# anything like Allmusic Guide or IMDB, but for Authors/Books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2005, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-like-allmusic-guide-or-imdb-but-for-authors-books/296746 "2005-03-29T08:27:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-like-allmusic-guide-or-imdb-but-for-authors-books/296746/1 "2005-03-29T08:27:17Z")
I’m surprised something like this hasn’t come up yet. If I suddenly hear someone like John Updike namechecked, there’s really no central resource that I can plug his name into and get a basic bio and a list of works and reviews. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-like-allmusic-guide-or-imdb-but-for-authors-books/296746/2 "2005-03-29T13:01:53Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > I’m surprised something like this hasn’t come up yet. If I suddenly hear someone like John Updike namechecked, there’s really no central resource that I can plug his name into and get a basic bio and a list of works and reviews. [The Internet Book List](http://www.iblist.com/)? Here’s their page on [Updike.](http://www.iblist.com/author.php?id=305) ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-like-allmusic-guide-or-imdb-but-for-authors-books/296746/3 "2005-03-29T14:25:29Z")
The Metacritic site has added reviews for current books to its scores for movies, music, and games. While not comprehensive, it is useful for recently published items. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-like-allmusic-guide-or-imdb-but-for-authors-books/296746/4 "2005-03-29T14:46:28Z")
And apparently there is also the Internet Book Database of Fiction [http://www.ibdof.com/](http://www.ibdof.com/) ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-like-allmusic-guide-or-imdb-but-for-authors-books/296746/5 "2005-03-29T18:00:40Z")
Although it’s not a reference site per se, you can find out pretty much anything about writers and books by asking at this wonderful site: [Book Group Online](http://www.bookgrouponline.com/forum/index.html) It’s relatively new so you might not have heard about it yet. ---
**Author:** ![bclouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@bclouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bclouse)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-like-allmusic-guide-or-imdb-but-for-authors-books/296746/6 "2005-03-30T09:57:08Z")
While not an all inclusive book website by any stretch of the imagination, I really enjoy browsing The Modern Word. They tend to focus on metafiction, postmodern and magical-realism types of work. And they have some really good sites dedicated to Pynchon, Joyce, Borges and others if you’re into those forms of fiction. I also use Amazon a lot when looking for info. It contains a surprising amount of information on authors and books. Not quite what you’re looking for but it has come in handy in certain instances. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-like-allmusic-guide-or-imdb-but-for-authors-books/296746/7 "2005-03-30T16:23:15Z")
I sometimes use [Bartleby](http://www.bartleby.com/), though I don’t love it with the passion that I love, say, allmusic.