Let’s say you just finished reading your favorite book. Now you want to find another one that you enjoy just as much. What is the best way to go about finding your next great read?  

Fortunately, we have many helpful resources to assist you in finding readalikes. Here are nine of them to get you started:    

Shelf Help 

The New York Public Library’s Shelf Help service enables you to request a personalized book bundle based on your interests. Simply fill out our online Shelf Help form and a librarian will select five books for you to pick up and check out at one of our grab-and-go locations. One of the optional questions on the form asks you to name a book that you have read and enjoyed, which the librarian can then use as a springboard to find similar reads for you. Additionally, the form will ask you for your favorite genre and will allow you to provide a more detailed description of what types of books you’re looking for.        

NoveList 

NoveList is a great resource for finding the exact sort of story you want to read—allowing you to search for recommendations by appeal terms, genres, themes, and more.   

Appeal terms are descriptors that pertain to different aspects of a book such as storyline, writing style, characterization, general feel of a story, and much more. 

Each genre in the database is also subdivided into an extensive number of themes, which are also searchable.  For instance, books in the Fantasy genre may contain themes such as Academies of magic, Court intrigue, or Faerie Realm, while books in the Horror genre may contain themes such as Band of survivors, Cursed!, or Creepy clowns and bad seeds.  

  

Note that NoveList also has a link to author readalikes in its Quick Links section which is a great way to discover authors similar to the ones you love:

Furthermore, in its How Do I? tab, the database has a quick guide, including a short video tutorial, on finding readalikes: 

For additional details on NoveList, check out the NYPL blog post The Librarian’s Secret Weapon: NoveList. Also note that in addition to NoveList Plus, NYPL also offers NoveList K-8 Plus for younger readers. And remember that if you search for a title in NYPL’s online catalog Encore, some entries may contain an additional section called NoveList Recommendations that not only suggests similar books, but also provides detailed explanations on how the books are similar.  

Books in Print

The database Books in Print contains information on millions of book, audiobook, and movie titles. Our blog post Top 5 Online Resources to Help You Find That Book From NYPL mentions that Books in Print can be used to find readalikes.  Many entries for titles in Books in Print will include lists of suggestions for other books that the searcher might enjoy.  

Additionally, Books in Print includes resources such as book reviews, author biographies, awards information, and media mentions, which can be helpful for finding books that match your interests.  

Some book records in the database also contain an additional section, Tags, showing which categories a book has been tagged under. The tags themselves serve as links to additional reads.  

You can also search by tags—as well as by series, subjects, media, or audience—within the database’s browse feature to narrow down your searches. Tags are further divided into subfields of character, genre, location, profession, setting, time period, and topic: 

 

Advanced Search Features in NYPL’s Catalog, Encore 

You can use Encore—our online catalog—to search according to fields such as author or subject. The subject headings are very extensive, and clicking a subject heading within a book’s record will yield more catalog results for items under the same heading.  Start with the Advanced Search feature to find books by the same authors or cataloged under the same subjects as your favorite reads. If you have a preferred format—such as audiobooks or ebooks, for instance—you can also use the advanced search to filter by format, as well as by language, collection (including children, YA or adult), and year. For a guide on using NYPL’s catalog, check out the NYPL Catalog FAQs web page.  

Also, as mentioned above, some item records will contain an additional section called NoveList Recommendations.  Hover over the suggested titles in this list for explanations regarding how the suggested books are similar.     

NYPL Reader Services Facebook Live & Twitter Events 

Every week, NYPL’s main Twitter page hosts a live event for reading recommendations. Visit the page via this link to see what other readers are suggesting. Feel free to join in with your own suggestions, or browse through past conversations to get recommendations.  

NYPL’s main Facebook page also hosts weekly Facebook Live events dedicated to recommending books.  You can view past videos here.  Librarians hosting the events will offer live personalized recommendations to commenters at the events.    

Links to accessing personalized recommendations via NYPL’s main Twitter and Facebook pages and via email are also provided directly on the webpage nypl.org/books-music-movies/recommendations.  

Individual NYPL branches may also hold online opportunities to discuss books.  Which brings us to our next suggestion… 

Book Discussions 

Many NYPL branches host book discussions, which can be a great way to share your own reading suggestions while hearing about books that others have enjoyed.  

Following the closure of some branches during the pandemic, book discussions have temporarily moved online. View the full list of online book discussions hosted by NYPL to find a program at a time and day that’s convenient for you.     

Open format discussions, in particular, are useful for bouncing around thoughts about different books, comparing different novels and authors, and for finding additional titles to add to your reading list. Share your favorite reads and literary interests with others, and learn all about theirs.   

Some book clubs may also be dedicated to specific genres or interests, so start looking through the list of events to find a book club that’s right for you.  

Book discussions are not the only type of NYPL program that can help connect you to readalikes.  You could also try:     

NYPL Programs: Meet the Collections 

NYPL has a new series of programs called Meet the Collections. These programs are useful for getting starter packs of books to read within a specific topic, genre, or subgenre, and for learning how to find books or articles within a specific field. Join one of these programs to get suggestions from a librarian on how to get the most out of NYPL’s extensive collections.     

NYPL’s Readalikes Blog Posts 

The New York Public Library has a whole section of blog posts, written by various librarians, dedicated to lists of readalikes. These lists contain suggestions curated by Library staff. Browse through the Readalikes posts from NYPL to get suggestions for your next book. These posts will connect fans of numerous bestsellers to similar books, and cover a large range of subjects and genres.       

Book Lists by NYPL Staff 

If you enjoy hearing personal recommendations, then in addition to Shelf Help and Readalikes posts and other options, you can read through book lists from NYPL’s various social media sites and the NYPL Recommends page.  Browse through a wide variety of book lists created by NYPL staff.  

You can filter the lists according to subject/genre and by audience type. The NYPL Recommends web page also contains links to the Library’s regular Staff Picks, Biblio File blog and biweekly podcast, The Librarian Is In.   

We hope you enjoy using these resources!