What is this book series?

This happens to me (and lots of other posters here) all of the time, and it is so frustrating. Left with a vague sense of plot and sometimes a rough picture of the cover in our heads, we try to find long lost books from our past. We meet with limited success. Let me just say, I check every single "what book is this" question I see on Y!A, but I seldom know the answer. Unfortunately, I don't know your book either. But I don't want to leave you high and dry...I still want to help. So here are some other ways to locate books you only have a description for, besides posting here.

You can search the key words of the description, or themes ("books about fighting to the death", "books about slaying dragons", "books about sailing", etc.), lines and dialogue from the book, or character names if you remember them. Google Books advanced search allows you to search with filters such as subject, publisher, language, etc. Anything you remember could be helpful.

Surprisingly enough, Amazon.com is a great place to search. Considering that they carry so many books, your book is likely to be in their datatbase. And their search engine has an automatic function called "Search inside" which takes the keywords in your query and searches for those keywords inside the text of each and every book in their database. If I search "Boy lightening bolt scar" it pulls up Harry Potter related paraphernalia, and if I search "magic world in wardrobe" the Chronicles of Narnia comes up. Then you can click on one specific book and take the search even deeper inside just that one book, and the search engine will tell you how many times and on what pages your keywords can be found. Amazon's advanced search option is similar to Google’s advanced book search, but with Amazon's advanced search option you get a lot more additional filters like Reader Age and Publication Date. It really is a great search engine.

Similar advanced search option could also be found at websites like Barnes & Noble, Biblio or W.H Smith.

There are other websites to ask on besides Y!A, such as Askville, Answerbag, or Answers

There are also websites devoted entirely to reuniting people with long lost books. For example, you could try: http://whatwasthatbook.livejournal.com/ Another forum where you can question the communtiy about your book.

Or http://www.bookfinder.com/?mode=advanced%E2%80%A6 The advanced function on this website allows you to search by keyword.

Your local library can be a helpful resource, and often if you describe a book a librarian can help you find it.

Good luck finding your book!

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