and very informative and useful. I like it, but..... I don't see what I was looking for there, though. I know some of the authors and books that I have really loved, so I wanted to be able to use that information to find other authors who might write in a similar manner or about similar topics. I started this search because, years ago, our local library used to post lists of authors to try if you liked a certain author....and I wanted to find that information that they used to supply.

and it is also really cool. I'll be wasting a lot of time there now, playing.

I checked out several of my many favorite authors and the groupings seemed pretty good. Interestingly enough, one of my all time favorites, a Canadian writer name of Andrew Pyper only has two other authors who show up on his map, and neither one is very close.

But this could be a very useful tool, especially for someone who is a lot younger and simply hasn't read as much. I know that I will tend to glom on to a particular writer and work my way through much of that person's oeuvre. Often when I'm recommending books to others I'll recommend by other somewhat more than by individual book.

And I find a whole lotta familiar names near by when I put in my (current) favorites. There's a reason I've read them But there are also enough others to work on, too.

Thanks!

that's a really cool map. Thanks for sharing that.

I'm into Scandinavian crime fiction, and I've been able to find well over a dozen authors (so far) whose books I've ordered through my local library and I've enjoyed every one of them.

I can see that looking for something in a less distinct genre could be more difficult. All I know is that I'm happy in the groove (rut? ) I'm in, and Fantastic Fiction hasn't steered me wrong yet.

As in, I like Barbara Kingsolver....but I want to read other authors and maybe find something totally different but along those same lines. I was looking for other authors that I did not know about yet. I can't research by genre or by author because I don't know what I am looking for. Just getting bored with the same things that I am usually drawn to.

Once in a while, I just wander among the library shelves randomly reading titles to see if anything strikes me. I've actually found a few interesting books that way over the years.

I'll stand in front of section and look at all the books whose authors' last names start with "G" (for example) - and pull out a few titles and read the blurbs. Sort of like throwing darts at a map while blindfolded - you just might come across a treasure.

I honestly thought everyone did that. Stumbling across a new author that way is lovely.

Found one of my favorite authors that way---Carl Hiaassen. The book title "Sick Puppy" just shouted to be read. Then I did, over the years, read all his other books and enjoyed them all.

But I also think that it is a real hit-or-miss method, and I have no doubt that I miss some great books because the title doesn't appeal to me.

I love walking up and down the library stacks looking at the titles, but then I end up with a crick in my neck from having it tilted to the right so much. LOL

I have always loved a library where the books were chock-a-block crammed together and on shelves floor to ceiling, but I do know from working in libraries that today library shelves are supposed to be neat with lots of leftover space, empty shelf space, etc. and that librarians have "weeding" guidelines for how and when to weed out a book/books that haven't circulated very much. I really don't like that, but I guess I'm in the minority.

"The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith. Five copies? So I checked one out. I haven't started it yet as I just finished my first Kingsolver book, "The Bean Trees." I'm still digesting that story & not ready to move on yet, but maybe later today. I love the library. When I visited my home town last year the library was the first place I went. How many hours did I spend in that building as a kid?

It's one of my most frequent stops on the intertubes.

I've created enough lists of books to check out that I could be kept in reading material for years.

The head librarian at my local library turned me on to Fantastic Fiction, and I've been addicted ever since. I email her list after list of books that I've come across on that site, and I've been making my way through author after author with hardly ever ending up with clunkers.

I love their list by country, too. So many gems from so many different cultures. It's just very, very cool!

fantastiction.co.uk also and really have found some good books through that site.

The ones with Lincoln Childs or his solo efforts? I would suggest you read all the Preston-Childs books from beginning to end. But you might not like that sort of thing. My wife and I read them all and enjoyed every one. However it might be my peculiar tastes.

I had never heard of them, but it seems that there is a lot of books written by them. I guess that it is not the genre I normally read, but it isn't like I never have read horror type books (was a big Stephen King fan in my youth). They also seem to be pretty silly guys from what is on their website.

I am willing to give it a try but I could never read all of one type of book in a row without getting bored, even when the books are good. So, tell me, which one should I start with? Are they a series, where the same characters show up and you are a little lost if you haven't read the older books?

I suppose it wouldn't matter too much. This one. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/douglas-j-preston/relic.htm

And since I loved Jurassic Park, and it is mentioned on the cover, I am already intrigued. Too bad the library isn't open on Sundays.