Biblio File

Finding a Book When You've Forgotten Its Title

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Library books lined up on a shelf Bank check out selected results from NYPL Championship Quest 2019, held August ii, 2019, also as Title Quest 2018.

This is an update of a previous post by Sharon Rickson.

It can be tough to recollect the title and author of a book yous read a long time ago—even if it was a book that was really important to you. Fiction is cataloged by author and title, not by subject or plot line, which makes identifying books by only their storyline difficult.

Readers ofttimes ask librarians for aid finding these kinds of books. And nosotros can't figure out the mystery every single time, but we practise have a few tricks to help notice the answer.

First, pin down everything you can call up virtually the book, plot, character names, fourth dimension period in which the book may accept been published, genre, etc. All these details are clues in identifying the title and author of the book.

Online resources tin can help with your search for a half-remembered book, fifty-fifty if all you have is a basic plot line. Searching yourself is a proficient place to start; then, you tin can post to a listserv or discussion forum, where someone might recognize information technology. Or, last merely not least, leave a comment on this post!

Before You Showtime

Endeavour Google! Blazon in everything you lot tin can retrieve nearly the book — as in, "picture book rabbi animals advice yiddish" — and scroll through the results. (That's a existent-life example of a book a patron was asking for: Information technology Could E'er Be Worse past Margot Zemach.)

You tin also try googling one key detail you remember from a volume. Ane of our librarians solved a book mystery past searching "USS You-Know-Who" — the name of a gunkhole in the story that the patron happened to call up. (Some other existent-life example: She Flew No Flags by Joan Manley.)

Crowdsourcing

  • What'south the Proper name of That Book?
    A Goodreads grouping with searchable give-and-take posts and thousands of questions and answers.

  • Name That Volume
    A LibraryThing group of ~3K members — many of whom are librarians or library-adjacent — who help solve book mysteries via threaded discussions.

  • The Fiction_L listserv
    Stumpers! Search archives of past questions, answered by an intense volume-ish customs, or subscribe and mail a new one.

  • Reddit'due south whatsthatbook thread
    A nearly countless thread of users trying to help other users remember volume titles, including several ofttimes requested books. Especially good for science fiction and fantasy.

  • "Stump the Bookseller" weblog
    A absurd indie bookstore in Ohio that maintains all-encompassing, searchable archives — and offers a $iv service for personalized assist. Lots of children's books here.

  • Big Book Search
    If you lot can only remember what the encompass looks similar, attempt this cover-search tool.

Library Databases (log in with your library bill of fare)

  • Books & Authors

  • Books in Print

  • The New York Times databases

  • NoveList and NoveList K-8 (in-library utilize only)

More Suggestions

  • If you tin call back just one word, use the search part on Goodreads or Library Affair to detect long lists of titles with a particular discussion.

  • Goodreads' browse-able lists of titles that readers accept shelved in unique categories, such as authors' professions or decades of publication, is also be helpful.

  • For recently published books, the reviews in Booklist Online are broken downwardly by detailed genre.

How to Motility On

Sometimes, it's just non going to happen, and you can't find that elusive book you've been searching for. It'due south okay! Bang-up news: The earth is full of great books! Here are a few ways to discover more...

  • Check out recommendations from our book experts here at NYPL. We offering suggestions via weblog posts, the Staff Picks book finder, The Librarian Is In podcast, and more.
  • If yous'd like a personalized recommendation, find us on Twitter or fill out our What Should I Read Next? email form.
  • Want a brand-new read? Check out our favorite New and Noteworthy titles.

Feel gratis to go out a comment and tell us about a book you're trying to remember! Our library staff members volition pop in and check information technology periodically, and readers of this post are welcome to make guesses and suggestions.