How to Find Something Fun to Read: Resources @ University of Iowa
About this guide
Guide content supports the teaching and research goals of multiple departments on campus. Content represents a non-exhaustive selection of essential resources and tools for engaging a wide range of backgrounds and viewpoints.
General Tips for Finding Fun Books to Read
There are more than 5,000,000 books available to you through the University of Iowa Libraries! In this LibGuide, we want to help you find books that you'll truly enjoy both inside and outside of class.
The most useful tip for finding good books at the library is to simply ask a librarian! They're familiar with the collection and always ready to help with any sort of question. To contact them or learn more about them, go to the "Contact Us" library page here or simply type your question into the box below!
InfoHawk+
If you want to find a book (or anything at all!) in the UI Libraries, then you can use InfoHawk+ to find it! InfoHawk+ will search through our entire catalog, including some of our databases.
To learn more about how to use InfoHawk+, please look at this LibGuide as well.
General Structure of the Main Library
| Floor | Books (Library of Congress Classification Code* Ranges) |
|---|---|
| 2 | PS 3517 - Z |
| 3 | Journals & Magazines, Special Collections, University Archives, Theses & Dissertations |
| 4 | E - PS 3515, Folios F - Z |
| 5 | A - D, Folios A - F, Government Information |
* Library of Congress Classification codes are the call numbers that are placed on each library book's spine to allow people to find books on the bookshelves. Each combination of letters denotes a general subject, with the later letters and numbers marking its specific place in the library. To find a book in the library, match the first two letters of your desired book's call number to the table above, then look for the book's location within the alphabetically-organized bookshelves on the appropriate floor. To learn more about this system, please look at the official Library of Congress Classification codes here or watch the explanatory video below.
Online Resources
Book News and Reviews
People love to talk about books and what they think about them online. If you want to join in the conversation, check out the websites below!
- Literary Hub
- Literary fiction and non-fiction news and reviews
- Chicago Review of Books
- Book reviews, interviews, and essays with a focus on the Midwest/Chicago literary scene
- Publisher's Weekly
- A trade magazine for people that work with books such as publishers and librarians, with a focus on book reviews
- Physical versions of this magazine are available on the third floor in the Journals & Magazine section, which is organized alphabetically
- Words Without Borders
- Free online magazine dedicated to contemporary literature from around the world
- World Literature Today
- Similar to Words Without Borders in scope, but with a print magazine component as well
- This is also offered as a physical magazine on the third floor in the alphabetically-organized Journals & Magazines section
- The Nervous Breakdown
- Online literary magazine that contains excerpts, reviews, and interviews
- Electric Literature
- Literary publisher with a quarterly online magazine
- Also has two weekly literary magazines: Recommended Reading (excerpts) and The Commuter (flash fiction)
- Booklist
- Book reviews by librarians
- The Complete Review
- Since 1999, one man has continuously reviewed books online (he's up to 4500 as of January 2020)
- A lot of literary fiction, with a fondness for world/translated literature
Book Prizes
There are many, many book prizes out there for books of all types, from the most popular to the most niche. A sampling of such book prizes is below.
- Nobel Prize
- One of the most famous literature prizes in the world
- One person is chosen as the winner per year
- Pulitzer Prize
- A very prestigious prize in the United States
- Offers prizes for Fiction, General Non-fiction, History, Biography, and Poetry
- Booker Prize for Fiction
- Given to the best book in English published in the United Kingdom
- Previously known as the Man Booker Prize
- Also has a corresponding award for translated works, the International Booker Prize
- Goodreads Choice Awards
- Unique because it is awarded based on votes from Goodreads users
- Hugo Awards
- Best science fiction or fantasy books of the year
- Indies Choice Book Awards
- Voted on by independent bookstore owners in the United States
- National Translation Award
- Awarded to the best translated books of poetry and prose
- Pushcart Prize
- A yearly anthology with the best short stories, poems, and essays from small presses
Podcasts
Book-centered podcasts have flourished as the medium of podcasting itself has grown. Some examples are below.
- Literature and History
- A literature PhD takes you through the history of Anglophone literature from the very beginning (Cuneiform tablets) to modern times
- Ends every episode with a goofy song about the books he was discussing
- 3 Books
- A book lover asks people such as Judy Blume, Malcolm Gladwell, and David Sedaris about the 3 most important books in their lives
- Also has a list of every book mentioned on the show in case one sounded interesting to you
- LeVar Burton Reads
- Short stories read by LeVar Burton, the former host of Reading Rainbow
Publisher Catalogs
Publishers release catalogs of their upcoming titles to showcase their works and, frankly, create hype. If you're a fan of a certain publisher's output, look for their catalogs and see if there's anything you might be interested in coming out soon. Some example catalogs are below.
- Bloomsbury
- Famous for publishing the Harry Potter series
- Macmillan
- Notable imprints include Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) and Tor Books
- New Directions
- Large focus on translations
- Simon & Schuster
- One of the United States' "Big Five" publishers
Young Adult (YA) Books
In the Main Library
If you like Young Adult (YA) literature, there's a secret island of it on the second floor of the Main Library!
