Finding a book

Plenty of websites sell books, but who has time to surf around looking for a bargain or searching for an obscure title? Bookfinder.com, a Berkeley-based website, simplifies things.

Just enter a title or author (or both) and Bookfinder will search through more than 150 million books sold by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, EBay, Alibris, AbeBooks, Overstock.com, Half.com and dozens of other booksellers. The site ranks results from least to most expensive, with new and used books listed separately.

A recent search for the children’s book “Capyboppy,” for example, turned up 21 new-book options and 106 used, with the lowest priced being an “ex-library” copy selling for $6.85.

Conveniently, books are listed with shipping costs included. (Wouldn’t it be nice if all websites did that?)

Bookfinder also offers advanced searching options for those looking specifically for first editions or author-signed copies.

-- Scott J. Wilson