Book Discussion Resources
- Bookclubs' Ultimate Book Club Discussion Question List
- Bookclubs Discussion Guides
- Search for discussion guides for a specific book.
- Reading Group Guides
- Over 5000 group discussion guides available!
- LitLovers
- "The site is about WHAT we read, HOW we read, and HOW we THINK about our reading."
Book Recommendations/Read-Alikes
- Meet New Books
- Probably the simplest of sites to search for read-alikes! Includes excerpts, too.
- The StoryGraph
- Use this site (also an app!) to track your reading, and it will generate suggestions based on what you read and how you rate those books. You can also search under the "Explore" tab and filter by genre, mood, and pace.
- Goodreads
- Use this site (also an app!) to track your reading, and explore lists of favorite books voted by readers like you.
- Fantastic Fiction
- The best place to keep track of series! Also displays what fiction books are new or coming soon. Search for authors and titles you already like, and scroll down to see similar authors and titles.
- Suggest Me A Book
- Toggle over to the "Search by Multiple Genres" and add a selection of genres you would like to read, and this site will suggest you different books based on your combination of added genres.
- Bookfinity Reader Type Quiz
- This one's fun! Take a quiz to find out your reader type. Are you a Dragon Slayer? A Game Day Hero? A Lifelong Learner? Get recommendations based on these fun themes and more.
- Association of Children's Librarians (ACL) of Northern California
- Read-alike lists for children and young adult books and authors
- Book Browse
- Another simpler site. Search by title or author.
- LibraryThing
- Operates as a sort of library catalog.
Find Similar Authors
- Book Browse
- Another simpler site. Search by title or author.
- Gnooks
- Input three of your favorite authors, and get a suggestion of another author to read based on what you share.
- The Tourist Map of Literature
- When you input an author, this site will generate a web of similar authors. The closer two writers are in the web, the more likely someone will like both of them.
What's that book?
- Talpa Search
- Helps you figure out the name of a book that you just can't think of! Search by what the book is about or by features of the book's cover.
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Book Reviews
- Book Browse
- Bookmarks
- The online version of the book review magazine.
- Bookpage
- The online version of the book review magazine.
Book Lists by Genre
Comics and Graphic Novels
- No Flying No Tights
- Devoted to graphic novel reviews specifically for those who read them the most — mainly teens — and for those who might be involved in distributing them to teens — namely teachers, librarians, and parents.
Historical Fiction
- Historical Novels
- A list of novels and reviews, broken down by time period.
- Historical Novel Society
- Connect with people all round the world who love historical fiction. Find your next great read.
Mysteries
- Stop, You’re Killing Me!
- A great site for finding the order of mystery series. It also includes lists of books by characters and locations. A fun site to browse.
- Crime Writers in Alphabetical Order
- A massive site that is just what the name describes. If you can’t find the author here, she must be very obscure!
- Cozy Mystery List
- A Guide to Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV
Romance
- All About Romance
- The back fence for lovers of romance novels. A great site for all books romance! It includes booklists on interesting topics. Just click on Special Title Listings under Readers Choice.
- Romance.io
Westerns
- Official Louis L'Amour Website
- Official website of one of America's favorite Western writers.
- True West Magazine Book Reviews
- Western Fiction Review
- Blog of western reviews from a reader.
- Western Writers of America
- Founded in 1953 to promote the literature of the American West and bestow Spur Awards for distinguished writing in the Western field. The founders were largely authors who wrote traditional Western fiction, but the organization swiftly expanded to include historians and other nonfiction authors, young adult and romance writers, and writers interested in regional history.
Other Resources
- Federal Depository Libraries
- Federal publications and other information products are made available for free public use in Federal depository libraries throughout the United States. In addition to the publications, trained librarians are available to assist in their use
- Iowa Center for the Book
- The Iowa Center for the Book (ICB) is a program of the State Library of Iowa and an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. Founded in ICB's mission is to stimulate public interest in books, reading, literacy and libraries.
- Iowa Library Association
- Promotes the development of the libraries that all Iowans depend on for information and lifelong learning. The Association provides leadership, education and support to enable its members to meet the challenges of providing quality library service to all Iowans.
- Iowa Library Directory
- A listing of all public libraries in Iowa, maintained by the State Library of Iowa
- Iowa Locator
- Find items in Iowa libraries and borrow through your local library
- Libby Life blog
- Regular posts about popular and upcoming reads, as well as other themed suggestions.
- Library Service Areas in Iowa
- Iowa's Library Service Areas provide consulting, continuing education, interlibrary loan and reference services to libraries throughout the state. There are seven Library Service Areas, each serving a part of Iowa; each Area is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees.
- State Library of Iowa
- The State Library of Iowa actively champions libraries. Its two roles are improving library services in Iowa and delivering specialized information services to state government and to Iowans. Its mission is to advocate for Iowa libraries and to promote excellence and innovation in library services, in order to provide statewide access to information for all Iowans.
- WorldCat
- WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services. WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information.
- American Library Association
- The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.