While You Wait

We’ve all felt the excitement of reading a review or being recommended a book that just calls to us, and then felt that thrill be washed away by a tide of disappointment as we realize this wondrous tome was calling to a lot of other people, too. People who got to it first, meaning that you might have to wait a while to read it.

We’ve got some good news for you though: you won’t be waiting with nothing to read. In fact, you’re about to jump down a rabbit hole full of brand-new reads.

That’s because if you ever find a book in our online catalog when all of our copies are currently in use, you’ll notice a clickable button with a red clock and red text that says, “while you wait”. Clicking on that button opens up a window with the thumbnail images of several recommended books that are similar to the author and/or genre you’re looking for. It also tells you if any of those books are available. Go ahead, click on one. You might discover a new favorite author. 

Clicking takes you to the record for that particular book where you can read a full description of it. Once you’ve done that, scroll down the page, because the opportunity to discover new authors and books is not over. As you scroll down, you’ll be able to see if this particular book is mentioned on a list, which can be a great way to find other books on similar topics or themes. You might see a “you may also like” section with clickable thumbnails of books, and a “view all recommendations” button.

If you’d like to explore similar works by a certain author, there may also be a “related titles” section with more clickable thumbnails, as well as a “similar authors” section. If the book is part of a series, you’ll also see a section with other titles in the series for easy navigation.

If you find and peruse a linked booklist and discover a new favorite book, make note of the list’s creator. They may be a good source of future reads, if you follow them. To follow, click on the name in the top left corner of the list. This is the username of the person who created it. Clicking on it takes you to other lists they’ve created, and in the top left corner there will be an option to follow this person and be alerted when they create new content, if you choose.