Who Else Writes Like?… A Readers' Guide to Fiction Authors (5th ed.)

Citation

Kowarsky, T. (2006), "Who Else Writes Like?… A Readers' Guide to Fiction Authors (5th ed.)", Library Management, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 191-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120610652932

In the 1980s I worked on the reference desk of a large and busy city public library. The reference question I found the most difficult was, “who else writes like  … ” Often, we were asked to recommend a “good” book. There was a book that was kept at the reference desk, and I recall that each page had a different author headed by “If you liked…you may also like …” It was a small publication, with only best selling authors listed. It was invaluable for answering these sorts of questions.

“Who else writes like … ” is in its 5th edition. Published and distributed by LISU, Loughborough University, with the first edition in 1993, it is a sequel to Peter Mann's “A readers' guide to fiction authors”, 1985. It has been published every three years since 1993.

The current edition reflects all the benefits there are publishing from databases. The layout is very clear and attractive. Information is included for each author such as author date of birth (and death), nationality, web addresses, pseudonyms, literary awards, genres, and characters in the book, e.g. detective names.

Indexes include Genres, Characters and Series, and Literary Prizes and Awards. The awards are from UK Awards, and are dated from 1990 in this edition. Most include 2004 or even up to 2005 winners, but quite a few only list winners to 2003.

The genres index is extensive and there are further subdivisions within the larger genres. There are some interesting genre. I was amused by “Aga Saga” – luckily there are Scope Notes – “Aga Sagas are novels based upon the middle‐class surroundings of the type of person that typically owns an Aga cooker.” Some of the popular genres are further subdivided, e.g. thrillers, crime, and fantasy – and historical crime is further subdivided into century. There is also Chick Lit and Lad Lit. Western as a genre is not represented, perhaps reflecting a British bias.

There are a lot of authors indexed. A rough estimate showed there must be approximately 1,600, with over 40 nationalities represented. Australian authors are well represented. You would expect Peter Carey, Thomas Keneally and Elizabeth Jolley, but there is also popular children's author Garth Nix, and a favourite with the boys at this school, Mathew Reilly.

Popular children's author JK Rowling is also represented, and Eoin Colfer but interestingly, Roald Dahl isn't.

But are the authors suggested a good selection? I asked several colleagues who are avid readers, and there was agreement about the selection. The authors are chosen from similar genre, and also similar intellectual level.

An essential tool for Public Libraries, and also valuable for school libraries. Anything else… oh yes, I loved the bright colourful cover.