Do you ever need to find the next book in a series? A series is two or more books linked by character(s), settings, or other common traits. Or maybe you wonder, in what order a book series should be read? Check out these websites!
What’s Next in Series aka KDL’s What’s Next : I love this website. It is a free service provided by the Kent District Library in Michigan. It is an online version of their book by the same name that they publish and sell. But the website is free and unrestricted, as far as I can tell.
- How to Search. There are several search bars that you can fill with information such as: author’s last name, author’s first name, series title, book title, category, or genre. Fill in as much as you know, or just one search bar. The database will do the rest! After hitting the “Search” button, it generates a result list. Each result lists the author by the last name first, and has a plus sign next to the name. Clicking the plus sign will reveal the serie(s) written by this author. There will also be a plus sign next to each serie’s name; clicking on this plus sign reveals the titles, in order, that belong to the series. You may print out the list of books in a series with a “Printer Friendly” version available as a popup, with a link located to the right of the list.
- Example. I typed in the name “Jordan” in the author’s last name search bar, and hit enter. The results listed 11 authors with this last name. I click on the plus sign next to “Jordan, Robert.” There are three series written by this author. I clicked on the first (listed alphabetically) to see the titles of the books and what order they should be read in.
Fantastic Fiction : This website is maintained by Fantastic Fiction Limited, a small family-run company based in Lancashire, UK. It contains bibliographies for over 30,000 authors and information on over 350,000 books.
- How to Search. Use the browse menu on the left by clicking on a letter to find an author by surname, or use the search boxes on the right to search for an author or book.Throughout the site, just click on a book to see its cover picture, description and publication details.
- Example. I used the search bar on the right to find information on David Baldacci. The results gave me a picture of him, a biography, new books listed, as well as a list of his books that can be grouped by series, and also stand-alone books, novellas, a link to his website, and a collection of books recommended by him.
Juvenile Series & Sequels : This database is from the excellent Mid-Continent Library in MO. This database is updated frequently, by Boardwalk branch staff, with new series and titles added as they are published. The ‘Juvenile Series and Sequels’ database contains over 28,000 books in 3,700 series titles that are classified into three audiences according to age and reading level: Juvenile Easy (JE) – for birth through 2nd grade readers, Juvenile (J) – for 2nd through 6th grade readers, and Young Adult (YA) – for 6th through 12th grade readers.
- How to Search. You can view the information by clicking on the categories in the middle of the page: Series Title, Series Subject, Book Title, or Book Author. There is no search bar in this database. You must find the information by browsing by alphabet letter or topic. I think this could be a good resource for locating books by topic for a book display!
- Example. I clicked on “Series Subject” and was redirected to a new page with all sorts of topics arranged alphabetically. I chose “Japan.” This choice redirected me to a new page with about 12 books listed. The series title was listed and it reading level/age was posted next to it. I chose “Hero’s Quest” that had a J reading level. Again, I was redirected to a new page that listed the three books in this series by Tracey West.
Baka-Updates Manga : MangaUpdates (also known as Baka-Updates Manga) is a site dedicated to bringing the manga community (and by extension the manhwa, manhua, etc, communities) the latest scanlation and series information. It is fan based and run. The information can change quickly. A manga title may have several hundred chapters and dozens of volumes.
- How to Search. The website is kind of busy looking. Focus on the choices on the right hand part of the screen, at least when you begin. There is a search bar at the top right of the screen. This is how I prefer to find information on this website. However, you can also browse information by clicking on “Series Info,” “Mangaka” (which means artist/author), or “Genres.” Whether you use the search bar or choose to browse, you will be redirected to a new page that lists results. You will need to read the list carefully, because a series is often listed multiple times with small variations. Choose the title that best matches what you’re looking for. That is, if a title is listed ten times, but the top one listed is spelled correctly and has the highest number of chapters listed, that’s probably the one you want to click on.
- Example. I chose to use the search bar and typed in the manga “Skip Beat.” I got a results list with about fifteen titles that seemed exactly the same, except that they listed different amounts of chapters completed. I chose the one at the top and was redirected to a page that listed information about the manga. For example, “Skip Beat” is written and drawn by Nakamura Yoshiki, was began in 2002, and has a average rating of 9 out of 10 by users. Its status in its country of origin in unfinished and pending at 29 volumes. It is listed in the genres of romance, comedy, shoujo, slice of life, and supernatural. The manga info page even has recommendations of other manga that readers might enjoy.
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