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Stay tuned as we reveal the top book review sites for 2024! Whether you’re in the mood for a classic drama, a modern thriller, or an enlightening non-fiction, there’s a review site that can point you in the right direction.
We’ve also included the advantages of every book review site for readers and authors. So without wasting time, let’s get started!
Ensure your book gets the glowing reviews it deserves! Learn more
1. Goodreads
Goodreads stands out as a titan in the field of book review sites, especially in 2024. As the biggest community of readers, authors, and reviewers on the internet, you can find reviews for almost every book on Goodreads.
You can also join reading groups, catalog books, engage in discussions with fellow readers, and follow your favorite authors. Moreover, by integrating Goodreads with your Kindle account, you can track your reading progress, get personalized book recommendations, and write reviews that get posted on both Goodreads and Amazon automatically.
Subscription Fee: None
2. Kirkus Reviews
Present since 1933, Kirkus Reviews is one of the oldest book review websites that has earned a reputation for its authoritative and unbiased reviews. You can access quality book reviews for a variety of genres either on the website, by subscribing to the free weekly email newsletter, or by subscribing to the paid semi-monthly magazine.
The main advantages of Kirkus Reviews include access to “best of” lists across many categories and reviews about each book mentioned in the list. The only downside to Kirkus Reviews is the paid nature of the magazine, which can limit access to reviews of new bestsellers to only a few people.
Subscription Fee: Ranging from $49 to $179, based on the chosen duration of the subscription.
3. LibraryThing
LibraryThing, a book lover’s haven for cataloging books, is one of the best book review websites. It offers a robust platform for readers to explore reviews, rate books, and meticulously organize their collections by genre.
The charm of LibraryThing lies in its social features—you can connect with fellow readers, share your bookshelves, and exchange thoughts on your latest reads. It’s a cozy corner on the internet for those who take pleasure in tracking their reading journey and finding kindred spirits within the pages of their favorite genres.
Apart from these features, LibraryThing provides a feature for authors to create their own Author’s page. Besides this, LibraryThing provides readers the opportunity to meet with fellow readers and authors by releasing updates about local book events.
4. Book Riot
Book Riot is one of the most versatile book review sites where you can access fictional and non-fictional book reviews, articles, and essays about top books across different genres. In addition to this, you can access information about discount deals for e-books and printed books and purchase from a huge variety of book merchandise.
The one thing that sets Book Riot apart from other sites is access to podcasts, which you can listen to if you don’t feel like reading book reviews. The only downside to Book Riot is that the site’s format doesn’t provide the feel of a traditional book review experience.
Subscription Fee: $4.99/month for authors who subscribe to Book Riot Insiders for information about new releases.
5. LoveReading
LoveReading emerges as a cherished resource among book review sites, particularly for its UK-based but globally accessible content. As one of the top professional book review sites, it allows you to access ebook and audiobook reviews across multiple genres.
The advantages of LoveReading include access to books and debuts of the month, weekly staff picks, and yearly list features. The only downside to LoveReading is the limited availability of reviews about books published outside the UK.
Amazon is one of the top free book review sites in 2024. It allows readers to rate books using a 1–5 star scale and receive a verified purchase tag after they have purchased books, increasing the authenticity of their reviews. Additionally, readers can engage with each other by adding comments to other reviews and stand a chance to receive a higher ranking if their reviews are well-received by a larger audience.
7. Booklist
Booklist, a veteran publication by the American Library Association since 1905, has evolved into a premier online destination for book reviews. You can look at the reviews of many print and audiobooks from various genres on Booklist.
The benefits of using Booklist include access to webinars and a variety of newsletters like Read Alert, Booklandia, and more. The only downside to Booklist is that it doesn’t provide a space for reader interaction or discussion, which restricts the community aspect of the reading experience.
Subscription Fee: $184.95/year
8. Publishers Weekly
Dominating the publishing world since 1872, Publishers Weekly is one of the oldest children’s mystery and romance book review sites. Apart from book reviews, it provides access to news about upcoming books.
The advantages of Publishers Weekly are access to the latest industry news, stats, bestseller lists, and exciting podcasts about authors and contemporary books. The only downside to Publishers Weekly is that you need to pay a subscription fee to have complete access to the content present on this site.
Subscription Fee: $15/month
9. NetGalley
NetGalley is one of the top book review sites for authors and readers alike. Readers can view reviews, request advanced reader copies (ARCs), and write reviews about pre-released books by various authors. Also, readers can check out book reviews, recommendations, and the must-read section at Bookish, an editorially independent division of NetGalley.
The only downside to NetGalley is that it can be difficult to secure ARCs of highly anticipated books due to fierce competition among reviewers.
10. Fantasy Book Review
This site includes various categories for book reviews such as urban fantasy, high/epic fantasy, dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction, magic users, and heroic/ sword and sorcery, etc. Depending on the category, book reviews for the best fantasy books are added to the website. With this, the site also provides readers with a list of the top 100 fantasy books of all time, recommendations of fantasy series, and interviews with fantasy authors.
Check out the top ten book review sites mentioned above to find your next best read, and let these curated sites lead you to memorable stories and transformative literary adventures. If you need help to create perfect book reviews or refine your book, consider our professional editing and proofreading services for assistance.
Here are some other articles you might find useful:
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Independent Book Review
A Celebration of Indie Press and Self-Published Books
30+ Top-Notch Book Review Sites for Readers & Writers
Here are 30+ top-notch book review sites for booksellers, librarians, readers, & writers. Learn more about 30 bookish companies helping spread the word about the best & latest books.
Top-Notch Book Review Sites for Readers & Writers
Book reviews are for all of us.
Readers need to know whether books with the best covers are worth the time they’re about to put into it. They find it helpful (and fun!) to check out reviews after reading the books, too, so they can see what other real-life humans had to say about it.
Authors & publishers need to get book reviews to build buzz and credibility for their product. Librarians & booksellers need to hear from trusted sources that the book they are about to buy for their collection has the capability to get picked up & to satisfy.
Book review sites have transformed the book-recommending landscape.
We can write reviews on product pages, on social media apps, and some of us, for publications that have been around since before the internet. Book reviewing has changed. But maybe it also hasn’t.
What kind of book review sites are you looking for? Chances are, this list has you covered.
Here are 30+ book review sites to read, write, and bookmark.
1. Independent Book Review
Does this logo look familiar? (Hint: You’re sitting on it).
IBR, the website you’re on RIGHT NOW, is all about indie books . There are so many books in the world right now, but if you feel like you keep seeing the same ones recommended over and over, start reading indie!
Independent presses & self-published authors are doing some incredible work right now. IBR reviews books, curates lists, does indie bookstore round-ups, and uses starred reviews & best-of-the-year lists to show which books are going to blow your mind.
2. Book Marks
Lit Hub rules. You already knew this.
But do you know about Book Marks? They’re a branch of the Lit Hub network, and they are an excellent way for booksellers and librarians to get shorter recaps from multiple sources and voices.
Their staff peruses book review sites and shares pull-quotes from them in book lists & more. By reading all of these sites, they can give the book a rating based on the average: “Rave, Positive, Mixed, or Pan.”
My favorite book-buying platform, Bookshop , uses Book Marks’ scale for their books’ ratings, and I love getting access to that.
3. Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly has been around since 1872. By now, they’re a review churning machine. They cover so much of the book industry in so many different ways, reviewing nearly 9,000 books per year and providing publication announcements, agency announcements, industry job listings , bestseller lists, industry stats, a self-publishing partner, and more.
4. Kirkus Reviews
Another one that’s been around since before the internet! 1933 to be exact. Kirkus is a widely recognized publication that book buyers & librarians follow carefully. I dare you to find a bookstore or library that doesn’t have multiple books with Kirkus Reviews plastered on their front and back covers.
5. Booklist
The American Library Association runs Booklist , a platform dedicated to helping libraries, educators, and booksellers choose books. They’ve got a magazine (since 1905!), book reviews, lists, awards, and one of my favorite bookish podcasts out there: Shelf Care .
6. Library Journal & School Library Journal
As you might be able to guess, Library Journal & School Library Journal focus on librarians too! They review a ton of books, and they write often about library-related news, collection management, technology, programs, and more. If you’re an author hoping to land your book in libraries, these are essential targets.
7. BookPage
You may have seen BookPage in your local library or bookstore. Some shops provide it for free so that patrons can look through it to find which books to buy in-store. Their website is clean and intriguing and always full of the most up-to-date releases and bestsellers.
Speaking of libraries! Have you seen our gifts for librarians ?
8. Foreword
Foreword is such an enthusiastic and dedicated champion of indie books, and they’ve been doing it since the 90s! I love how much attention university presses get here too. Their reviews are well-written & thorough, in both print & digital, and I always find something to speed-purchase once the Foreword Indie winners come out.
9. LoveReading
LoveReading is a top book-recommendation website in the UK. They’ve got starred reviews, lists, staff picks, a LitFest , eBooks, and they even donate 25% of the cover price of their books to schools of your choice. It’s reader-friendly and apparent how much they appreciate the wonder of books.
10. Washington Independent Review of Books
What’s not to love about The Independent?
Back in 2011, a group of writers & editors were frustrated by newspapers dropping book review sections and decided to do something about it. The Washington Independent Review of Books is quite a lovely something! This nonprofit posts every day: from reviews to interviews to essays and podcasts. They host events too!
11. Book Riot
Try being a reader and not finding something you love on Book Riot. Book lists, podcasts, personalized recommendations, newsletters, book deals—this site is a haven.
It doesn’t post solo book reviews like other sites, but they do share mini-reviews in book lists and talk about reading in unique & passionate ways. The Book Riot Podcast is such a winner too! I love listening to Jeff & Rebecca laugh about the latest in books & reading.
12. Electric Lit
From novel excerpts to original short fiction & poetry, they might not only be a book review site, but they do offer a lot in the world of book recommendations. Their Recommended Reading lit mag features unique staff picks and short, insightful book reviews.
13. The Millions
The writing in The Millions is something to behold. They are an artful source for all things book reviews & recommendations. They write stunning essays about books & reading and long reviews of new and old books. They’ve got some of my favorite Most Anticip ated lists too.
What are the biggest benefits of reading ? 🧐
14. Bookforum
Did you hear? Bookforum is back ! This book review magazine announced in December 2022 that they were closing, and my heart sank a little bit. This company means so much to the publishing industry and has for 20+ years, so when I saw (last week!) that they are returning, I did more than a few jumps for joy.
Welcome back, Bookforum! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got coming for us in book world coverage.
BOMB is in it for the art. Art, literature, film, music, theater, architecture, and dance. There are reviews and interviews, and the literature section is a real delight. The reviews are like poignant essays, and the author interviews are in-depth and feature some fascinating minds.
16. The Asian Review of Books
The only dedicated pan-Asian book review publication! It’s widely cited and features some of the best in Asian books and art, so booksellers and librarians have a source to trust to stock their collections with high-quality pan-Asian lit.
Have you seen our gifts for book lovers yet?
17. Chicago Review of Books
I love so much of what Chicago Review of Books does. They have a clean & sleek design that features some of the buzziest books as well as plenty of hidden gems from our favorite indie presses. I’m a particularly big fan of the spotlight they put on books in translation .
18. Rain Taxi
I love Rain Taxi ’s style! They champion unique books, publish their own fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, and put a real emphasis on art for their magazine covers . It’s a beautiful print magazine to subscribe to, but they also share free online editions & digital archives. They even run the Rain Taxi Reading Series & Twin Cities Book Festival if you’re a real-lifer in Minnesota!
19. The Rumpus
Oh, The Rumpus ! This mostly volunteer-run online magazine publishes reviews, interviews, essays, fiction, and poetry. The reviews are in-depth and personal and heart-melting, and in addition to the site, they’ve got cool perks like the Poetry Book Club and Letters in the Mail . The book club is where you get a pre-release book and meet the poet via Slack with other club members at the end of the month, and Letters in the Mail are actual postcards sent in the mail to you twice a month from your favorite authors.
20. Book Reporter
The selection in Book Reporter is carefully curated & enticing: hot new releases, forthcoming books, major presses, & indies. And there are plenty of unique ways to learn about them, like video interviews and monthly lists & picks. It launched in 1996 and is in The Book Report Network, which includes Reading Group Guides , a super useful resource for book clubs.
21. BookTrib .
BookTrib does such a great job of making their site browsable. The different ways you can enjoy what they offer—from book lists to giveaways to ebook deals —are difficult to keep your purchase finger off of.
23. Lit Reactor
Writers & readers—where bookish people meet! LitReactor’s book reviews are in the magazine portion of their website, and they’ve got plenty of them! Reviews, interviews, lists, introspectives, writing tips, and reading discussions. I’ve found some really unique content on Lit Reactor, like this ranking of literary parents . The website is a haven for writers especially, as there are workshops, writing blog posts, and even a forum to participate in.
24. Crime Fiction Lover
Dark alleys. Stray bullets. Hard-boiled detectives. Runaway thrills. If you’re a mystery-thriller reader, you’ve got to know about Crime Fiction Lover. They’ve got a passionate group of readers and writers talking about the best books in the genre and the ones that are soon to come out too.
25. SF Book Reviews
Speculative fiction fans unite! SF Book Reviews has been reviewing sci-fi and fantasy books since 1999, and while they’re a relatively small staff, they publish regularly, feature books of the month, and work wonders for their fantastical community.
26. Historical Novel Society
For all you historical fiction fans out there, the Historical Novel Society has reviewed more than 20,000 books in its twenty years. This one works like a membership for “writers and readers who love exploring the past.” You get a quarterly print magazine as a member, and if you’re a writer, you can join critique groups and ask for book reviews.
27. The Poetry Question
The Poetry Question writes about poetry published by indie presses and indie authors. They are a small passionate team dedicated to showing the world why indie presses continue to be a leading source for award-winning poetry.
28. Goodreads
Did you know that there are over 125 million members on Goodreads? When users review books, they can have conversations with fellow readers and follow reviewers too. If you’re looking for the biggest community, there’s no doubt Goodreads is the one. I like using sites like this because it helps you catalog books, one of my favorite ways to build a strong reading habit .
29. The Storygraph
A big community of active users that’s Amazon free! Come review books, use half & quarter stars (!), and complete reading challenges. You got this.
