local branch, go to their website or ask a staff member if they have access to Novelist Plus for patrons. If you don't have a library card, most libraries don't charge for library cards - so there's nothing to lose! Beyond books, libraries provide many other benefits such as free programming, access to databases and other digital resources for free, e-books and e-audiobooks, and so much more!
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