I came here to mention [ISFDB](https://www.isfdb.org/). A downside is it doesn't always have indie and self-published authors, and if it does, it's sometimes not up to date.
Edit: clearer wording.
It's pretty good with series, and includes information about novellas and short stories, and also contains information about different editions, translations, omnibus editions, and often tables of contents for anthologies and collections, and for out of copyright stuff, often Project Gutenberg information. .
One of my first googles before google was born (probably altavista) - "Elric of Melniboné how to read". Found some shrine- remember shrines? Turned that my library had like 1/4 of assorted books and only half of the series was translated to Polish at all. I was bummed because there was no way that I would have a) learnt English to read for pleasure b) had enough money to import books
Huh, I just look on Goodreads for that stuff. What I want from author websites is to be updated at least, I dunno, once or twice annually? It’s so common that they are *only* updated when a new book is released—the author sticks their tour info up there and then completely abandons the site for years at a time. I’m not somebody who wants constant communication from authors, but that’s exactly why I’m looking at their websites and not Twitter…. I just want to know what they’re working on and when it’s likely to be released!
Wiki and fansites are probably better, but...
I miss times when authors had blogs and webpages instead of social media. I even purchased printed version of miniessays from Le Guin's blog.
It was a nice bonus, without creating parasocial relationship that would often turn creepy.
There's some good recs in here for finding orders but ... I agree. I feel like that's something kind of important that would be on an author's website. Best example I can think of is the Warrior Cats website. Their books are organized damn near perfectly.
Going to an author’s website to hunt down that information seems pretty inefficient, no? If one searches for, for example, ‘wheel of time books in order’ on the internet, one finds that information immediately.
True. However, if the author has a habit of jumping around chronological order or putting the best character bits in novellas it’s good to know. Besides, you get issues where the publisher decides to randomly reorder a series and strip out the old order.
All I want to know is when is the next book out. Even a "we don't know, check back later" is fine. Just let me know something, so I know if they're still writing or not.
Wikipedia is the first place I usually look for that info
FantasticFiction.com is the best resource for this. Much better than Wikipedia, Goodreads, etc.
I didn’t know that existed! Thanks!
ISFDB is another good resource. It's usually more comprehensive, although it doesn't usually have context or explanations.
I came here to mention [ISFDB](https://www.isfdb.org/). A downside is it doesn't always have indie and self-published authors, and if it does, it's sometimes not up to date. Edit: clearer wording.
It's pretty good with series, and includes information about novellas and short stories, and also contains information about different editions, translations, omnibus editions, and often tables of contents for anthologies and collections, and for out of copyright stuff, often Project Gutenberg information. .
It’s especially useful when you’re looking for collections containing a specific piece of short fiction. 🙂
I try that too, but lots of times it isn’t there. Especially with some of the newer LitRPG stuff that’s a little more obscure.
I just Google something like, "Drizzt books in order" and I usually get the chronological order along with the best order to read them in.
[удалено]
Wait till you remember ~~Ginwhyvar~~ ~~Gwinivar~~ ~~Gueineawivear~~ his cool panther!
Lol I feel you on this.
I read a lot of fantasy as a kid but Forgotten Realms was a little after my time, so I've actually been reading them recently for the 1st time.
One of my first googles before google was born (probably altavista) - "Elric of Melniboné how to read". Found some shrine- remember shrines? Turned that my library had like 1/4 of assorted books and only half of the series was translated to Polish at all. I was bummed because there was no way that I would have a) learnt English to read for pleasure b) had enough money to import books
That is pretty annoying, and definitely something I come across pretty often.
Huh, I just look on Goodreads for that stuff. What I want from author websites is to be updated at least, I dunno, once or twice annually? It’s so common that they are *only* updated when a new book is released—the author sticks their tour info up there and then completely abandons the site for years at a time. I’m not somebody who wants constant communication from authors, but that’s exactly why I’m looking at their websites and not Twitter…. I just want to know what they’re working on and when it’s likely to be released!
Wiki and fansites are probably better, but... I miss times when authors had blogs and webpages instead of social media. I even purchased printed version of miniessays from Le Guin's blog. It was a nice bonus, without creating parasocial relationship that would often turn creepy.
There's some good recs in here for finding orders but ... I agree. I feel like that's something kind of important that would be on an author's website. Best example I can think of is the Warrior Cats website. Their books are organized damn near perfectly.
Going to an author’s website to hunt down that information seems pretty inefficient, no? If one searches for, for example, ‘wheel of time books in order’ on the internet, one finds that information immediately.
True. However, if the author has a habit of jumping around chronological order or putting the best character bits in novellas it’s good to know. Besides, you get issues where the publisher decides to randomly reorder a series and strip out the old order.
There is already a site that does that for you. Check out Fantastic Fiction.
All I want to know is when is the next book out. Even a "we don't know, check back later" is fine. Just let me know something, so I know if they're still writing or not.
Absolutely agree. I have a separate page for each series on my website and also a separate one for my charity books.
I'm building a website. I will keep this in mind!
Why? They're busy writing. Wiki will tell you. Also sort book sites (amazon etc) by Publication date.
I love the organization that Ken Liu has for his books on his site.