How to Find a Book From a Vague Description

Situations like these are one of the reasons I always encourage readers to track their reading, whether in a handwritten journal or in a database that gives automatic reading stats.

If you keep a written record of the books you read and your thoughts about them, it is easy to look back and find that one book you loved but just can’t remember the name of at the moment. Learn more

So what can we do now? How can we find a book by description of plot points that you remember? Here are 11 tips for how to find a book title from a description!

Ask Google

[{"selector":"#anim-2411f285-b31c-4e74-85f7-6b40e48415b6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-66350871-1b2e-403b-a769-6f26d42acbd0","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -1043.38578%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-868665cf-61a9-486e-bf21-44a0b696f90e","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-73565d0d-0fcc-402c-a7f2-623add8881ff","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-5416619d-4dba-44cf-a7d2-c2aa61a652d1","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-25bcdcae-80f8-4942-a8f2-7ce4af23675f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b17ac5ae-5da1-46ca-84a4-0c1548314bc3","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -618.02458%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] You’d be surprised how much information you can find when you include all the little details you remember! Learn more

Try Google’s Advanced Book Search

[{"selector":"#anim-64ae0971-d0eb-4d40-a4cd-78369f09c842","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2c6dfcd8-77f4-4c9d-8dd6-f4e63363a465","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -476.68855%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a3ce4fe4-a559-40b2-9637-6738ada1805c","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-7b603587-f35d-4ce3-a63a-717be00581ff","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-b1e2c932-c045-45d7-8fa3-40705f21e5dc","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-226ee00f-b44a-4627-a14b-968d3b49c180","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e95e4fa6-2cc0-4b79-a545-964e30c80e44","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -736.07662%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] This advanced search allows you to input all sorts of specific information (which you may or may not have, depending on what you remember). Learn more

Check Amazon’s Product Database

[{"selector":"#anim-46f0078c-2b37-439b-9381-65456a119a8c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d82e4bb1-165e-46a8-816d-29349bc70a4e","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -669.88719%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0ae15d63-0ffc-4bee-85cb-ab7200f9653f","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-dc5174ac-3548-4972-8522-4359bb479d01","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-a66ff43a-8a7b-4435-b020-4900bc38b3c3","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-8a05c507-f172-4c80-8a83-a5337ec5ae73","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c50acd58-fe88-493a-b994-834b338475b2","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -887.45539%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] As such a large retailer, Amazon’s book database has a high likelihood of containing the book you’re looking for. Learn more

Search on WorldCat

[{"selector":"#anim-cf14e82d-580c-4fc0-bbbc-9463a4541959","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e67599ff-3f56-4c36-93dc-3fb464c25303","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -701.90952%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-994c60fe-2ca3-47ba-b87c-dd6849528861","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-020c8249-63c9-4d48-9a9f-5c6bfafc8444","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-3ade171c-925c-4820-b2bb-a4f091e23e45","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-caf7d97c-4386-458a-af4b-289091c2d79a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d29d8720-05ea-406e-9bc9-e406c79c627c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -765.58617%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] WorldCat is a collective catalog of books from more than 15,000 libraries in over 120 countries, so there’s a 99.99% chance that the book you want is in there. Learn more

Try the Library of Congress

[{"selector":"#anim-16fa0169-dd3a-4f36-a2ef-50f7342ac307","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-97bdfa90-920c-45fd-afb7-737c102db204","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -779.33733%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-de9a29c7-a756-4c42-84e5-1adf898783c3","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-0dde5616-e06b-458c-8bad-e5768379fbe7","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-601e7f9b-50af-4e49-84d5-8625324033e9","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-0e5abed8-5783-4e80-9f38-e04ba184a9b5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bf096a9c-08f2-41a2-a8f5-bb7ae779cc39","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -680.5211%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The Library of Congress, the world's largest library, is a definite go-to if you're searching for a book without a title or author. Learn more