Biblio File

Finding a Book When You lot've Forgotten Its Championship

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Library books lined up on a shelf Check out selected results from NYPL Title Quest 2019, held August 2, 2019, likewise every bit Title Quest 2018.

This is an update of a previous mail by Sharon Rickson.

It tin be tough to remember the title and author of a book you read a long fourth dimension ago—even if it was a book that was really of import to you. Fiction is cataloged by author and title, not by subject or plot line, which makes identifying books by merely their storyline difficult.

Readers ofttimes ask librarians for help finding these kinds of books. And nosotros tin can't figure out the mystery every unmarried time, but we practise have a few tricks to help discover the answer.

Beginning, pivot down everything yous can call up about the book, plot, graphic symbol names, fourth dimension flow in which the book may have been published, genre, etc. All these details are clues in identifying the title and author of the book.

Online resources tin can help with your search for a half-remembered volume, even if all you have is a basic plot line. Searching yourself is a skillful place to start; and so, y'all can mail to a listserv or discussion forum, where someone might recognize information technology. Or, last but non least, leave a comment on this mail!

Before You Offset

Endeavor Google! Type in everything you can call up virtually the book — equally in, "picture book rabbi animals advice yiddish" — and scroll through the results. (That'south a real-life instance of a book a patron was asking for: It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach.)

You tin can besides effort googling ane fundamental detail you lot remember from a book. Ane of our librarians solved a book mystery past searching "USS You lot-Know-Who" — the name of a boat in the story that the patron happened to remember. (Another real-life instance: She Flew No Flags past Joan Manley.)

Crowdsourcing

  • What'south the Name of That Book?
    A Goodreads group with searchable discussion posts and thousands of questions and answers.

  • Name That Book
    A LibraryThing group of ~3K members — many of whom are librarians or library-next — who help solve volume mysteries via threaded discussions.

  • The Fiction_L listserv
    Stumpers! Search archives of past questions, answered by an intense volume-ish customs, or subscribe and postal service a new ane.

  • Reddit's whatsthatbook thread
    A virtually endless thread of users trying to assist other users remember book titles, including several frequently requested books. Particularly good for scientific discipline fiction and fantasy.

  • "Stump the Bookseller" blog
    A cool indie bookstore in Ohio that maintains all-encompassing, searchable archives — and offers a $4 service for personalized assistance. Lots of children'south books hither.

  • Big Book Search
    If you tin can just remember what the cover looks like, try this embrace-search tool.

Library Databases (log in with your library card)

  • Books & Authors

  • Books in Print

  • The New York Times databases

  • NoveList and NoveList K-8 (in-library use merely)

More Suggestions

  • If you can think just one discussion, apply the search function on Goodreads or Library Matter to detect long lists of titles with a item word.

  • Goodreads' scan-able lists of titles that readers have shelved in unique categories, such as authors' professions or decades of publication, is also be helpful.

  • For recently published books, the reviews in Booklist Online are broken down by detailed genre.

How to Movement On

Sometimes, information technology's merely not going to happen, and you can't detect that elusive book yous've been searching for. It'south okay! Great news: The globe is full of bully books! Hither are a few ways to notice more...

  • Check out recommendations from our book experts here at NYPL. We offer suggestions via blog posts, the Staff Picks book finder, The Librarian Is In podcast, and more.
  • If yous'd similar a personalized recommendation, find u.s.a. on Twitter or fill up out our What Should I Read Side by side? email class.
  • Want a brand-new read? Cheque out our favorite New and Noteworthy titles.

Feel gratis to exit a annotate and tell us about a book you're trying to remember! Our library staff members will pop in and check it periodically, and readers of this mail service are welcome to brand guesses and suggestions.