Book reviews and selection

How to find a good book

For readers who know their reading preferences, browsing strategies may include looking for:

Not sure what to pick?

Look at the title and the cover – does it appeal?
Read the book jacket blurb – does it interest you? Give different genres a chance.
Read the first page or two.
Read information about the author on the jacket.
Look at print size for ease-of-reading.
Listen to friends, teachers, parents and librarians’ suggestions.
Look for popular authors and series.
Use the catalogue to look up authors, titles and subjects that interest you.
Ask for booklists and check displays.
Give a book a fair chance – read several pages or chapters.

What genre of books do you like? Sci-fi, adventure, mystery, non-fiction, fiction, realistic fiction?
What authors do you like? Research books by authors you've enjoyed in the past. Chances are they'll have another publication that you'll also enjoy, and by searching by authors, you can get more of the same types of books that the author wrote.
- Is there a type of book, or a specific book you would like to try? If there is, search the book up and read its summary. That will help you decide if the book is right for you.
- Are there any books in a certain series you would like to read? If you know the series then you can search the series online and you can find the books. You can also go to the library and see if they have the series that you are looking for.