What Do I Read Next?

One of the benefits of working in a library is that I always have a half-dozen or so books waiting for me at home to dive into at day's end. I tend to gravitate towards contemporary fiction and some nonfiction--particularly memoirs. Much to the disbelief of some of my patrons, I am not a mystery reader, and I don't think there will be a whodunit on my personal reading list any time soon.

Since I have access to hundreds of titles to choose from on a daily basis and actually get paid to read book reviews to help in developing the library's collection, I am never at a loss as to what to read next.

But this sadly is not the case for all readers. Often times, we receive an inquiry from a patron who has read everything by his/her favorite author and would like a recommendation as to what to read next. Usually the library staff can suggest a few new authors and titles after a quick conversation to get a sense of the patron's reading tastes. But for those times when a friendly librarian isn't handy, these online resources are great to explore when wondering what to read next:

Boston Public Library Booklists -- extensive listing of books by genre

Goodreads -- social networking book recommendation site.

Library Thing -- another social networking site that allows you to connect to people with similar reading tastes.

Novelist -- includes suggested reading lists, author read-alikes, booktalks, featured articles and book discussion guides. Password required. Ask for a brochure next time you are at the library.