Under the Reference tab at the top of our site, select “NoveList.” Click on the purple NoveList logo. If prompted to log in, enter your library card number as your ID. Your password is usually the last 4 digits of your telephone number. You can also access NoveList directly through BadgerLink’s homepage.
NoveList is a fun database for readers who are looking for book suggestions and discussion ideas. It includes fiction books all the way from children’s picture books to young adult novels and genre literature for adults. It even includes graphic novels and series–as well as book discussion guides and picture book “extenders–” get ready to find new titles for yourself, your family, friends, book club or classroom!
There is also a version of NoveList just for children’s literature called NoveList K-8. It is set up to be a kid-friendly format that makes it easier to find children’s book suggestions by age (ages 0-teen) as well as author, series, and series. NoveList K-8 also lists award-winning children’s books by type of award. To access NoveList K-8, follow this link, or from NoveList, click “Search Other Databases” in the search box, and select NoveList K-8 from the list.
NoveList homepage, with search box
NoveList K-8 homepage
Now that you are on the NoveList homepage, here’s an example of how NoveList can find book suggestions for you. Let’s say you’ve just finished George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones and want to find more books in this series, more books from this author, or other books like this one. Type the title into the search box, and the result will reveal that the series title is A Song of Ice and Fire. Clicking the author’s name will bring up a summary of that author’s style and subject matter, as well as a list of the author’s works. On the right-hand sidebar is 9 titles that NoveList recommends for readers who enjoyed A Game of Thrones. The appeal terms that are listed under this title, such as “fantasy fiction,” “world-building,” and “richly-detailed” help NoveList generate recommendations, but also help readers see how their book suggestions are determined.
Scroll down the page until you see “Search for More” on the right sidebar. This gives you the option to either select terms that you want to use to generate further suggested titles, or filter out terms that you don’t find useful. For example, if are interested in fantasy books about dragons and magic, but aren’t attracted to books described as bleak or violent, you can perform a new search to fine-tune the titles NoveList suggests. On the left, a full list of of the books in the Song of Ice and Fire series is listed.
In addition to searching under title, author’s name, or series, you can also search by subject matter or plot to generate title suggestions. If you would like a recommendation for a good novel about Japan, or that has a storyline of Arctic adventure, simply type this into the search box.
The “More” features
The additional features under the “More” tab are where you will find book discussion guides, a award winners by type, award name, and year, “grab and go lists,” and more. Below is an example of looking up the children’s books that won the New York Times Notable Books award for the year 2008.
Escape into this reader’s paradise by exploring the many possibilities NoveList has to offer!