- From PZ 3.F4579 Pr 1944 cop.1 - PZ 90.K3 R35 2015 cop.1
- Some standouts in the collection include a small comics/manga section from PZ 7.5 W55 Gli 2010 cop.1 - PZ 7.7 Y934 Mar 2012 cop.1, and a number of children's books in various languages at the end of the section!
Online Resources
- American Library Association (ALA) Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Book Lists
- YALSA is a library organization dedicated to serving young adults, and to that end they have many yearly lists of the top YA books in various categories
- School Library Journal
- Every month they review current YA literature
- Full issues from 1974 to the present are available through the database Education Source Publications, available through the University Libraries' A-Z Database List and from this link!
- Here is a link to the reviews section on their website!
- Every month they review current YA literature
Poetry
In the Main Library
The University of Iowa has one of the world's largest collections of concrete and visual poetry in the Sackner Archive in Special Collections on the third floor. The collection is currently preparing to open later in January. To learn more about it, and see some of its treasures, please read this blog post!
Other poetry in the Main Library is split between the second and fourth floors.
- From P - PS (fourth floor) - PS - PZ (second floor)
- To better find whatever type of poetry you're looking for, please look through this list (try using CTRL + F "poetry") and go to the call number location provided in the Main Library
If you're interested in contemporary poetry, there are also many physical literary journals in the library! Browse the third floor's Journals & Magazines section, which is organized alphabetically according to the name of the publication, and see what's there. A few example journals are below.
- Poetry (InfoHawk+ link)
- The library also provides online access to this journal here!
- Poetry Review (InfoHawk+ link)
Online Resources
- Poets
- Site for the American Academy of Poets and National Poetry Month (every April!)
- Can search by poem, poet, or general theme
- Poetry
- From the Poetry Foundation, which also publishes Poetry
- Below is their general website and podcast RSS feed. Please take a look!
Fiction
In the Main Library
If you want to physically browse the literature and books about literature available in the library, they're going to be on the second and fourth floors.
- From PN - PZ
- Specifically, PN 1.A3 v.10-11 1968-1969 (fourth floor) - PZ 90.K3 R35 2015 cop.1 (second floor)
There are also many publications available in the library that have book reviews that you can use to find interesting books. Because the publications are rather large, they are in an oversize section on the third floor next to Faculty Study Room 3134 (visible here on a map of the library's floor plan, under the Math Journals section on the third floor).
- Times Literary Supplement
- Based in London
- The library provides online access to this as well through the Factiva database
- New York Times Book Review
- Released weekly, both as a separate publication and as an included part of the Sunday New York Times
- The library offers free access to the online version of the New York Times to University of Iowa students and staff, which includes access to the New York Times Review of Books! To sign up, click here!
- Released weekly, both as a separate publication and as an included part of the Sunday New York Times
Online Resources
When you find a book you like, be sure to search for more information about its publisher because they've usually published similar work before! To get a better idea of the literary landscape, here are some publishers and their specialties.
- Basic Books - Non-fiction, science, history
- Brash Books - Crime fiction, mysteries, thrillers
- New York Review of Books (NYRB) Classics - Translations of rediscovered classics
- Tor Books - Science fiction, fantasy
- Cardboard House Press - Bilingual translations of Spanish literature from Latin America and Spain
- Some of their books have handmade cardboard covers
Graphic Novels / Manga
In the Main Library
If you like graphic novels and manga, there are wonderful collections of both on the fourth floor of the Main Library!
- From PN 6525.W65D7 2019 cop. 1 - PN 6790.V43P63 2016 cop. 1
- There is a manga section within the above, as well as a sizeable collection of comics in Spanish and other languages near the end of the section
Online Resources
Awards
- American Library Association (ALA) Eisner Awards
- Named after graphic novel pioneer Will Eisner, these yearly awards are given to the best comics in various categories
- American Library Association (ALA) Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Great Graphic Novel Lists
- Just as they do with Young Adult (YA) literature, YALSA also releases yearly lists of recommended graphic novels for teens
- Harvey Awards
- Yearly awards chosen by comic book industry professionals
News
- Publisher's Weekly
- As one of the most prominent publishing industry publications, it covers comics/graphic novels extensively
Non-Fiction
In the Main Library
If you like non-fiction writing, you're in luck because most of the library's collection is non-fiction! Honestly, one of the best ways to orient yourself in our gigantic collection is through the Library of Congress' resources.
- Here is a link to the Library of Congress' Classification system, which organizes all of the books of the University of Iowa Libraries
- Please click on the general subject you are interested in, and keep clicking on and searching through the more specific subject links until you find the classification code of your desired subject
- Look for your desired classification code on our shelves to see what we have
- For help with this, look at "General Structure of the Main Library" in the above box
- If you have any questions at all, a librarian would be happy to help you find something as well!
Online Resources
- New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year
- Every year, the New York Times publishes a list of 100 great books organized into categories such as fiction, poetry, etc.
- They have categories that cover non-fiction genres such as general non-fiction and memoir
- Longreads
- A website that spotlights longform non-fiction articles from around the web. Great for finding non-fiction authors!
- Longform