Finding Great Book Recommendations

A great book recommendation is as close as your local bookstore. Booksellers live and breathe books everyday at work and at play. They are up on the latest releases, have a list of personal favorites to recommend and can help you navigate the offerings in their stores. Since many publishers also offer booksellers special access to books before they are released for sale to the public, you may be able to get an inside scoop on the next big thing, get your order in to have it delivered as soon as it's available.

Many people are dedicated fans of their favorite bookstore, be it a local indie or part of one of the national chains. Find an independent bookstore near you by visiting Indiebound.org, a service of the American Booksellers Association, or search the web for companies like Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million or Borders.

Sometimes the masses are right. When thousands of readers nationwide buy a book, it just might be worth checking out. There are bestsellers lists to be found everywhere, from newspapers to publishing industry sites. Here are just a few to check out:

New York Times Bestseller Lists - The Times is the classic bestseller list and today is actually a group of lists. Are you looking for paperback or hardcover? Do you need fiction, non-fiction, self-help, kids' titles or business reads? The Times offers a list with the best of what you're looking for now.

USA Today Best-Selling Books - The USA Today list is simple but deep - 150 bestselling titles each week for your browsing pleasure.

Indiebound Bestsellers - Indiebound compiles bestsellers from independent booksellers across the country each week. Check out lists for fiction, non-fiction and children's books, as well as periodic theme lists.

Amazon Bestsellers - The Amazon bestsellers list is updated hourly. When a book hits the media in a big way, you will often see it racing up the Amazon bestseller list almost immediately.

*try bookmarking this page for easy access to all of these bestseller lists whenever you're ready to browse*

Many publications and news outlets feature book discussions and reviews. Some are very broad, like the New York Times Book Review or NPR. Others are more specific, like those in publications tailored to a particular audience, such as a business journal or womens magazine. Here are some of my favorite places to browse books in the media spotlight:

New York Times Sunday Book Review

NPR - Books: Beyond written reviews, check out author interview and other audio programming through the NPR site.

Kirkus Reviews: Reviewers at Kirkus cover hundreds of titles each month. Look for starred reviews for the standout choices.

Through Indiebound.org, booksellers from across the country nominate their favorite new reads each month. The top selections are available each month as the Indie Next List. You can check out those monthly offerings, along with companion lists for kids' picks, bookgroup reads and much more by visiting:

Indiebound.org - The Indie Next List

There are social networks for almost any interest today, with reading and finding great new titles no exception.

Goodreads.com: At Goodreads, you can list, tag, rate and review the books you've read, check out what others are reading, compare your taste in books to other users, see additional content about authors and share your reading passion through Goodreads on Facebook or with widgets you can add to your blogs. Whew! Get the whole story with a tour of Goodreads' features.

Shelfari.com: Shelfari offers many similar features to Goodreads. Get details on what Shelfair has to offer.

Who better to tell you what you should dive into next than the readers who know you best? Your best friend who always has a novel stashed their bag or the cousin who runs a book group are great resources - they know books, they know you and they make great matchmakers.