29. Bookwyrm
Bookwyrm is small (around 5,000 members at the time of this writing), but doesn’t that sound kind of nice? There are active members and a genuine collective goal in talking books. Grow with it. I think you’ll be comfy here. There are other communities within the Bookwyrm umbrella too, like Bookrastinating .
30. Reedsy Discovery
I hold a special place in my heart for book review sites dedicated to helping writers! I got into this business as a book marketer, and I experienced first-hand, through hundreds of books, how hard it was to get exposure & validation for small press and self-published authors.
Reedsy Discovery is a branch of Reedsy (the author resource company) that connects authors & reviewers so that people can read free books, sometimes receive tips for it, and authors can get more reviews in the process. Readers can choose from the latest books as well as the ones that are getting the best reviews.
31. Netgalley
Netgalley is a book review site for pre-released books. Reviewers sign up for a free account, request galleys from publishers and indie authors, and get to read them before they’re published so that they can leave reviews for the book, preferably on Amazon, Goodreads, or their blog. They also run Bookish , the editorial arm of Netgalley, which has book recommendations, interviews, and more.
32. Online Book Club
This review site combines a bunch of cool things! The 4-million member community gives me a lot of Goodreads vibes, especially with the Bookshelves app . But Online Book Club is a place for you to get eBook deals and talk about books in reviews and forums.
What are your favorite book review sites to follow? Let us know in the comments!
Thank you for reading “ Top-Notch Book Review Sites for Readers & Writers !” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
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Pingback: 24 Dos & Don'ts of Book Publicity | Tips on Research, Pitching & More - Independent Book Review
Check out http://www.literaryvault.com for best book reviews and author interviews. The literary Vault is a blog run and owned by a 13-year-old passionate reader who loves to share her passion and recommendations with others.
Thank you for the information!
Book review sites serve as invaluable resources for both readers and writers, offering insightful critiques, recommendations, and discussions on a wide range of literary works. Whether you’re seeking your next captivating read or looking to promote your own book, these platforms provide a wealth of information and opportunities for engagement. https://ghostwritersplanet.com/
I think BookBrowse.com definitely deserves to be on this list!
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Before you start your search you should know the title and author of the book being reviewed. The date of publication will sometimes also be required. Some databases offer a search option to limit search results to book reviews. Where not present, adding a keyword search that includes the phrase "book review" should help. Reviews of popular books are typically published close to their publication dates; find them via book-related websites and indexes that cover general interest periodicals. Reviews of scholarly books may take months to appear in scholarly journals. For more databases that cover scholarly journals, visit the Library of Congress E-Resources Online Catalog .
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- Selected General Databases
- Historical Book Review Databases
Free contemporary book reviews are widely available on the web. The sources listed below are some of the most common places to find them.
- Amazon.com External Amazon.com offers book reviews of many of the book titles it sells. Some reviews are by professionals; many are by readers. Find a book and scroll down its entry to read the reviews, where present. For balance, try a variety of positive and negative reviews.
- Barnes & Noble External Barnes and Noble includes professional book reviews with the descriptions of many of the books it sells.
- Complete Review External The Complete Review contains a selected listing of old and new book titles with reviews and links to more reviews.
- GoodReads Reviews External GoodReads offers millions of book reviews contributed by its community members which include librarians, journalists, and many other readers.
- Kirkus Reviews External Kirkus Reviews includes reviews new and forthcoming fiction, non-fiction and Young Adult (YA) books. Kirkus also has a print magazine available by subscription.
- Library Journal Reviews+ External Library Journal reviews books on a wide array of popular and scholarly topics expected to interest a broad spectrum of libraries. Reviews from the most recent 24 months are free online.
- LibraryThing Reviews External LibraryThing Reviews are written by members of the LibraryThing community of readers and book collectors. Reviews are grouped in various ways, including by genre or may be searched by author or title.
- New York Times Book Review (free selections) External A free collection of book reviews published in The New York Times since 1981. A more extensive paid subscription database is also available.
- School Library Journal Reviews+ External Features reviews from School Library Journal from the most recent twenty-four months. Browse by genre, grade level, award winners and other criteria.
Subscription databases are great sources for current and recent book reviews. Many also include historical coverage.
- Children's Literature Review, Vols 1-216
These more general subscription databases cover a wide array of periodicals which include book reviews. Using the phrase "book review" in your search can be effective if no check-box option for book reviews is available in the database's search function.
Some researchers seek reviews that are decades or even centuries old, for example, to see how a book written in the 19th Century was reviewed when it was first released. This listing includes general and book review resources. For the general sources, be sure to Include the phrase "book review" in your search if no check-box option for book reviews is available.
- African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 (Series 1 and Series 2)
- American Business: Agricultural Newspapers
- American Business: Mercantile Newspapers
- American Gazettes: Newspapers of Record
- American Politics: Campaign Newspapers
- American Religion: Denominational Newspapers
- Early American Newspapers, Series 1, 1690-1876: From Colonies to Nation
- Early American Newspapers, Series 2, 1758-1900: The New Republic
- Early American Newspapers, Series 3, 1783-1922: From Farm to City
- Early American Newspapers, Series 4, 1756-1922: The Rise of Industry
- Early American Newspapers, Series 5, 1777-1922: An Emerging World Power
- Early American Newspapers, Series 6, 1741-1922: Compromise and Disunion
- Early American Newspapers, Series 7: 1773-1922: Reform and Retrenchment
- Early American Newspapers, Series 8, 1844-1922: A Nation in Transition
- Early American Newspapers, Series 9, 1832-1922: Protest and Prosperity
- Early American Newspapers, Series 11, 1803-1899: From Agrarian Republic to World Power
- Early American Newspapers, Series 12, 1821-1900: The Specialized Press
- Early American Newspapers, Series 13, 1803-1916: The American West
- Early American Newspapers, Series 14, 1807-1880: The Expansion of Urban America
- Early American Newspapers, Series 15, 1822-1879: Immigrant Communities
- Early American Newspapers, Series 16, 1800-1877: Industry and the Environment
- Early American Newspapers Series 17, 1844-1922: American Heartland
- Early American Newspapers, Series 18, 1825-1879: Racial Awakening in the Northeast
C19 Index draws on the strength of established indexes such as the Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue (NSTC), The Wellesley Index, Poole's Index, Periodicals Index Online and the Cumulative Index to Niles' Register 18111849 to create integrated bibliographic coverage of over 1.7 million books and official publications, 70,000 archival collections and 20.9 million articles published in over 2,500 journals, magazines and newspapers. C19 Index now provides integrated access to 13 bibliographic indexes, including more than three million records from British Periodicals Collections I and II, together with the expanded online edition of the Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism (DNCJ).
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20 Great Book Websites for Finding What to Read Next
I’m writing this list of the best websites about books for me five years ago. Back then I was deep in the beginning of learning about book world and would have welcomed a list of the great book websites to help me learn what to read next. Getting to know the publishing industry is a lifelong process of book discovery, and the Internet makes the literary community more accessible and inclusive than ever. These 20 book websites (plus a few extra way down at the end) are the places I go to find out about new books being published, to deepen my understanding of literature and reading, to get book recommendations, to grapple with critical book reviews, and more. I hope you’ll find your next favorite book through this list of great book websites to grow as a reader.
