Reader’s Advisory Guide
What is a Reader’s Advisory Guide? It’s a directory to help you figure out what to read now and what to read next. Let your interests and your curiosity lead you to some great books!
If you’re looking to have one of our staff curate a prospective reading list, you can fill out our Readers Advisory Consultation Form!
There are numerous resources available to readers since there are so many people out there who love sharing their passion for the written word, and we’re going to try really hard here to limit suggestions to the most popular options currently offered. By no means exhaustive, this page will at least get you started.
There are three main categories to sift through:
(For Young Adult recommendations, click here.)
These websites focus on book reviews and “read-alike” recommendations based on authors, genres, etc. Many are user-sourced. Have fun browsing the following free websites:
Goodreads is a “social cataloging” website that allows individuals to freely search its massive database of books, annotations, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. They can also create their own book groups, surveys, polls, blogs, and discussions.
Whichbook enables millions of combinations of factors, then suggests books which most closely match your needs. Customize your book search by choosing characteristics of the story from a range using sliders. The results can be limited to a specific format such as: eBooks, audiobooks, or large print editions. You can create book lists too.
Fantastic Fiction is unique in that it’s centered around authors rather than books. Each author has their own page so you can see at a glance everything they’ve written in their publication order, plus any new & forthcoming books. There’s bibliographies for over 30,000 authors with info on over 350,000 books.
Five Books asks top experts across the globe for the five best books in their subject and explain their choices in an interview. With over 1,700 such interviews so far, there are 8,000+ book recommendations and growing. They publish 2 weekly.
Book Yap is dedicated to professional and self-improvement books. Their book reviews are written by real professionals; thus, their feedback is more in-depth than the average comments you see on other book review sites. Their goal is to provide the most insightful reviews, not just the most.
A Reader’s Place is a resource for readers of memoirs and narrative nonfiction, and related fiction. In addition to blog posts and reviews, there’s a special section devoted to memoirs. You’ll find reading lists, award lists, quotes, and other interesting information about the genre that keeps on giving.
African American Literature Book Club is is the largest and most popular online book center dedicated to African-American and Black Literature from around the world. They celebrate Black culture through books for ALL readers to enjoy. They have profiles of over 3,600 authors, which include biographies, published books, interviews, videos, and more. You’ll find writers in every genre from the United States, Africa, and the entire African Diaspora.
IndieBound helps readers find trusted independent-bookseller reading options, newly discovered writers, and a real choice for buying. It allows authors to show their dedication to indies nationwide, easily done by linking to many indie bookstores.
The Poetry Foundation is a Chicago-based group created to promote poetry in the wider culture. It was formed from Poetry magazine, which we subscribe to. You’ll learn about many poets and read countless poems.
Shelf Awareness is a free e-newsletter about books and the book industry. You’ll want to choose the Readers option. Every Friday they share 25 of the best latest books coming out, as chosen by librarians, booksellers, and industry insiders. They also share book & author news, author interviews, and more.
Lit Hub brings togther bookish webistes from across the internet, while also producing original content about all things books, from news to criticism to recommendations. Lit Hub strives to be a trusted daily source for contemporary literary life.
Podcasts are basically topical radio shows that are available on-demand anytime on any device. Anyone with a computer, microphone, and some software can start their own program–some productions have video alongside their audio content. Shows are available on every subject you can think of, and episodes are archived for you to listen to at your leisure.
Here are a few of the better-known podcasts devoted to books and book recommendations:
Book Riot‘s The Podcast is one of the most popular book podcasts. The co-hosts discuss in a weekly news and talk show what’s new, cool, and worth talking about in the world of books and reading. All book-related news is up for conversation.
All the Books is a weekly podcast that falls under the Book Riot umbrella. The host is a voracious reader, and her show focuses on that week’s new releases across genres.
Fully Booked provides the ultimate insider’s scoop on the best new books. The editors at Kirkus Reviews interview your favorite authors, tell you whether or not the books on the bestseller list are worth the read, give you behind-the-scenes insights, and introduce you to great books you may otherwise never find.
The New York Times Review of Books Podcast brings the largest newspaper’s prestigious Book Review issues to audio format with top-author interviews, publishing news, reviews and recommendations, and insider insights.
The Librarian Is In is co-hosted by two NYPL recommendations librarians. They focus on providing book recommendations from a librarian’s perspective.
What Should I Read Next? is hosted by Anne Bogel, aka. the “Modern Mrs. Darcy”. Every episode brings to listeners recommended books having a particular theme. She also interviews authors, librarians, booksellers, and others, for their recommendations on the subject.
So Many Damn Books is hosted by publishing industry insiders who “blend the high and the low, the wicked and the divine, the sober and the not-so-sober, the famous and the infamous, with author guests, special drinks, and more book recommendations than you can shake a stick at.”
Bookstagram is a part of the larger Instagram social media site. Posts that focus solely on books–recommendations, reviews, aesthetics, links to other sites, related items like bookcases and tea and bookmarks–are what qualify for Bookstagram. It’s a growing “community” with thousands of participants and millions of postings. Just head to Instagram and search “#Bookstagram”!
Booktube works the same way Bookstagram does: it’s book-focused videos and channels on Youtube. The vast majority of videos on Booktube focus on recommendations and reading lists. You can be engaged on it for hours! Hundreds of Booktubers have produced tens of thousands of hours of video.
Book Riot is an all-in-one book news hub. They have dozens of contributors providing daily book-related columns, articles, and lists for your perusal. They also provide podcasts and email newsletters.
Young Adult (Teen) Reader’s Advisory
LitPick features book reviews by teens for teens. Student reviews promote reading and writing among pre-teen and young adult youths. They also connect reviewers with authors and publishers among a variety of genres.
No Flying No Tights offers graphic novel, comics, manga, and anime, reader-made reviews made by kids, teens, and adults. NFNT has been recognized as a major hub for graphic literature.
Blog for Teen Readers, created by the New York Public Library, is a blog that posts topical lists, recommendations, and topics related to teen books and media. For 80 years, NYPL staff shared the best titles for teens in an annual list called Books for the Teen Age. Books for the Teen Age is now a multimedia, multi-format, targeted, and teen-tested list of the best of the year in teen books, music, graphic novels, movies, games, and more.
Rainbow Books presents an annual bibliography of quality books with significant and authentic GLBTQ content recommended for people from birth through 18 years of age. It is created by the Rainbow Book List Committee of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association.
Teenreads.com is dedicated to teen readers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Author interviews, book reviews, upcoming-releases, and even an Ultimate Reading List are offered.
Children & Teens
Common Sense Media – offers developmentally age-appropriate, balanced, and reliable information so parents can decide what’s best for their family. Includes reviews of books, movies, TV, games, and other media marketed to children and teens.
‘Juvenile Series and Sequels’ database – contains over 36,000 books in 4,900 series titles that are classified into three audiences: Juvenile Easy [JE] – for birth through 2nd grade readers; Juvenile [J] – for 2nd through 6th grade readers; Young Adult [YA] – for 6th through 12th grade readers. Great way to check titles and order in series. It is run by Mid-Continent Public Library.
Association for Library Service to Children promotes reading and books for children through recommendations, list compilations, and related services. It is a part of the American Library Association.