July Online Resource of the Month--Books and Authors

With summer in full swing, reading a good book rises to the top of the to-do list. While you're on vacation, zoom in on that perfect title with the aid of Books & Authors, our July Online Resource of the Month.

Search or browse authors, titles, read-alike lists, recommended reading lists, bestseller and forthcoming titles. Then make your own list and save it to your Personal Reading Room.

A highly informative resource that's easy to use-- try it today! SH

More on what to read next

So you already read our Staff Picks blog religiously and you know about Novelist, and Bookletters and all the other tools for finding good books that we've blogged about here. (See the label Reader's Advisory.) Here's another trick to try: Search the web (Bing, Google, etc) for the name of a favorite author and the phrase "read-alikes." What you might come up with is a list of books selected by a librarian (somewhere) that are similar to your author's books. It works best for currently popular authors and of course there are no guarantees, but then there are no guarantees with the New York Times Bestseller list either!
--RL

What do I read next? Try Overbooked!

OVERBOOKED: A RESOURCE FOR READERS

With this blog and our Staff Picks blog, the WFL staff tries to bring titles that may of interest to readers in the community. There are many websites that are available to check for titles of interest including LibraryThing, Genrefluent, Bookpage, GoodReads, Shelfari, etc.

Today I would like to introduce you to Overbooked, created by Ann Chambers Theis in 1994. It was the winner of the 2008 Louis Shores-Greenwood Publishing Award for excellence in reviewing books. The site claims to provide "annotated lists of nonfiction, fiction and mystery books which received starred reviews [from library journals Booklist, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews all in one place], themed booklists, featured title lists, and hot lists of US fiction [new] releases and notable books." (from website)

So if you are unsure what to read next, try Overbooked to see what may meet your tastes! SH

Your Wellesley Library & Web 2.0

We've been busy at the Library this year expanding our online presence, embracing new social networking venues, and integrating Web 2.0 tools into our repertoire. Here's some highlights of our efforts this year:

Staff Reads Blog - We're really working hard at putting quality reading, listening, and viewing suggestions out there for our patrons to enjoy. The blog covers a wide range of topics, from summer reads to classics, graphic novels to history, and includes movies, music, and books. With about 10 suggestions a month, you can keep current with what the librarians are reading and see what's catching our attention!

Twitter - Want to stay updated on events at the library, weather-related closings, and other cool things that catch our eye? Follow our tweets at http://twitter.com/wellesleylib

Facebook - For the many of you who are already on facebook, become a fan of the Wellesley Free Library and get a stream of information collected from our events, blog posts, tweets, hour updates, and more.

del.icio.us - Helping us maintain a list of websites that we find useful in answering your questions is this innovative website that allows users to "tag" a website with words that helps us find it again when the need arises. Check out our list of websites that we've found useful and pick up some new tricks!

Reference Home Page - We've been hard at work redesigning our Reference Home Page on the Library's website. Check out some of the great highlights like a guide to business resources, a listing of online resources by subject, book lover's links, and more!

MW

Where are the Good Books?

"Can you suggest a good book to read?" is a common request at the Reference Desk. Wellesley Free Library has several resources to assist you in finding the perfect book.

Novelist - is an online Reader's Advisory database that you can reach from the library catalog. On the Search Page of the catalog, click on the Reference and Information Tab, then on databases, and scroll down on this page and click on Novelist (or just click on the underlined Novelist on the left). You will find books by author or title, Read Alikes, Book Lists, Award Winners, Recommended Reads by genre, and even some websites that offer more recommendations. So, for instance, if you are looking for some more thrillers to round out your reading history, the Recommended Reads list on Novelist offers 13 different types to browse--from Medical to Serial (termed Hunting Humans) to Legal Thrillers. Remember, however, you will need your library card number to use Novelist from home.


Book Page - Wellesley Free Library offers a print review source of new titles of interest--adult, children's, audio, and book group titles. You may take a peek at some of the highlights of the September issue by clicking on the underlined Book Page to your left OR stop by the library and pick up your own copy on the book display in the New Book Foyer as you enter the library. The image at the right shows the September cover, and some of the featured authors are Curtis Sittenfeld, Kathy Reichs, and Christopher Paolini. Enjoy!


Bookletters - is an e-mail newsletter that is sent to you regularly to alert you to new books in an area of interest. You choose the ones you would like to receive. Some are sent by the staff of Bookletters while others are hand selected to feature by our Reference Staff. We even have a newsletter with the Top 10 requested books at Wellesley Free Library called Wellesley Favorites. So, whether your allegiance is solely to fiction, mystery, thrillers, sci fi or you won't pick up anything but non-fiction, Bookletters has something for you. Sign up for the newsletters of your choice on our webpage by clicking on the underlined Bookletters on the left.

Now you have some resources to try out. Stay tuned, I will have more ways to find books of your choice tomorrow.