20 Best Book Websites for Book Recommendations, Lists, and More
(1) amazon book review.
Love it or hate it, but Amazon is a quality place to go to find out about new books. The Omnivoracious Amazon Book Review is a flagship for good book content, with recommendations from celebrities and other notable readers being a unique feature. I love the author interviews they have on their site, with writers like George R. R. Martin , Holly Black , and Charlie Jane Anders recently stopping by for a chat, often on the podcast. Amazon’s Best Books of the Month list is one I check religiously for new books to add to my TBR. They often surprise me with little-known reads I wouldn’t otherwise have on my radar (even if I think they make YA an afterthought), which is why I rate them highly for “new book discovery,” meaning a place where you can learn about books to read.
Strengths: Author interviews, previews of new releases, lists of recent award winners, podcast, new book discovery
(2) Book Bub
When Book Bub first came on the scene about five years ago, I signed up for their signature daily newsletter with hot deals on eBooks. I scored a lot of great books to load up my Kindle, but I didn’t really follow the site for a few years as I wasn’t reading too much on my eReader. Now they’re everywhere, moving beyond the email list to create original bookish content. It’s now totally expected to have one of their many comprehensive book lists pop up in a search for new books. The only downside that I see is that now you have to have an account to view their book lists or other blog content . I do like how they track book recommendations from authors like Stephen King, Jill Shalvis, and Nora Roberts.
Strengths: Book list articles, book recommendations, eBook deals, new book discovery
(3) Book Marks
One of the sites associated with Literary Hub or “Lit Hub,” which I write up as #12 below, Book Marks is the place to go if you want to find book reviews of the latest big books. Book Marks’ specialty is aggregating adult literary fiction and nonfiction book reviews and then assigning them a score card so you can see how many reviewers gave the book a Rave, Positive, Mixed, or Pan. Without a doubt, if you want to find out the critical consensus on a book before buying it or checking it out of the library, Book Marks should be your first stop. I also like how the site regularly interviews book critics to ask them more about their bookish lives. The site also reprints classic book reviews.
Strengths: Book reviews, coverage of new books, literary criticism, book news, essays
(4) Book Riot
Sure, I might be a little biased to include Book Riot in my list of the best book websites since I write for them , but the fact is, Book Riot is one of the leading destinations on the web for book lovers and certainly one of the top best sites for new books. Book Riot’s got all areas of the reading life covered and does an especially good job at highlighting diverse authors, featuring all genres, and amplifying thoughtful and at times controversial opinions about books, publishing, and reading. The annual Read Harder Challenge pushes readers beyond their comfort zone with categories like “A book by an AOC (Author of Color) set in or about space” and “A novel by a trans or nonbinary author,” and a thriving community of challenge takers trade book recommendations and ideas. Book Riot’s many book podcasts are also must-listens for readers wanting to learn about new books and what to read next.
Strengths: Diversity, essays, book list articles, all-genre coverage, podcasts, book news, reading challenge, new book discovery
(5) Brain Pickings
Looking for engrossing essays about books that will push you emotionally and intellectually? You’ll definitely want to stop by Brain Pickings, the literary love child of Maria Popova, a blogger who decided to create an “inventory of the meaningful life” more than a decade ago and share it with other readers. Popova’s one-woman show is an intensely personal exploration of art and ideas, with coverage of children’s literature alongside philosophy, literary fiction, and creativity. Sign up for her newsletters to get a hit of thought-provoking writing a few times a week, guaranteed to break up your mundane day. Popova is author of two books: Figuring (2019), which highlights the hidden legacy of influential female thinkers, scientists, and creators, and A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader (2018), a book for younger readers that collects essays about reading from leading creative thinkers like Neil Gaiman, Shonda Rhimes, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Elizabeth Gilbert.
Strengths: Literary criticism, essays, backlist coverage, newsletter
(6) Bustle Books
The website Bustle is designed for the modern woman, and the ample literary coverage on their standout Bustle Books channel reflects that. Here readers will find profiles and interviews with female authors, lists that focus on feminism, and personal essays that explore the experience of being a female reader in today’s world. Bustle Books is known for provocative articles challenging the publishing world to be more diverse and more female inclusive. You’ll also find fun articles, too, about books, TV and film adaptations, and books in pop culture.
Strengths: Feminism, diversity, essays, book list articles, all-genre coverage, new book discovery
(7) CrimeReads
Like Book Marks, CrimeReads is a branch of Literary Hub (discussed in #12 below). This book website has a niche focus on “crime” in literature: through true crime, mysteries, thrillers, fiction about crimes in general. On CrimeReads, you’ll find essays about writing and reading crime fiction, appreciation of and interviews with crime fiction authors both well known and underrated, reading lists for crime fiction and nonfiction, and coverage of crime in TV, movies, and other media. CrimeReads also has essays and original reporting on true crime. If you’re a mystery and thriller lover, appreciate a good courtroom novel, or just love reading about true crimes stories, you’ll definitely want to head over to CrimeReads and marathon read their quality content.
Strengths: Mystery/thriller/suspense, true crime, nonfiction, the writing life, book list articles, essays, literary criticism, new book discovery
(8) Electric Literature
With its signature tagline of “Reading Into Everything,” Electric Literature hosts an eclectic mix of bookish coverage, ranging from highbrow literary criticism to horoscopes for writers and everything in between. A hallmark of Electric Literature is a focus on reading more diversely, and a regular feature called Read More Women asks writers to recommend books by women (a response to male authors who only recommend books by fellow male authors). One thing I love about Electric Literature is how often they touch on writing and the life of being a storyteller. (I’m a bit biased because I’ve written for Electric Literature and consider it one of my proudest accomplishments to have my writing on there.) Electric Literature also publishes original fiction in its literary magazine , so keep your eyes peeled for some of today’s best authors and new and emerging voices alike converging there.
Strengths: Literary criticism, diversity, essays, author interviews, the writing life, all-genre coverage, book news, book list articles, new book discovery
(9) Epic Reads
Oh, Epic Reads: what started as an arm of HarperCollins publishing house has turned into the go-to destination for YA book fans. Readers of young adult literature love Epic Reads for the humorous tone, creative article ideas (bookish horoscopes, fan reactions to plot twists, book title or song lyric? challenges, etc.), addictive quizzes, and, of course, the many TBR-exploding lists. You’ll also find book trailers, cover reveals, and details on the latest books and tour dates for YA authors. Even though Epic Reads is part of HarperCollins, they don’t only put the spotlight on books through their publishing house. Epic Reads is simply and purely about celebrating YA literature, no matter whose imprint is stamped on the book jacket. So often YA can be a heavy genre, with books tackling serious themes, but Epic Reads always reminds me that reading ( and YA) can and should be fun, too.
Strengths: Young Adult (YA) books, quizzes, book list articles, new book discovery
(10) Five Books
Five Books has a niche formula and does it well: a list of five great book recommendations. This powerhouse book website solicits a fascinating mix of today’s most interesting, creative, and thoughtful “Experts” —like Mary Beard , Madhur Jaffrey , Mia Farrow , and Jo Nesbø —to offer five book recommendations on a specific topic, such as “The Best Prose Poetry,” “Congress,” and “Zombies.” An additional nice feature of Five Books is the ability to make your own lists and share your expertise. The site lives up to its tagline of “The Best Books on Everything” as you’ll find as wide a variety of book lists and book coverage as anywhere on the web.
