Sites by Subject · Books & Reading

Research Databases

Sites by Subject · Research Databases · Books & Literary Criticism

General Sites

Allreaders.com

A fiction database that recommends books with reviews based on the preferences you select. Also browsable by genre.

Bookreporter.com

Author bibliographies, author profiles and interviews, book reviews and excerpts, awards, group discussion guides, publishing news, and teen and kids services.

BookSpot

Awards, reviews, reading lists, author and publisher information, news, and reading resource guides.

Center for the Book

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress promotes books, reading, literacy and libraries, and the scholarly study of books. Programs include the Books & Beyond author series, the National Book Festival authors program, reading and writing contests, and the Read.gov website. Find resources, books and related information for all age groups.

Genrefluent

Genre fiction reviews from the author of the well-known reference guide Genreflecting .

Gnooks

This book recommendation search engine suggests authors and books based on what you already like.

Goodreads

A site for keeping track of your books. Recommend books to friends, create online book clubs, and much more!

Guide to Book Genres

Site contains a listing of different genres with links to useful booklists.

If You Like...

An interactive booklist database from the Hennepin County Public Library.

Library Thing

Catalog your own books online and keep track of what you’ve read!

Literary Locales

Links to pictures of locations that figure in the lives and works of famous authors.

Overbooked

A "website for ravenous readers" specializing in literary and genre fiction information and resource links.

Shelfari

A social networking site for book lovers. Keep track of books you've read, review them, and discuss them with your friends.

Tastekid

Tastekid provides recommendations for music, movies and books. Type in something you like, and Tastekid suggests others you may also enjoy.

Web Sites for Book Lovers

A comprehensive list of links for book-related information from the Morton Grove Public Library.

What’s Next

The Kent District Library's searchable database of books in series.

Whichbook

Using the sliding scales to chose a book based on your mood.

Wired for Books

Listen to authors read from their work and discuss their writing. Requires RealAudio.

Award Winners

Agatha Awards

Awards honoring the traditional mystery.

Audie Awards

The Audies recognize excellence in audiobook publishing.

Book Sense Book of the Year Award

Awards for adult and children's books from the American Booksellers Association.

Bram Stoker Awards

Horror Writer Association awards honoring the best writing in horror and the occult.

Costa Book Awards

Annual award that celebrates the best of contemporary British writing. Formerly known as the Whitbread Award.

Edgar Awards

Awards for achievement (fiction and nonfiction) in the mystery field from the Mystery Writers of America.

Independent Publisher Awards

The “IPPY” Awards honor exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles.

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

Over one hundred public libraries from around the world (including ours) participate in the nomination process for this prestigious literary award.

Lambda Literary Awards

Dispensed annually by the Lambda Literary Foundation in recognition of excellence in gay and lesbian literature.

Man Booker Prize

Major British literary prize awarded to "the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland."

National Book Awards

Information on the nation’s preeminent literary awards from the National Book Foundation.

National Book Critics Circle Award

Awards in fiction, general nonfiction, biography/autobiography, poetry, and criticism from active book reviewers.

Nebula Award

Selected by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in the following categories: novel, novella, novellette, short Story, and script.

Nobel Prize in Literature

Information about the prize and winners since 1901.

Orange Prize for Fiction

International award that celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing.

PEN Literary Awards

Awards recognizing American fiction, nonfiction, drama and poetry, literary translation, editing and publishing.

The Pulitzer Prizes

Current and historical information documenting 80 years of American excellence in journalism, letters, drama, and music.

RITA Awards

Awards for achievement from the Romance Writers of America.

Spur Awards

Annual award for distinguished writing about the American West. From the Western Writers of America.

Black Fiction

African American Fiction Writers

Each entry in this A to Z list includes a selection of titles by the author.

African American Literature Book Club

Information about African-American authors and reviews of African-American literature.

African American Women Writers of the 19th Century

Full-text digital collection of over 52 published works by 19th-century black women writers.

Electronic Text Center: African American

Electronic versions of books, plays, stories and poems by African American writers.

The Urban Book Source

A comprehensive site for news, reviews and interviews of African-American fiction.

Book Discussion Groups

African American Literature Book Club

Author profiles, book reviews, writer's resources, and discussion boards.

Book Spot: Book Discussion Center

Online discussions, publisher guides, discussion guides for kids, and tips for getting started.

