Library & Information Technology

Full of reviews and book discussions. This website has a paid membership option for additional features but all the stuff you really need is free. Browse books and authors by alphabet or through the search bar. Books typically have two read-alike suggestions and are only presented for books found under the 'Read-Alikes' alphabet tab. The search results from that tab and those from the search bar are not always the same. Very limited database leaning more towards newer general fiction.

Browse authors alphabetically by last name or check out the New Authors section. Know what your're looking for? Search by author name, book, or series title. There are even New Books, Coming Soon, and Most Popular sections. An author search will bring up a bio, the books they've written and the series they belong too, as well as author recommendations! Books searched will bring up a summary, affiliate author, read-alikes, edition information and more. From fantasy to mystery, classics to romance - this database covers a wide range of fiction and packed with information!

The public's number one book site, here you'll find a lot of information from both professionals and users. Making an account is free and only necessary if you intend to keep track of your own personal reading log. The database is quite extensive and presents a wide variety of themes and formats. A book's themes are presented by popular vote of users and same genre reading lists are often made. Readers can share their reviews and opinions of books and give them star ratings. A great way to get in touch with the general public's thoughts on books and to fall down the read-alikes rabbit hole.

This is a fun site that allows you to explore similar authors. Simply type in your author's name and let the map settle.The closer an author's name to another, the more similar they are. Your starting author's name will be found near the center. No further information is presented.

Novelist is a book database that requires a subscription. The Winnipeg Public Library offers access to patrons with a library card. Not exclusive to fiction, they have non-fiction as well. You can search by age, genre, appeal factors, themes, author, book title... Books may have popularity ratings and reviews. Novelist will inform you of a book's genre, themes, pace, tone, writing style... Further down the page you can select areas of these elements to search for other books that have them. The right side bar of the page will display read-alikes, starting from the most alike and working down. The similarities between books could relate to any of the previously mentioned elements, so be sure to check these carefully. This database is quite in depth and thorough.

Simply type the title of your book. Of the book options that appear, select the one that matches what you want. This will generate a list of other similar books. Unfortunately not always a great system, it occasionally recommends other books from the same series or author. A nice touch is the list of topics and themes that come with each book. This gives you an idea of some of the elements and appeal factors a book focuses on and also allows you to search for books specifically on these. This last part can also be helpful in cataloguing!