This week, we discover NoveList Plus. This is a database I use a few times a week, so I’m looking forward to learning more!
The first part of the exercise is to search for a series I am interested in. Since I just finished one of Jude Deveraux’s Edileannovels, I type Edilean in the search bar, click the Series radio button, and then Search. This new page gives me a link to the author, a description of the series, and the genre among other things.
Scrolling down the page I have a list of titles in the series, the order of the series and since I have the View set to Detailed a bit about each title. I have the option of changing the View to Grid, Brief or Title Only. Depending on what I need, and/or if I intend to print the results, these options will be extremely helpful.
As a series reader, there are pieces of NoveList Plus that are extremely helpful, but I have to say that I still will use FictFact.com first. I do a quick comparison of the these two sites, looking at the title only, and FictFact has an extra title (it is an EBook), as well as the next title due in the series, with the estimated publication date.
The next piece of this exercise is to see how the Read Alike section works. Following the directions I change my search criteria to Author and search for an author. This time I check the right side of the page, at the Read Alikes from NoveList section. There are nine authors, shown three at a time. Resting my cursor on the file folder next to an author gives me information about the author, as well as why NoveList Plus feels this author is a Read Alike. If I click on the Print All button in this same box area, I have the ability to see and print a bit about all nine of the authors. Thinking about it, I’m not sure that I have ever seen more than nine authors listed at a time – just an observation.
I do find this to be a very helpful aspect of NoveList Plus, how many times has someone come to me having just read the best book ever, and what do we have just like it?
NoveList Plus has a section of Book Discussion Guideswhich is a tool that we will use. Another interesting resource is Award Winners. What a great place to find an Edgar Allan Poe Award or the International Horror Guild Awards.
There is a resource that will come in very handy in the future – Made Into Movies. This seems to be a recurring theme here in Gardiner; one of the teachers in the area does a “Read the Book and Watch the Movie” assignment.
This is definitely a great database, and one I will continue to use frequently.