HarperCollins.com

Reading guides, newsletters, and information on starting a discussion group.

The Jewish Reader: A Guide for Book Groups

Monthly book selections include excerpts, essays, and discussion questions.

New York Times Forums: Books

Participate in a wide range of online discussions about books and reading. (Free registration required)

On the Same Page

News and information about Cincinnati's annual citywide reading project.

Oprah's Book Club

Book selections, reviews, author information, and book dicussion guides.

PenguinPutnam Reading Guides

Use the "Browse" tab to access over 200 fiction and nonfiction reading guides.

Random House Reading Group Guides

Browse the guides by title, author, or category (Biography & Memoir, Books into Movies, History & War, Women's Interest, etc.).

Reading Group Choices

"An opinionated guide of great books to read and discuss."

Reading Group Guides

Reading guides, roundtable discussions, advice & ideas, and a newsletter.

Book Sellers

Abebooks

Good source for new, used, out-of-print, and rare books.

Alibris

The leading global supplier of rare and out-of-print books, manuscripts, maps, photos, prints, and autographs.

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble

Book of the Month Club

Borders

Joseph-Beth Booksellers

Books Featured in the Media

Based on The Book

Over 750 book titles, short stories, and plays are included in this database of motion pictures produced after 1980. Search by movie title, movie release year, book title, or book author.

Booknotes on C-SPAN

A companion web site to C-SPAN's Sunday author interview series. Although Booknotes stopped running in late 2004, the entire archive of programs is available online.

Booktv.org

An online complement to Book TV, C-SPAN2's book program, with extensive coverage of non-fiction books.

eBooks

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

A searchable web version of the complete works of Shakespeare, including a glossary, discussion area, and links to other Shakespeare resources.

eBook Locator

Search the database of thousands of eBooks by author, title, publisher, subject, publisher, and ISBN number. Also includes reviews, excerpts, and author bios.

netLibrary

OPLIN offers Electronic Books to borrowers and visitors of the Library. Learn how to create a netLibrary account so you can Check out books from the netLibrary Web site and read them online.

Project Bartleby Archive

An electronic text project from Columbia University providing searchable text of books not under copyright restrictions.

Historicals

Historical Fiction Network

Reviews of historical fiction and historical television dramas, author biographies, and booklists.

Historical Novels

Extensive booklists of historical fiction by both time and place. Also includes reviews.

Libraries

Sites by Subject · Libraries

Mystery and Suspense

The Mystery Reader

News and reviews from the sister website to The Romance Reader, providing a five star system and violence ratings.

Poisoned Pen

Recommendations, reviews, and news from a bookstore dedicated to mystery books.

Stop, You’re Killing Me

Excellent resource for mysteries and suspense novels. Search the site by author or character (sleuth).

News and Reviews

Booklist

The online edition of the American Library Association's book review journal.

BookPage Online

Reviews, news, and interviews in the online edition of the bookstore and library newspaper.

Bookreporter.com

Author bibliographies, author profiles and interviews, book reviews and excerpts, awards, group discussion guides, publishing news, and teen and kids services.

Bookwire

Comprehensive information about the book publishing industry, including news, awards, reviews, author interviews, book links, event guides, and bestseller lists.

Library Journal Book Reviews

Book reviews from the staff of Library Journal magazine on new & prepublication books, best-sellers, fiction, non-fiction, literature, and reference books.

New York Review of Books

The online edition of the literary review journal.

New York Times Book Review

A leading source of review information, with book reviews, reader forums, book excerpts, and book industry news.

Publisher’s Weekly

Reviews and industry information from "the online edition of the international news magazine for book publishing and bookselling."

Salon.com Books

Reviews, feature articles, and recommendations from the innovative online magazine.

Out of Print & Rare Books

Abracadabra Booksearch International

One of the world's largest book search companies, this website includes books wanted, books for sale, and search request sections.

AddALL Used and Out of Print Book Search

Searches different websites for hard-to-find used and out-of-print books as well as their current market value.

Alibris

The leading global supplier of rare and out-of-print books, manuscripts, maps, photos, prints, and autographs.

Antiquarian Book’s Cyberstore

Primarily an International League of Antiquarian Booksellers-based website where one can buy or sell rare books.

Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America

The ABAA promotes ethical standards and professionalism in the antiquarian book trade. Searchable access to members' catalogs.

