One of my favorite groups on LibraryThing is “Name That Book“. It falls squarely in the realm of “useful tools for readers”. Basically, they help you find books that you remember reading, but can’t remember the title, author, etc. The discussions are filled with hazy plots, fuzzy cover descriptions, names “that sounds like…”, etc. as people try and zero in on the elusive book title.

It’s amazing how fun the conversations can get when everyone is Googling, searching their shelves and racking their brains to help find the answer to a missing book query. Sort of like a bookish party game with 1,000 people playing.

So if you ever find yourself looking for a book from the mid-80’s about a time-travelling Congressional Page and his dog, give the helpful folks in the LT Name That Book group a chance. Many times the group-think carries the day and if you’re lucky you’ll bump into more books that you might enjoy.

If you’re not up for the discussions and want to cast a larger net, the Library of Congress also has a site set up to help people in their quest for Lost Novels. The page has links to many sites and groups all organized to help reconnect readers with forgotten books. Some of the sites are better than others, but the tips they offer are pretty universal and are worth reading no matter where you look for help.