Quick Tip: Google Book Search by Will Newman, Freelance Copywriter

If you need a book on a particular subject, figuring out which one to order for your specific needs can be frustrating.

Amazon’s “Take a Look Inside” feature lets you look at a few pages, the table of contents, and the index of many of their more popular books. However, you can’t do this with all of their books. And even when you can, you don’t always get enough of a look to be sure you want to buy it.

Google Book Search to the rescue!

Google Book Search allows you to search for words and phrases inside books, and gives limited (usually) previews of the books containing the search terms you’re interested in.

Use the “advanced search” feature to do a search “with all of the words” you enter, “with the exact phrase,” “at least one of the words,” or “without the words.” You can also specify other criteria (like an author’s name).

While the database Google is drawing from isn’t exhaustive, it’s robust enough to be a great resource for finding books for your copywriting research (or just plain enjoyment).

To find Google Book Search:

• Go to www.google.com.
• At the top of the page are some Google links. Click on the “more” link.
• On the menu that drops down, click on the “even more” link.
• A large page with other Google links opens up. The Google Book Search link is about three items down on the left-hand side. Click it.
• To the right of the input box at the top of the page are two links: Advanced Book Search and Google Book Search Help. Click “Advanced” and bookmark the page for easy use.