Bibliofind

A database of the rare and used books for sale by thousands of booksellers around the world.

The Bibliophile Mailing List

An online resource for sellers and/or collectors of rare, scarce, and out-of-print books.

Bibliopoly

Search options of this "online book fair" include city, country, publisher, and specialty. Has a classified section for book-related products, an events calendar, and links to other book-related sites.

Bookfinder: Glossary of Book Jargon

This on-line resource defines descriptive terms to help users interpret information in book trade listings.

eBay Books

This book section of "your personal trading community" includes a section for rare books.

International League of Antiquarian Booksellers

The website for 2000 leading booksellers from 20 nations around the world. Includes book search.

Maremagnum Liborum

Provides access to nearly one million titles from over three hundred booksellers. Search this site in English, French, German, or Italian.

Octavo Editions

A guide to currently available titles from a publisher/preserver of rare books and manuscripts in digital format.

Preserving my Heritage

Learn how to care for and preserve your family treasures, heirlooms, and works of art. From the Canadian Conservation Institute.

Trussel’s EclectiCity

A resource with links to a multitude of book-related sites, including stories, articles, dictionaries, bibliographies, and translations.

UKBookWorld

The British marketplace for scholarly and collectible old, rare, and out-of-print books.

Poetry

The Academy of American Poets

A regularly updated source for biographies, photographs, and poetry of Academy members. Also includes information on awards, programs, exhibits, and National Poetry Month.

HTI American Verse Project

The University of Michigan Humanities Text Initiative, a growing searchable electronic archive of American poetry published prior to 1920

Poetry at the Library of Congress

Information on current and past Poets Laureate, and poetry news and resources.

Poets & Writers Online

A current source for information on writing contests, grants and awards, plus a directory of writers, literary links, and other resources from Poets & Writers Magazine.

Publishers

Harlequin

Harper Collins

Henry Holt & Company

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Penguin Putnam

Random House

Simon and Schuster

St. Martin’s Press

W. W. Norton & Company

Romance

All About Romance

Reviews, author information, commentaries, booklists, message boards, and discussion lists.

The Romance Reader

Reviews, news, interviews, and book lists.

Romance Writers of America

The official organization website, including news, event information, author and publisher links, book lists, and information about RWA awards.

Romantic Times BOOKclub

The online edition, including feature articles, book reviews using a five star system, news, a searchable database of author bibliographies and pseudonyms, and writer resources.

Science Fiction and Fantasy

Fantastic Fiction

A database of science fiction and fantasy, searchable and browsable by author, title, award, series, country of origin, and year, also including a short collection of online science fiction and fantasy.

Locus: the Newspaper of the Science Fiction Field

News, reviews, resources, and recommended reading lists from the online version of an award-winning journal of science fiction and fantasy.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

The official organization website, including writing resources, reviews, and information about the Nebula Awards.

Science Fiction & Fantasy Book List Site

"A comprehensive bibliography of science fiction and fantasy authors and their books." Includes links to official and fan sites.

SF Site

A comprehensive and fun site, including reviews, interviews, awards and related links.

University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website

A resource guide including a symbolism dictionary, electronic texts, and links to fantasy and science fiction resources.

Supernatural

Dark Echo

Reviews of horror fiction, inter-views with horror authors, and essays about horror fiction.

Horror Writers of America

The official organization website, including events information, news, book lists, writer resources, and information on the Stoker Awards.

Horrornet

Horror publishers, author web-sites, news, and The Pit, a horror discussion forum.

Westerns

Readwest Online Magazine

Reviews of westerns, original western fiction, and western author information.

Western Writers of America

The official organization website, including the online edition of Roundup Magazine and information about the Spur Awards.

Writing and Book Associations and Foundations

Horror Writers of America

The official organization website, including events information, news, book lists, writer resources, and information on the Stoker Awards.

National Book Critics Circle

The official website of the organization of book reviewers, including information on the National Book Critics Circle Awards.

National Book Foundation

The official foundation website, including information on the National Book Awards.

Ohio Center for the Book

Pulitzer Prize

The official website for the Pulitzer Prize.

Romance Writers of America

The official organization website, including news, event information, author and publisher links, book lists, and information about RWA awards.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

The official organization website, including writing resources, reviews, and information about the Nebula Awards.

Western Writers of America

The official organization website, including the online edition of Roundup Magazine and information about the Spur Awards.