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Fiction Reading Guides Free – Best Reading Guide Books PDF

Fiction Reading Guides Free - Best Reading Guide Books PDF

Reading guides for fiction free online. These include the best reading pdf guide books for many fiction genres, for adults and students. Also here are sections with vintage reading guides for fiction and historical fiction, which you can download. Finally, there are bibliographies for authors and novels.

Bibliographies of Novels and Fiction Authors

Best Fiction Reading Guide Books

CORE BOOKS -Reading Guides for Popular Fiction

What Do I Read Next?: A Reader’s Guide to Current Genre Fiction (1991-2015 editions)

Barron, Neil et al.
Gale Research 1991-2015

By identifying similarities in various books, this annual selection guide aims to help readers to independently choose titles of interest published in the last year. The earlier editions contain the genres of fantasy, western, romance, horror, mystery, science fiction. Later editions also contain genres of inspirational, historical, and popular fiction. Each entry includes a summary paragraph, other books by the same author, and other ‘books you might like’. Also time period, locale and some other info.


Anatomy of Wonder 4: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction

Barron, Neil
Bowker 1995

Reference books for Sci-Fi in all forms of media. This edition features:
– Concise summaries and evaluations for more than 3,000 SF titles published from the genre’s beginning through today.
– Listings of films based on SF novels and short stories
– Guidance to books on video and audio tape
– Chapters entirely devoted to SF magazines, comics and art.


What Western Do I Read Next? A Reader’s Guide to Recent Western Fiction

Barton, Wayne
Gale Research 1998

By identifying similarities in various books, this annual selection guide aims to help readers to independently choose titles of interest published in the last year. For each title of a western book there is a summary description and recommendations for similar books. Several indexes enable searches by series, time period, location, author and more.


The Checklist of Science-fiction and Supernatural Fiction

Bleiler, Everett F.
Firebell 1978

This books provides a total of about 5,600 books, with descriptions. More than 90 different subject categories are used to help identify the exact genre of each book.


A Year of Reading: A Month-by-Month Guide to Classics and Crowd-Pleasers for You and Your Book Group

Ellington, Elisabeth and Freimiller, Jane
Sourcebooks 2002

Helps you find just the right read, and includes fun and interactive subcategories for each choice, including:
• Description and history
• Extra credit
• Did You Know?
• Have You Seen the Film?
• and more!
A Year of Reading also gives advice and tips on how to join or start a book group, and where to look for other reading recommendations.


The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction

Forshaw, Barry
Rough Guides 2007

The insider’s book recommends over 200 classic crime novels from masterminds Raymond Chandler and Patricia Highsmith to modern hotshots James Elroy and Patricia Cornwall. You’ll investigate gumshoes, spies, spooks, serial killers, forensic females, prying priests and patsies from the past, present, and future. Complete with extra information on what to read next, all movie adaptions …


The Cambridge Companion to Popular Fiction

Glover, David and McCracken, Scott
Cambridge University 2012

This Companion covers the major developments in the history of popular fiction, with specially commissioned chapters on pulp fiction, bestsellers, and comics and graphic narratives.


Now Read On … A Guide to Contemporary Popular Fiction

Hicken, Mandy and Prytherch, Ray
Scolar 1994

Organized into chapters of 20 popular genres, the authors provide a profile of each of several popular authors in the genre, with a list of their books. Genres are: Adventure stories, Country life, Detective stories, Family stories, Fantasies, Foreign locations, Glitz, Gothic romances, Historical novels, Horror stories, Humorous novels, ‘Perceptive’ women’s novels, Police work, The saga, Science fiction, Sea stories, Spy stories, Thrillers, War stories, Women detectives.


Sequels: An Annotated Guide to Novels in Series

Husband, Janet G. and Husband, Jonathan P.
American Library Association 1997

Sequels, the most popular and long-lasting guide to novels in series, returns with greatly expanded series listings. Mysteries continue to be a mainstay, with fantasy, science fiction, and romance listings, plus non-genre fiction selections from authors such as Edward Abbey and Lawrence Durrell. The authors have carefully sifted through a growing group of series to select those most likely to be available in a medium-sized public library, weeding out esoteric, obscure, and less popular series. This classic reference includes hundreds of annotated series, title and subject indexes, and suggestions for reading order.


See our African American novels pdf


Library Research Guide (LibGuide) – Free Fantasy Books PDF

This research guide from the librarians at San Antonio Public Library provides a list of recommended authors and books in each of about 10 Fantasy sub-genres. You can use the search bar (title) at Open Library to look for free online copies of the books at the Internet Archive.


World Historical Fiction Guide

an annotated chronological, geographical and topical list of selected historical novels

McGarry, Daniel D.
Scarecrow 1973

This work is designed primarily for adults and students in high schools and universities, but books for junior high level are also included and marked “YA” (Young Adult). The compilers were selective, and included, wherever possible, only high quality works in terms of literary excellence, readability and historical value.


Fiction Core Collection (2014 Edition)

2010 Edition

2001 Edition

Miller, Eve-Marie, et al.
Wilson 2014

Wilson’s Fiction Core Collection recommends novels, novellas, and story collections for the general adult audience. It is an 1,800 page guide to over 8,000 books, plus review sources. Each book is described.


Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels – Fantasy PDF Free Books

Pringle, David
Bedrick 1989

You can use the search bar (title) at Open Library to look for free online copies of the books at the Internet Archive. https://centurypast.org/how-to-search-internet-archive/


Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature: A Checklist, 1700-1974; Vol 1 – Indexes to the Literature

Vol 2 – Contemporary Science Fiction Authors

Reginald, R.
Gale Research 1979

Volume 1 contains an author index of nearly 600 pages listing each author’s published books, followed by shorter indexes arranged by title, series, awards, and an “Ace and Belmont Doubles” index.
Volume 2 has two parts. The first part consists of biographical profiles of contemporary science fiction writers, and the second part is a ‘Pictorial History of Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing’.


Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975-1991

A Bibliography of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Fiction Books and Nonfiction Monographs

Reginald, R.
Gale Research 1992

An update to the 1979 volumes by the same author (above).


500 Great Books for Teens

Silvey, Anita
Houghton Mifflin 2006

Anita Silvey, one of the country’s leading authorities on books for young people, has interviewed teenage readers all over the country and immersed herself in young-adult books, with an emphasis on books published in the last five years. The result is this invaluable and very readable guide for parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, reading groups, and of course teens themselves.
With its extended essays describing 500 selections, parents will quickly see what their teenagers are actually reading — and will be able to find good books to introduce them to.


Reading Guides for Fiction PDF – Vintage Guides to Vintage Fiction

VINTAGE BOOKS – Popular Fiction Reading Guides

A Guide to Historical Fiction

Baker, Ernest Albert
Routledge 1914

Vintage novels, published before 1914. Lists about five thousand novels which in any way portray the life of the past, including medieval romances and novels of manners, as well as avowedly historical novels. The arrangement is first by country and then chronologically by the historical period illustrated. Brief descriptive notes and a full index. The best and most comprehensive list yet published.
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.


A Guide to British Historical Fiction

Buckley, John Anthony and Williams, W. T.,
Harrap 1912

Vintage books, published before 1912. “The list, which is representative and not exhaustive, has been compiled with a view to illustrating every phase of British History to which reference is usually made in an ordinary School course.”- from the Forward.


European War Fiction in English and Personal Narratives; Bibliographies

Dawson, Loleta and Hunting, Marion Davis
Faxon 1921

Vintage novels, published before 1921. Part 1 contains 320 briefly annotated works of fiction; all are about World War I and set primarily between August 1914 and November 1918. They are organized by country. At the end of Part 1 is an index by author. As copyrights have expired on nearly all these books, it should be possible to find many of them via a title search at Archive.org or HathiTrust.org.

Part 2 is a bibliography of personal narratives of the war. All items are briefly annotated, and only those narratives considered by the compiler to have lasting value were included. There appear to be at least 400 books and articles in Part 2.


Translations of Foreign Novels; a Selected List (Useful references series)

Grimm, Minerva Ethel
Boston Book Club 1917

Vintage novels, published before 1917. Selected list of translations from eighteen different languages, arranged alphabetically by author and also by title. Nearly 1,100 novels are included.
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.


See our Thrillers PDF


A Thousand of the Best Novels

Newark, N. J. Free public library
Newark 1919

Vintage novels, published before 1919. “An excellent list in which the chief factors of selection have been: to add books with positive literary merit and yet popular interest; to include contemporary and American action.”- A.L.A. Catalog 1926.


Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales

Nield, Jonathan
Putnam 1925

Vintage novels, published before 1925. “Contains virtually all the historical novels in the English language or which have been translated into English, classified according to period treated, and arranged in columns under title, author and publisher, and subject. Juvenile and especially good books are indicated. No notes. Several bibliographies and author and title indexes.”- A.L.A. Catalog 1926.


Fiction Catalog: A Complete List Cataloged by Author and Title with Annotations

H.W. Wilson Co.
H.W. Wilson 1911

Vintage novels, published before 1911. According to the Preface, this volume is intended to list the 2,000 best works of fiction of all time. The list is based on a number of publications and lists of best fiction, which are identified in the Preface. Many entries contain very brief descriptions or excerpts from reviews.


Standard Catalog: Fiction Section

Wilson, H.W.; Bacon, Corinne, comp.
Wilson 1923

Vintage novels, published before 1923. Lists 2,350 of the best novels for the average public library. 750 titles have been starred for first purchase by smaller libraries. Collections of short stories are included and all are arranged in one author and title alphabet with annotations. – A.L.A. Catalog 1926.

Free Reading Guides to Vintage Historical Fiction

VINTAGE BOOKS – Historical Fiction Reading Guides

A Guide to Historical Fiction

Baker, Ernest Albert
Routledge 1914

Lists about five thousand novels which in any way portray the life of the past, including medieval romances and novels of manners, as well as avowedly historical novels. The arrangement is first by country and then chronologically by the historical period illustrated. Brief descriptive notes and a full index. The best and most comprehensive list yet published.
— American Library Association Catalog 1926. English historical novels pdf free download.


A Guide to British Historical Fiction

Buckley, John Anthony and Williams, W. T.,
Harrap 1912

“The list, which is representative and not exhaustive, has been compiled with a view to illustrating every phase of British History to which reference is usually made in an ordinary School course.”- from the Forward. Historical novels pdf Great Britain.


European War Fiction in English and Personal Narratives; Bibliographies

Dawson, Loleta and Hunting, Marion Davis
Faxon 1921

Part 1 contains 320 briefly annotated works of fiction; all are about World War I and set primarily between August 1914 and November 1918. They are organized by country. At the end of Part 1 is an index by author.

Part 2 is a bibliography of personal narratives of the war. All items are briefly annotated, and only those narratives considered by the compiler to have lasting value were included. There appear to be at least 400 books and articles in Part 2. Historical fiction WWI. English historical novels pdf free download.


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Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales

Nield, Jonathan
Putnam 1925

Contains virtually all the historical novels in the English language or which have been translated into English, classified according to period treated, and arranged in columns under title, author and publisher, and subject. Juvenile and especially good books are indicated. No notes. Several bibliographies and author and title indexes.- American Library Association. Catalog 1926.

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