Strengths: Book list articles, book recommendations, new book discovery
(11) Goodreads
In the 9 years that I’ve been a member of Goodreads, I’ve seen the site change a lot—for the better. Goodreads is perhaps the most essential website for readers as it allows you to track the books you’ve read, want to read, and are reading and add custom shelves to sort books. Connect with other readers in groups and follow authors for updates and exclusive information. The Goodreads lists are a rabbit hole to tumble down and find out more about books. I’ve found that the user-generated reviews have also improved over the last few years, going from one-line snarky hot takes to more thoughtful reviews. Plus they are home of the popular Goodreads Reading Challenge, an annual self-challenge to set a goal of how many books you want to read that year. (I’ve been known to argue against the challenge on this blog and offer alternatives to the Goodreads challenge , yet what can I say… I do it almost every year.) Even the Goodreads blog is getting better at publishing creative articles about the bookish life.
Strengths: Community, reading data tool, book list articles, user-generated reviews, reading challenge
(12) Largehearted Boy
Largehearted Boy is a book and music blog established in 2002 by David Gutowski and an essential corner of the literary internet. Obsessed with best-books-of-the-year lists? Make sure you bookmark Largehearted Boy, which compiles an index of the best-of lists you can peruse till your heart’s desire. Check out last year’s “Online ‘Best Books of 2018’ Book Lists” for a TBR-buckling example. (Full disclosure: I’ve submitted my best-of lists from this blog before and been included.) Also great for book discovery is the weekly “Books of the Week” that Montreal bookstore Drawn & Quarterly hosts on Largehearted Boy. What I love about Largehearted Boy is the thoughtful and honest book reviews, the blending of music and literature with the “Book Notes,” where an author matches a mix tape to their new book. Like Brainpickings, Largehearted Boy traces a very personal experience of inquiry into being a reader, writer, listener, and human being to provoke our own consideration. It’s an honor to share in it.
Strengths: Book list articles, author interviews, essays, book reviews, new book discovery
(13) Literary Hub (a.k.a. “LitHub”)
The parent site of the aforementioned Book Marks and CrimeReads, Literary Hub pumps out new book content for readers on the daily. I also suggest signing up for the LitHub newsletters as they come out each day with a summary of new posts not just on LitHub but elsewhere on the Internet. The weekly edition is a must-read, too, and it’s where I get many of the interesting bookish links I post on the Facebook page for this blog . On LitHub, you’ll find an endless stream of great writing about books, including essays on writing and reading, author interviews, highbrow intellectual literary criticism, book lists, and new fiction. Browsing LitHub is like reading a digital version of a literary magazine (like The New York Review of Books ) that you actually want to read. Unquestionably LitHub’s specialty is literary fiction, though they do also cover various genres, too. However, you likely won’t find much YA and children’s literature coverage on LitHub, excluding when they come up in personal essays about reading or writing kidlit.
Strengths: Literary criticism, literary fiction, nonfiction, essays, book list articles, author interviews, new book discovery, book news
(14) The Millions
Established in 2003, The Millions is one of the oldest book websites around, and over the past 15 plus years it has built up a reputation for being a gathering point for intellectually curious readers. Head over to The Millions if you want to check out the latest buzzy literary releases, hear more from authors about how they conceptualized and wrote their new book, discover the most anticipated books published in the month ahead, and find out what books were nominated for awards. The strength of The Millions is definitely literary fiction and nonfiction. Two of the best recurring features on The Millions are the annual Year in Reading , in which notable creatives and thinkers share a little about their year in reading, and The Millions’ Most Anticipated: The Great First-Half Year 20XX Preview, a TBR-toppling list of the most anticipated books of the year. This list comes out in two parts: January for the First-Half and July for the Second-Half. (Example: here’s the First-Half of 2018 Preview and Second-Half .) You’ll want to comb through these articles with your TBR ready, and you can find all The Millions lists on Goodreads for easy record keeping. I look forward to them every year as traditions, almost holidays, on the bookish calendar.
Strengths: Literary criticism, literary fiction, nonfiction, essays, author interviews, book list articles, previews of new releases, book news
(15) The New Yorker ‘s Books Section
Arguably the best literary magazine in America, The New Yorker is also a flourishing website with tons of great book content, most of it found on The Page-Turner blog . On The New Yorker ‘s Books channel, book reviews, publishing news, essays and articles from the magazine about writing and literature, and New Yorker staff book recommendations. Note that you’ll need a subscription to view more than a few articles a month. I admit I’m a proud subscriber of the magazine; I never recycle the issues, and they take over every corner of the house like an invasive species, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Strengths: Literary criticism, essays, literary fiction, nonfiction, author interviews, book reviews, book recommendations, book news
(16) The New York Times Book Review Online
It would hardly be a list of the best book websites without including The New York Times ‘ Book section. After all, The New York Times Book Review is one of the most prestigious and influential periodicals in publishing, and landing a coveted spot on its bestseller lists is just about every writer’s dream. Fortunately, the Review ‘s virtual presence is a worthy digital companion to the supplement you’ll find in Saturday’s paper. Online, you’ll get the same great book reviews, essays, and humor sketches, plus some podcasts going inside the Book Review and publishing that week that are seriously worth checking out. Every week I look for the New & Noteworthy feature, which highlights new releases you should put on your radar, and the Editors’ Choice: New Books We Recommend This Week, a weekly list that includes extracts from the critics’ reviews that’ll make you want to read these fresh books. One of my favorite recurring series in the Book Review is the By the Book interviews with writers, thinkers, and creatives, which discuss the bookish life and always includes interesting books to add to your TBR. You can find all of these digitized and uploaded weekly .
Strengths: Book reviews, book recommendations, author interviews, literary criticism, book news, podcasts, previews of new releases, new book discovery
(17) NPR Books
National Public Radio (NPR) has always been ear candy for readers, but now you can get all their great book programming online in one spot. The NPR Books site collects all the author interviews, book reviews, and stories about the reading life that you’ll get on the radio. If you’ve ever had the experience I have where you’ve gotta turn off the car in the middle of a story and you don’t have a pen or paper ready to record a book title or author name, they’ve got you covered. Beyond audio programming, NPR Books has a solid stream of book reviews and feature articles about writing and reading with a focus on diverse authors. Breadth and depth of coverage is a signature of NPR, which is why you’ll find articles about children’s books alongside graphic novels and comics and highbrow literary fiction. NPR Books is known for one more thing: the annual end-of-the-year book concierge . This behemoth of a book recommendation machine is a slick book discovery tool to find more than 300 of the best books of the year. Yes, I said 300. I’ve found so many great books this way, ones that were otherwise overlooked in best-of-the-year lists, and the methods to sort by what you’re in the mood for make this giant list manageable, with some seriously high-quality UX. Oh, yeah: you’ll be working through that list for the rest of the upcoming year.
Strengths: Book reviews, diversity, book list articles, author interviews, book news, all-genre coverage, new book discovery
(18) Publishers Weekly
If it’s publishing industry news you want, Publishers Weekly should be your first stop. Publishers Weekly (PW) is packed with insider-y gossip-y content about what’s hitting the shelves now and soon. Writers will want to check out PW’s articles to get an idea of what agents are buying and what trends are moving through books. I also sometimes mine the announcements that publishers make of new and upcoming books to get ready for upcoming releases and add them to my calendar.
