Reader's Corner
Looking for a good book? Start here!
New York Times Book News
Prefer to Listen? Check out downloadable e-audiobooks or online audiobook resources from our Audio/Video page.
Looking for reading suggestions? Contact the Reader's Advisory Desk at 871-1700 x705 or reference@portland.lib.me.us. Or fill out our Reader's Advisory Online form and receive personalized suggestions by email.
"We read fiction because it pleases us, moves us, is beautiful, and so on--because it is alive and we are alive" from "How Fiction Works" by James Wood
Booklists:
- New Fiction at Portland Public Library
- New York Times Best Seller List
- London Times Book Section -- Scroll down to find best seller lists
- Publisher's Weekly Fiction and Nonfiction best sellers
More online resources to find your next read:
From LibraryThing, PPL is beta-testing BookPsychic
- a simple and fun way to get your next book recommendation. With a
point-and-click, you rate titles you thought were great or not so great,
and BookPsychic recommends a list
"Just For You." Go to bookpsychic.com
or search for an item in PPL's
Maine State Library's email newsletter service, Next Reads Subscribe to email newsletters on your choice of a variety of topics and receive monthly reading suggestions and new book alerts via email.
Novelist Novelist does more than help you find books similar to one that you enjoyed. Use to browse lists of fiction, like Cozy Mysteries, or Military Adventure. Trying to decide on your next book group selection? Book Discussion Guides will give you ideas, and major discussion points for each book listed. Novelist is part of the Marvel statewide databases.
Literature Resource Center Find literary criticism, author biographies, and full text periodical articles in this resource from MARVEL, the statewide database collection.
Social Networking Sites - share and discuss your favorite books!
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BiblioTravel identify stories that are set in distinct locales
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Book Blogs members "read books, blog
books, write books, and publicize books.”
- Book Crossing Where books take on a life of their own. BookCrossing is earth-friendly, and gives you a way to share your books, clear your shelves, and conserve precious resources at the same time. A book registered on BookCrossing is ready for adventure.
- Book Glutton an experience that is simultaneously a book group, a computer, and a book. Chat chapter by chapter, comment on each paragraph.
- Book Jetty a social utility that connects you with your friends' bookshelves and checks books' availability in the libraries.
- Book Movement. gives book clubs a way to recommend books to each other on a national level.”
- Books Well Read the online destination of choice for people who want to digest what they read by capturing their thoughts in writing
- Crime Space a place for readers and writers of crime fiction to meet.
- eBooklists annotated booklists created by librarians.
- Goodreads keep track of what you’ve read and what your friends are reading.
- Library Thing helps you create a library-quality catalog of your books and connects you with like-minded readers.
- Reader2Reader allows readers to discover andsuggest books to each other, chat and share reader experiences or do author/title searchers.
- Read Me. user editable wiki of book suggestions and queries.
- Revish keep and share a list of books you're reading, write reviews of books, find recommendations from other readers, and a whole lot more!
- Shelfari share what is on your bookshelf with others and discover new books.
- We Read whether you love Dickens or Dan Brown; participate in discussion boards, get personalized recommendations, play the Never Ending Book Quiz.
- What Should I Read Next? searchable database of real readers’ favourite books (over 47,000 and growing) to suggest what you could read next.
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What’s On My Bookshelf a book trading community, allows members toexchange their books. Users maintain
their own profile page with friends, book inventory, and wishlists. Our
goal is to facilitate the trading of books in addition to connecting
people with similar reading interests. "Sharing a book is the creation of
a common place for dialogue, friendships, and ideas.”
Featured Web Sites:
Overbooked
"A web site for ravenous readers." In addition to
themed book lists, Starred Reviews Lists compiles the best reviewed
titles from a variety of sources.
The
Neglected Books Page
"Here you'll find lists of thousands
of books that have been neglected, overlooked, forgotten, or stranded by
changing tides in critical or popular taste."
ALA
Books for the College Bound
Whether or not you are college bound,
you will find the books on this list well written and thought
provoking. The lists include fiction, nonfiction, poetry,
biography and drama.