Finding a Book Youll Enjoy

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Finding a Book Youll Enjoy

• by Ms. Belben, Librarian
• Burlington-Edison High School

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Browsing

• What this strategy is
• Walking around the library, looking at displays,
  bulletin boards, and books on shelves.
• This strategy is useful when
• You have plenty of time to look for a book
• You are just passing through the library
• You like to read, and you will read almost
  anything
• You are open to ideas for books suggested by
  bulletin boards, etc.
• This strategy is NOT as useful when
• You dont have much time
• You need or want a specific book or type of book

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OPAC

• What this strategy is the Online Public Access
  catalogue available on any library computer
• This strategy is useful when
• You want a book by a certain author
• Youre looking for a specific book or type of
  book
• This strategy is NOT as useful when
• Youre in a hurry
• You usually pick books by their covers

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Booklists

• What this strategy is The BEHS library has
  dozens of booklists that tell you about books.
  They are organized by topic.
• This strategy is useful when
• Youre looking for a book similar to a book
  youve read
• You want a book on a certain topic
• This strategy is NOT as useful when
• Youre not picky about the topic
• You dont like to read lists

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Book Review Binders

• What this strategy is Ms. Belben maintains
  notebooks full of book reviews that she writes.
• This strategy is useful when
• Youre in a hurry.
• Youre interested in what Ms. Belben has read
  lately.
• This strategy is NOT as useful when
• Youre picky about what you read.
• You need a specific type or length of book.
• You want information about ALL of the books in
  the library, not just the ones Ms. Belben has
  read.

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The B-E Review Blog at http//bebookreview.blogspo
t.com/

• What this strategy is The English teachers
  maintain a blog of student and staff book
  reviews.
• This strategy is useful when
• You want to know what other students and teachers
  have read and enjoyed.
• You want to read the comments people make about
  the books theyve read.
• This strategy is NOT as useful when
• You want a book on a certain topic.
• Youre looking for information on a specific
  book.
• You dont have access to the internet.
• You want to read about lots of different books.

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Ask the librarian

• What this strategy is The best way to do this
  is to say, Excuse, beautiful and exceptionally
  smart librarian, I really liked (NAME A SPECIFIC
  BOOK OR MOVIE), can you help me find another book
  I might like?
• This strategy is useful when
• You can tell the librarian a certain type of book
  youd like
• Youre looking for books based on how good they
  are
• Youre open to suggestions
• This strategy is NOT as useful when
• Youre extremely picky
• Youre just looking for a long book or a
  short book

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Internet Book Reviewsand Websites

• What this strategy is Using the librarys
  webpage, where there are lots of reviews going
  to other recommended reading sites
• This strategy is useful if
• You have lots of time
• You can skim reviews quickly
• This strategy is NOT as useful if
• Youre in a hurry
• You read slowly and dont have time to skim a lot
  of reviews

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A few other find-a-book strategies
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• Check out other web pages.  There are links on
  my web page, and you can Google the word
  "recommended reading" or another, similar subject
  heading and access many web sites that recommend
  books. 

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• Check out the recommended reading notebooks.
  These are print copies of my book reviews. The
  notebooks sit on the front desk and you are
  welcome to browse them at any time.

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• Ask your friends!  Many students tell me that
  their favorite books are those that have been
  recommended by their friends AND their parents
  and teachers!