Strengths: Book news, publishing industry information, book list articles, previews of new releases, new book discovery
(19) Read Brightly
Kid lit fans, this one is for you. Read Brightly is an online children’s literature website that’s part of Penguin Random House. Read Brightly is an excellent resource for readers of children’s literature and the adults who help children learn to love reading. One great feature of this website is the way each article is broken down by reading levels, a key distinction that takes the guessing game out of trying to connect children to the most age and reading level appropriate books. A flurry of articles celebrate kid lit, with creative and diverse book lists around categories like “Move Over, Rover: 10 Picture Books That Feature Unusual Pets.” Each month, Read Brightly hosts a reading challenge for kids designed to help them stretch themselves and discover new books. Like Epic Reads, this book website is hosted by a publishing house but features books from all parts of the children’s literature publishing world. Read Brightly truly lives up to its motto “Raise Kids Who Love to Read” as that passion for literacy and raising bookworms comes through in every story they write.
Strengths: Children’s literature, Young Adult (YA) literature, book list articles, previews of new releases, reading challenges, all-genre coverage, book discovery
Last but definitely not least, Tor is the go-to destination for science fiction and fantasy readers on the literary web. Tor has long published books, but their online presence takes their mission to highlight great voices in speculative fiction and pushes it further, creating a space for a community of SFF fans to grow and thrive. On Tor, you’ll read honest book reviews that are fair and critical of the books and authors in question, original fiction, lists of books, personal essays, eBook deals, SFF industry news, and coverage of SFF-related media, like Game of Thrones . What I like about this site is the freedom that Tor gives its bloggers and staff writers to really speak their minds about books. You might find articles about super-super niche sub-sub-sub genres you didn’t even know were a thing, but you definitely won’t find BS here. This makes Tor a leading place to go for readers who want to dig into the issues behind books.
Strengths: Science fiction, fantasy, SFF related TV shows and movies, book news, book reviews, essays, book list articles, book discovery
More great book websites
Here are a few other book websites you’ll definitely want to check out but didn’t make the full list (because I ran out of time!): Atlas Obscura’s Books Section , Catapult , The New York Review of Books , and Vox.com’s Books Section .
What are some of your favorite book websites? What did I miss? Leave a comment!
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Sarah S. Davis is the founder of Broke by Books, a blog about her journey as a schizoaffective disorder bipolar type writer and reader. Sarah's writing about books has appeared on Book Riot, Electric Literature, Kirkus Reviews, BookRags, PsychCentral, and more. She has a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Library and Information Science from Clarion University, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
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Abigail Clarkin
Abigail can often be found holding a book in one hand and an ice cream cone in the other. When she is not devouring stories (or dessert), Abigail trains for marathons and writes poetry about growing up with eight brothers and sisters. She enjoys working in marketing for a real estate developer and creating Instagram content for fun (@marathonandmunch) about all the tasty eats found in Providence, RI.
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At some point, you’ve likely encountered a long, bleak patch when your reserve of recommended books ran dry. A few years ago, there was a stretch when I didn’t have people in my life who understood my taste in books. I’d finish a fantastic series and then be disappointed when I realized that there was no rebound read to help me recover from the last series. Thankfully for the readers like us who are still nursing book hangovers, there are personalized book recommendation websites across the internet to save us.
If you have run out of books you’re interested in reading, look through these fifteen book recommendation sites.
Subscriptions
Book Riot has its very own subscription service called Tailored Book Recommendations . TBR is made up of staff who dedicate their time to carefully tailoring book recommendations for readers based on what they like to read personally. Sign up for either a recommendations-only level subscription or a hardcover level subscription (which includes having three books mailed to you).
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If you’d like free and discounted reading deals sent straight to your email, sign up for BookBub. Based on the genres you choose when signing up, BookBub will send personalized recommendations of ebooks that can be purchased for a reasonable rate. Themed lists are also available on their site.
22 Books Coming in 2018 Recommended by Librarians https://t.co/Sil3Wvs6Lh @tarawestover @thuglibrarian @CommerceLibrary @randyribay @alicewriterland @anglophilelibr pic.twitter.com/Uu6cIJuuxx — BookBub (@BookBub) March 2, 2018
3. Library-Specific Sites
If you’re a patron at a large library, there’s a chance that your library offers personalized book recommendation services delivered via email. A few libraries currently offering this service include New York Public Library , Denver Public Library , and Sacramento Public Library . Ask your librarians to see if this is a resource for you as well.
Themed Lists
4. epic reads.
Epic Reads is one of the largest young adult fiction communities online. Along with their endless energy and passion for YA, one reason for their popularity is their interactive quizzes, lengthy lists, and colorful book charts that point readers towards their next favorite read. A few years ago when I met a reading slump, I worked my way through much of their amazing Young Adult Retelling Chart . Many of my favorites were found through this resource.
5. Penguin Teen
The Penguin Teen website features book lists, news about young adult authors, and a helpful book suggestions tool that focuses on genre specific book recommendations.
6. Reading Rockets
If you’re looking for children’s books for the kids in your life (or for the child in you), check out Reading Rockets. Reading Rockets provides specific, lengthy themed lists for young readers. With list topics ranging from “Books About Kids Who Find Reading Hard” to “That’s So Gross,” you are sure to find a book for any occasion. This site can be a wonderful resource for teachers, librarians, and educators.
Tor is the online hub for fantasy and science fiction. Check out their many lists to find stories that will transport you to fictional lands.
A project from Netgalley, Bookish offers a wide range of book lists, including fiction, audiobook, and young adult. What makes this site stand out is these are all brand new releases or forthcoming titles, so you can get your library holds or preorders in early.
All of the recommendations on Olmenta are submitted by passionate readers. The site allows you to peruse titles by genre or category, and it’s a fun way to let someone else pick a book for you (without needing to do any real work on your end). You can submit your own suggestions, too.
10. Shepherd
Who could offer better recommendation lists than authors, experts, and passionate readers of books on aa topic? Shepherd offers a wide range of book lists, including everything from best YA books about immigration to novels where something queer’s afoot. In the near future, Shepherd will make it possible to sort lists by genre, as well, so you could find books set in China that are romance, nonfiction, YA, or otherwise.
Made-For-You on the Spot
11. whichbook.
On Whichbook, book recommendations are calculated by one out of two categories: 1. Mood, or 2. Character, setting, and plot. The reader has the choice to use sliders on the “Mood” section to rate what they’re looking for in a book. Do you want a book that is completely happy? Or on the border between safe and disturbing? There is also the option to select your desired character characteristics, the story setting, and/or plot points that you’d like included in the recommendation.
Maybe AI knows the perfect book for you. Readow starts by asking you some simple questions about recent reads and uses technology to pair you with your next great book.
13. What Should I Read Next
14. readgeek.
Registering is optional when using Readgeek to receive book recommendations. In order to get ahold of book suggestions, simply rate a few books that you’ve read on a 1–10 scale. After you finish rating as many as you’d like, Readgeek calculates which books you’d most likely enjoy based on your previous ratings.
