So you're wild about weird westerns? Hooked on hopepunk? Maybe you've read all the romantasy and you're raring to re-up? While there is probably no perfect substitute for recommendations from a librarian (or other human), there are some great resources out there for helping you find your next literary fix. We want to share a few of our favourites with you...
The library catalogue:
https://citylibrary.pncc.govt.nz
You don't even have to leave the comfort of our catalogue to find great recs! Click on a title to bring up the full record for that book and expand the More information heading at the bottom of the window. You'll find Librarian Recommends lists, ‘You May Also Like’ suggestions, 'Similar Series’ and other books by the same author.
NoveList Plus:
Your library account gives you access to some outstanding platforms and resources – check them out at citylibrary.pncc.govt.nz/collections/digital-resources – including the very underrated NoveList Plus. Originally built by librarians for other librarians, this is a book discovery database that allows you to mix and match different ‘elements’ to pinpoint exactly the kind of thing you're hankering for. ‘Stylistically complex’ ‘short stories’ with ‘mountains’ in them? You got it. You can also browse curated lists, read up-to-the-minute genre guides and see what's trending in various media outlets. NoveList Plus is a paid subscription service from EBSCO, but you can use for free through the digital resources link above!
Fantastic Fiction
https://www.fantasticfiction.com
Particularly fantastic if you're a series completist, Fantastic Fiction lists every book published by over 70,000 bestselling fiction authors, organised by series. You can also browse the most popular books in various genres, get recommendations from bestselling authors, and see what other visitors to the site also looked at.
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com
The ultimate booklovers' site – cataloguing, reviews, lists, news and social connection. For any given title, you'll find links to other books that readers enjoyed, lists and articles in which the book features and associated tags you can browse. Goodreads is great because of the sheer number of users who contribute to it (over 20 million), making it a powerful reader-to-reader tool.
LibraryThing
https://www.librarything.com
Less well-known than Goodreads, but actually better at some things, LibraryThing is another free tool for cataloguing books you own, have read, want to read. It uses tags added by users and imported from a range of sources to generate large numbers of ‘read-alike’ recommendations for individual books, as well as monthly lists of algorithmically generated suggestions based on books in your collections. Features like the 'Top 50 similar libraries’ let you discover other users with similar tastes, and there is a healthy social/community component to the platform. At under 3 million users, LibraryThing is smaller than Goodreads, but because it draws data from a more diverse range of libraries, it makes for a useful alternative.
Of course, there are many other tools and techniques for discovering your next favourite book – not least among them the friendly staff at Palmerston North City Library – but these are some great places to start.
