Every Book Its Reader

Here at Dayton Metro Library we work long hours to perfect what Librarians refer to as Readers’ Advisory. RA, as it’s known in the business, is helping readers find books they will be likely to enjoy based on what they have enjoyed reading in the past or what they like to do aside from reading (If you like Stephen King, you may like Nate Kenyon. If you are interested in Interior Decorating and want to read a mystery, you might like A J Orde). Library schools teach classes in RA. Our library staff experts teach other library staff how to recommend books. We also provide you access to a great database called Novelist (and the kid’s version Novelist K-8) through our website. On that you can search authors, titles, subjects, series, character names, settings…just about any aspect of a book to find others like it…

But in searching the web, I found the perfect “quick and dirty” Readers’ Advisory tool that ANYONE can use. Zero training necessary, you just need the link below and the name of your favorite author.

http://www.literature-map.com/

When you put in the name of your favorite author, you get a cloud of authors who are enjoyed by other people who enjoy your favorite author. My favorite writer is Sheri Tepper…so I might enjoy Connie Willis or Sharon Shinn BOTH of whom I have cast an interested eye on in the past. Give it a shot next time you need a quick suggestion of an author. And the base website Gnod (which seems to be German) will also suggest movies for you. Sweet!

-- Tim, Main Library