15. Literature Map
At Literature Map, you can type in an author’s name and then view similar authors that other readers are enjoying. The site generates a map that displays author names in relative states of closeness. The closer the authors, the more likely other readers enjoyed both.
Another simple but fun AI-driven recommendation site is Gnooks. Pop in your three favorite writers and you’ll get a recommended author to try. It doesn’t end there, though: you can rate whether or not you like the author suggested for even more recommendations.
17. Goodreads
Goodreads provides a space for people to track their reading, write reviews, and view books, lists, and authors that align with their interests. When creating an account on Goodreads, the reader has the opportunity to create original book lists. One of my favorites is the “Want to Read” option: every time you view a book description that sounds interesting, you can save the book to a list that is dedicated to books you plan to tackle later. For those of you who are looking to build a never ending To-Be-Read list, Goodreads is a perfect place to start.
18. Narrative Muse
Are you interested in reading books specifically written by underrepresented voices? Narrative Muse serves as a recommendation site for those who are looking for both films and books created by women and nonbinary writers. Create an account to be matched with books that fall under these categories.
19. The Storygraph
Billed as an alternative to Goodreads, The StoryGraph is a book tracking site, a community making site, and offers book recommendations. You can import your Goodreads information to The StoryGraph, and both the website and app have clean but visually appealing interfaces. Here’s our full StoryGraph review .
20. r/books
Numbering at almost 21 million subscribers, Reddit’s main book subreddit is a haven for book discussion and recommendations. Want to know what Reddit users across the massive site are reading? There’s Reddit Reads for that.
Still looking for more ways to find your next favorite book? Take this quiz on what you should read next to receive an immediate recommendation. If you’re willing to look for suggestions in places off of the internet, check out 31 Ways to Find the Best Book Recommendations .
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Top 5 Book Review Sites Every Author Should Submit To
Written By Write With Light Publications, LLC
0 comment(s), october 13, 2021, don’t rush your book.
We can’t say it enough and yet we see it happen all the time.
When on the verge of publishing a book, we see one big mistake happen, especially if the author is rushing the publication process of their book.
Many times, we see them write, edit and then publish, giving no time or space to properly market or get the word out about their book.
So how is a reader supposed to find your book if it’s not even out there yet? How will they see it without proper awareness?
Authors who self-publish for the first time (usually) are missing a crucial piece to the publishing process: Submitting their book to book review sites.
Why Do I Need to Submit My Books for Review?
Submitting your book to review to a good review source can help you leverage your book before it’s even launched.
Having people review your book from these five book review sites we are talking about later, even if the reviews are positive or negative, can be powerful.
There are a few reasons all authors should be submitting their book for review.
- You can gain quality reviews
- Create awareness for your book
- Book reviewers could possibly share your work with others (word of mouth marketing)
- Can influence readers to pre-order your book
- It’s free marketing!
Although sharing your work with others to get their opinion on your book is daunting, it’s still a necessary step to take before you even publish. Don’t forget this crucial step in the publishing and promotion process if you don’t want to sabotage your book .
How Long Does the Review Process Take?
The review copy process can take some time, which is probably why a lot of people skip the process. But if you want a good quality review from a quality source, you need to take the time to fit a book review process into your book publishing timeline.
The review copy process can take anywhere from 3-4 months. So why is that?
A majority of book reviewers and credible book review sites require at least 3-4 months after submission and before launch to review your book.
Reviewers get a lot of inquiries and a lot of books, some of which they give to two different readers for review. If they choose your book for review you need to give them 3-4 months to review it.
The downside is, you just have to be patient.
When Should I Submit My Books For Review?
If you’re finished writing your book, we highly recommend getting it edited by a professional before handing it off to reviewers.
Before you even submit your books for review, edit your book. Period.
Even if you have an amazing cover with a captivating synopsis, it will mean nothing if you send a book in with a wealth of mistakes roaming freely.
Reviewers will not read through your book if there are mistakes. Only send your book out for review when it is 100% ready.
Who Should I Be Submitting Books to For Review?
If you do decide to work this book review timeframe into your schedule, there are five sites you can get started with, some of which are free and some of which are paid.
So the top 5 book review sites you absolutely should at least consider,
- Publisher’s Weekly
- Write With Light Publications
We’ll explain all of them and their benefits below!
It’s also important to keep in mind that there are multiple other avenues for getting book reviews including having bookstagrammers on Instagram review your work, or sending it out to other smaller publications that would fit your niche.
For now, we’ll just cover some of the essential sites that will give you actual reviews without you having to ask freelance book reviewers.
Kirkus (Paid)
Kirkus has been around since 1933 and was founded by Virginia Kirkus. Back then, she realized there was a need for book reviews not backed by the publisher themselves. Seeing this need, she started a business that would give writers the book reviews they need while also allowing American booksellers to buy products backed by unbiased opinions.
As far as book review sites go, Kirkus is one of the most prestigious and trusted book reviewers in the business and offers an unbiased assessment of your book—which could be negative or positive. But their outstanding reviews come at a price. That being said, the review is worth it to many.
Here are some of the prices for Kirkus Reviews:
- Traditional Reviews: Costs $425 for a 250-word review.
- Expanded Reviews: Costs $525 for a 500-word review.
- Picture Book Reviews: Cost $350 for a 200-word review.
All of the reviews are turned around in 7-9 weeks but can be expedited for an additional fee. After receiving your review, you can add some of the best quotes to your product listings on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sites to help promote the book.
You also have the option to publish your review on Kirkus if you like what they have to say. If you do choose to publish it, Kirkus may consider your review for publication in their magazine which reaches 50,000 users.
If you’re ready to get your book reviewed, visit Kirkus to get started .
Booklife (Paid)
To receive another guaranteed book review for a price, you can also choose Booklife .
Booklife is an extension of the popular site, Publisher’s Weekly, and provides publishing advice and assistance to find authors.
Booklife is usually great for indie authors who need a great review from a reputable source. It is also slightly less in cost than Kirkus.
A Booklife review costs $399 for 300 words.
Authors will get their review back in an estimated 4-6 weeks. The one downside of submitting for review with Booklife is there is a word count limit. Only books 100,000 words are less can be considered for a review.
The upside is the review with be featured on Booklife’s website and Publisher Weekly’s website. To learn more about the submission guidelines and get reviewed, visit Booklife’s Review FAQs page .
Reedsy (Paid)
Probably one of our favorite places to get books reviewed is Reedsy .
We love this site because it is so affordable and you get an honest book review from a professional book reviewer. See a Reedsy book review for one of our authors!
Like Booklife and Kirkus, you will get a quality book review but at a much lower price and it is guaranteed. Reedsy can also be synced with Goodreads, which allows your reviewer to publish their review before the book even launches.
Authors who choose to get their books reviewed with Reedsy will spend only $50 per book for a lengthy review from a frequent book reviewer.
The great thing is, your book is available to be reviewed by anyone who is interested. Additionally, you can contact the reviewers to ask them to review your book
On Reedsy, your book can only be reviewed once, although, we really wish they would allow more, especially if other reviewers want to take a peek.
Publisher’s Weekly (Free)
Like we mentioned earlier, Publisher’s Weekly is associated with Booklife, which is a paid review service.
