Over at the Guardian, Alison Flood is vexed by a question common to voracious readers, “What is the title of that book?” You know, that book you read ages ago, as a child, whose plot you can vaguely describe and the cover was blue—or wait, no—green. Typing those few, and possibly mistaken, details into Google won’t produce any viable results.
Last week, Theresa Breslin appealed to Guardian readers, asking for their help in remembering one of her favorite books on the Spanish Inquisition. She received an enthusiastic response (though they’re still looking). Similarily inspired, Flood and other Guardian writers are now enlisting their readership to help find the titles of their forgotten childhood favorites. If a book about post-apocalyptic London or a series centered around a chubby bookshop owner rings a bell, be sure to pipe in.
For those of you tossing and turning at night over that elusive book, don’t fret. You may find your answer somewhere on the Internet (even if you don’t write for the Guardian). Head over to Book Sleuth, a forum where readers can share their literary conundrums and solve other’s. If that doesn’t pan out, try LibraryThing’s Name that Book group, where by including some very basic information (fiction, nonfiction, the plot, when you read the book), you’ll be given some leads. Hopefully a kindred spirit will point you to that long-awaited re-read.