How to find a good read

New and popular books

Get the top titles in our libraries, including this week's top 10 bestsellers, new books for reading groups and local studies, and books featured on TV or cinema.

• Top 10 books
• Ebooks and audiobooks – recently added titles
• New audiobooks on CD
• Books for reading groups
• New local studies books

Find the most popular books across the UK on the following websites:

• Bookseller website
  Top fiction and non-fiction titles and the 50 bestselling books.
• Public Lending Right – national library borrowing figures
  Annual lists of the most popular writers and books in UK libraries, including adult, children's and classic authors and titles.

Themed booklists

Suggestions for books recommended by our librarians and national events such as World Book Day and Black History Month.

• Book of the week
• Book of the month
• British Black and Asian writers
• Children's books
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender books
• Local history books and collections
• Refugee stories
• Self-help books for adults – the ‘books on prescription' scheme
• Self-help books for young people and families
• Famous Sussex authors
• TV Book Club
• World Book Day – quick reads
• World Book Night

Whichbook.net

A unique way of choosing what to read – play with the sliding scales for mood, plot, location and more.

• Whichbook website

Reading groups

Join a reading group or book club and try something different from your usual books. We have sets of books specially recommended for groups to discuss.

• Reading groups

Prize-winning books

Find winning titles from a comprehensive list of awards.

• East Sussex children's book award
• Booktrust – national awards

Book review websites

• Amazon.co.uk
  Good for reviews by readers and for listing similar books by genre.
• Books on the BBC: free your imagination
  During 2011 celebrate books in all their forms with a major season of programmes on BBC television and radio.
• BBC Bookclub
  Discussions with authors and their readers on the radio and BBC iPlayer.
• BBC Open Book
  Best new fiction and non-fiction, talking to authors and publishers and unearthing lost classics.
• Bloomsbury
  Publisher's website with features on authors, blogs and latest releases.
• Bookcrossing.com
  Register your books then set them free for someone else to find. Also has a good range of reviews.
• Bookseller website
  Bookseller magazine reviews new books – it is available at libraries in Eastbourne, Hastings and Lewes, as well as online.
• Guardian books
  Book news and reader reviews.
• Fantastic Fiction
  Bibliographies of over 30,000 authors and over 350,000 books with titles listed in publication order and series order. Search by series to find all titles in a series including those by different authors, such as Dr Who books.
• Goodreads
  Thousands of book reviews and lists, such as ‘best books ever' or ‘worst books of all time' on which users vote. You can also keep track of books you have read or want to read.
• Library Thing
  Offers readers the chance to create your own personal catalogue of books and interact with other readers who have done the same thing.
• Lovereading.co.uk
  Guidance and personalised newsletters to help you find your next book.
• Penguin
  Lots of book news, author interviews and readers' group section.
• Waterstones
  New books, bestsellers, and books by category.
• Mail Online – You Reading Group
  Reviews and author interviews on lots of popular titles, from the Mail on Sunday's You magazine.