If you’re like me, when you finish a book you absolutely loved, you really want to find something similar to it, whether it’s more work by the same author, more books in the same genre, or titles that people who read the same book also recommend. You could go to one of the various variations of Amazon, but while they offer a lot, the reality is that their search interface needs some help.

A better solution is to visit http://www.lovereading.co.uk, a cheery red-trimmed site that offers deep discounts, searching by author title or ISBN, and, even better, a “like for like” search function (available to members only) that allows you to plug in the last name of the author whose work you just finished, and get back a list of authors who write similar stories.

I tested this search function with the name of an American author, but there were no responses. Testing it with British authors (specifically Dick Francis and Marian Keyes, whose work is vastly different, though still fiction) netted better results, and I’m excited because now I have some new authors to explore.

The registration process is simple – name, email, and password, then tell them your favorite genres – and you can specify how often (monthly, semi-monthly, or weekly) that you want to receive email. You get to start browsing right away, and even cooler, there are downloadable excerpts of almost all the books on the site. (Format is pdf.)

While purchasing books through LoveReading is not cost effective for me, I’d recommend that UK residents do compare prices, as they offer a 25% discount off cover prices. I definitely recommend the site for all users, however, if only because of the Like for Like search.