Read-Alikes

Have you had an opportunity yet to join the community by reading this year's Silicon Valley Reads book: Brian Copeland's Not A Genuine Black Man?

Would you like to explore other books that are similar to Not A Genuine Black Man?

Well, you're in luck because the staff at the Palo Alto City Library has put together a display of books with similar themes, also known as "read-alikes." You can browse this display in person at the Main library, or you can visit the booklist online. The online booklist even links right into the library's catalog to connect you with any of the books you find interesting.

After I've read a book that has made an impression upon me, I love to discover similar books. The library is a great place for discovering these "read-alikes." We have many free resources to aid in finding your next good read.

Here are just a few of my favorites, with some ideas about how to use these resources to find "read-alikes" using the example of Not a Genuine Black Man:

If you enjoy browsing through books, explore the print resources available in the Reference collection for use inside the library. Try the "What Do I Read Next?" series, for example. You might browse through What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature for expert guidance in identifying other titles or authors of African American Literature, after reading about Brian Copeland's experiences as an African American.

Another wonderful book helps you find nonfiction recommendations: The Real Story: A Guide to Nonfiction Reading Interests. After reading Brian Copeland's autobiography, you might use The Real Story to find recommendations for other people's life stories or biographies.

The library also provides access to some great online resources for finding your next book. Check out our "Resources Online," in the library or at home, to get a listing of what's available to you with your library card.

My go-to online resource for finding fiction is Novelist. If you want to find fiction that ties into the themes of Not a Genuine Black Man, you might search for subjects like "Africans-Americans," "race relations," or "prejudice." If you particularly like historical fiction, you could narrow your results to only include those titles. You can find Novelist from the library's website under "Resources Online," listed within the subject "Literature, Reading & Music." Have your library card handy so you can access this powerful tool!

Last, but not least, you can come on in to the library in person and ask a librarian for recommendations. Check the Library Branches webpage for the location and hours of the branch most convenient for you.

2008 Year-End Zeitgeist

As we get to the end of the year, it's interesting to take a moment to reflect upon what people wanted to know about over the past year. Each year Google brings us a fascinating peek into the billions of searches performed through their search box in the past year. They publish the highlights as a glimpse into the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times.

2008 Year-End Google Zeitgeist

This end-of-year compilation offers a look at the fastest rising global searches--the most popular searches in 2008 based on their increase in frequency compared to 2007. Once you've looked at the global perspective, you can also see what's been most popular by country. While "sarah palin" and "beijing 2008" topped the global lists, people in the United States searched more frequently for information about "obama" and "facebook," with "palin" and "beijing 2008" coming in at #7 and #8 respectively.

Those of us who are interested in libraries are sure to be curious about the fastest rising U.S. Google Book Search list, in particular. Perhaps not surprisingly, the #1 book search of 2008 was the fourth and final book in the bestselling teen Twilight series, Breaking Dawn. You can get your hands on this highly popular book in either print or audio (CD or downloadable file for PC) format through the Palo Alto City Library catalog.

You might be wondering, what about more local interests? What's been hot in the Palo Alto City Library book collection? How do our local reading interests compare to national trends? We too can take a peek into the "spirit of the times" right here in our own community by looking back at the most circulated books in our collection:

• Non-Fiction - The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch



• Fiction - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows



• Mystery - The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith



• Science Fiction & Fantasy - The Host by Stephenie Meyer



• Young Adult - Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Want to keep up with what's hot in the collection as we head into 2009?

Click on the "Bestsellers and Other Lists" menu option across the top of the library catalog.
It's an easy way to find out about the latest additions to the library collection and the weekly San Francisco Chronicle Bay Area Bestsellers lists.
These are popular titles, so request early!

Short List of Best Books

This short list of "Best Books" has some interesting titles. For example, would you put "A Year in Provence" on your top 110 book list? The comments that follow the list are entertaining as well.