by Mary-Ellen Mess
While we usually know when we like a particular book, many of us don’t always know how to describe exactly why we like it. An online search for a good book, whether it be on Amazon, Goodreads, or another website usually starts with a book that you have already read and enjoyed. Then up pops a list of titles by the same author, books other readers have purchased, or those that deal with similar themes.
NoveList is a reader’s advisory database on the Red Bank Public Library website that uses a variety of “appeal factors” to help find the perfect book to fit your style or mood. Going beyond familiar genres most readers are quick to recognize: i.e. suspense, sci-fi, romance, etc; NoveList has developed a vocabulary of terms for readers to explore and narrow the search for the right book. By offering a way to describe the characters, pacing and writing style that add to a reader’s enjoyment of fiction, NoveList is a pathway to finding an appealing novel.
For example, World War II is one of the most popular subjects for fans of historical fiction with more than 6,000 titles listed. But that subject includes a vast number of themes – love in wartime, Holocaust survival, immigrant experiences – as well as many ways to tell the stories. Add to the theme of life in wartime a preference for a courageous female character and you narrow the list to 15 books including the best-selling Nightingale by Kristen Hannah and lesser know titles such as Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys and The Shadow King by Mengiste Maaza.
So whether you like your characters sympathetic or quirky, an action-packed or heart-warming storyline, or a fast-paced or leisurely read; NoveList can help find something for every type of reader. By giving you a vocabulary to describe your favorite kind of book – funny or inspiring or gritty or lyrical – as well as lists of similar titles, NoveList may help you discover your next favorite book.
For more about NoveList’s appeal factors, check out The Secret Language of Books. Find NoveList at our Research Databases page. You will need your library card number to logon.
Working at the RBPL is a second career for Mary-Ellen, who spent 30 years managing youth programs in Newark, NJ. In anticipation of her retirement from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, Mary-Ellen returned to school and earned a MLIS in 2013. A part-time Reference Librarian at RBPL, she resides in Red Bank with her husband. Mary-Ellen considers herself fortunate to have raised two sons in Red Bank, a diverse community with great public schools.