Publisher’s Weekly, however, is a free review service , which will bring a smile to most indie authors who are on a tight budget with marketing.
The one downside of submitting a book review to Publisher’s Weekly is your review is not guaranteed. Publisher’s Weekly reviewers take a very slim amount of submissions for review, which means they take the elite when it comes to books.
If your book is chosen for review by Publisher’s Weekly, you’ve probably got yourself a great book. Although there is no guarantee for a book review, it’s worth submitting anyways.
To get your book reviewed with Publisher’s Weekly, check out their submission guidelines .
Write With Light Publications (Free)
We know we have a long ways to go to be as great and revered as websites like Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus. But hey! We all have to start somewhere!
At Write With Light Publications, we have a deep desire to help indie authors get their books out there in the world. One of the best ways to do that is to read your book and give you a quality review.
Our reviews are completely free to you as long as you follow our strict guidelines.
To learn more about our book reviews, check out our submission guidelines !
New More Publishing Help?
Write With Light Publications offers a variety of publishing services that are intended to support indie authors with their self-publishing endeavors.
If you’re feeling lost with marketing, publishing, or even creating your book, consider getting some assistance from us!
You can see more about our services here .
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There are many people who consider books as a dying art form, especially as physical objects. While I accept that books will one day be nothing more than words on a screen, stories will always live on. They've been with us for millennia - and written down for centuries - and they'll outlive everybody reading this.
I'm an avid reader, getting through at least one book a week. I often have several on the go at once - usually a novel, a reference book, and an autobiography - which are consumed as and when the opportunity arises. I realized long ago that there are far more books out there than I could ever read in my lifetime, with hundreds of thousands more published each and every year.
This means choosing what to read is a big decision. Dedicate several weeks to War and Peace and you may have to forego reading Les Misérables . Decide to read every book from a certain author and you may have to miss out on several future classics by other, less well-known, authors. Sorting the wheat from the chaff is impossible without some help, which is why recommendations from other book lovers are crucial.
While friends and family are the obvious first choice, there are a host of book review sites on the Web dedicated to helping readers find the tome best suited to them. What follows are five of the best. They all offer similar features, but with a varying degree of success. In order to fairly and thoroughly test the book review sites, five books from different genres were chosen: The Hobbit , Life Of Pi , The Lincoln Lawyer , Angels and Demons , and James and The Giant Peach .
Look & Feel: The homepage is a little busy and hard to navigate, with clunky drop-down menus. Things improve once you actually reach a particular book, with the layout making more sense.
Number Of Reviews: Three of the five test books are featured on the site, but the overall number of reviews isn't made clear. A result of 60% for the sample titles suggests the site is lacking in this department.
Search: The search engine offers the bare minimum, with no advanced search options and no way of paring the results down. However, the results are fairly solid and well laid out.
Recommendation Engine: Each book has a ' Readalikes ' section, and there's also a way of narrowing books down by different parameters. The results are sensible, offering similar books in the same genre or from authors with similar sensibilities.
Summing Up: BookBrowse is a good option, but it's let down badly by the need to pay for a membership to unlock the best features.
- LibraryThing
Look & Feel: Although it could do with a visual overhaul to bring it up to date, everything is in place and easy to navigate. Once you click on an individual title the number of options available to explore expands massively.
Number Of Reviews: All five of the test books are present and correct, with 78 million books listed overall.
Search: The search engine is simple, but with enough added features such as tags and ways of sorting the results to make it worth exploring.
Recommendation Engine: The 'Zeitgest ' section offers a comprehensive way of finding new books to read, and there are also a lot of recommendations (using various methods) listed under each book. The books suggested for further reading make a lot of sense in terms of genre and style.
Summing Up: The vast number of books coupled with the robust collection of data makes LibraryThing a worthy contender. Unfortunately a small fee is required for full integration.
Look & Feel: Clean lines and a modern feel make this site one of the best looking on the list. Everything is easy to find, and you never feel overwhelmed by an abundance of information or external links.
Number Of Reviews: All five of the test books are present and correct, and though the total number of books isn't listed, the number of users suggests there will be few gaps in the library.
Search: You can search the site by title, author, or ISBN number, which is the bare minimum a book review site should be offering. A way of narrowing the results further would be appreciated.
Recommendation Engine: Recommendations are based on the ratings you give to other books. It's a system which works well, but it does require a little effort to start working. Once the recommendations kick in they're eclectic but improve as you rate more titles. In a similar way to the movie recommendation sites .
Summing Up: GoodReads is a strong contender with a huge community at its disposal. The site feels a little dry, but it does the job being asked of it extremely well. It's completely free to use too.
Look & Feel: A solid design sensibility shines through across the site, putting it on a par with GoodReads. Everything is based around book covers, which adds a nice visual element to proceedings.
Number Of Reviews: All five of the test books are present and correct, and though the total number of books isn't listed, Amazon's origins as a bookseller suggests there will be few gaps in the library.
Search: A startling number of advanced search options are available, such as narrowing by genre or binding, and setting the publication date parameters. This ensures even obscure titles should be easy to find.
Recommendation Engine: Recommendations are kept to a minimum by default, suggesting this isn't the main focus of the site. However, there are sensible titles suggested for each book, so you can build out from your existing collection.
Summing Up: Shelfari is owned and powered by Amazon , but that's mostly to its credit. It's free, it's comprehensive, and it's extremely user friendly.
Look & Feel: The homepage is rather busy, with little to differentiate the various sections. The color scheme works, but the small icons and even smaller text make it something of a chore to navigate.
Number Of Reviews: All five of the test books are present and correct, but there is no data regarding the total number featured on the site. With user-submitted reviews being the order of the day I suspect it lags behind GoodReads and LibraryThing.
Search: There are both basic and advanced search options, which combined offer the best of both worlds. One nice touch is a snapshot of the book on an actual bookshelf, as uploaded to the site by a user.
Recommendation Engine: The only recommendations are via the discussions taking place around each title. Which is fairly limiting in terms of its ability to inform you what you may want to read next. This is the biggest weakness of the site.
Summing Up: BookRabbit is slightly different from the other sites on this list, which is both a blessing and a curse. It wouldn't be my first choice, but it's definitely worth a look for those seeking in-depth reviews of popular titles.
Conclusions
Having tested each site for an expended period of time, I rank them as follows:-
GoodReads wins out thanks to a strong user base, a huge database, and an overall look and feel which just edges out Shelfari and LibraryThing. BookRabbit will appeal to some but not all, while BookBrowse suffers mainly as a result of the need to pay membership fees.
My love of books is going nowhere, even if the method by which I read them has to evolve in the years to come. In the absence of infinite time to read everything we want to, book review sites that gather reviews and recommend titles that should not be missed are essential tools.
Let us know what you think of this article in the comments section below, or add your own book review site to the list.
Image Credit: Ian Wilson
- Book Reviews
7 Book Review Sites That Put Your Book in Front of Readers
May 13, 2021 | Book Marketing | 10 comments
Now that you finally published your book , it’s time to gather book reviews. With so many options to promote your book and get it in front of readers, it’s hard to choose which one(s) will help sell this book and the ones that follow. Book review sites are one way to use your advertising dollars to promote reviews and, potentially, book sales.
Why are book reviews so important?
Book reviews are the social proof for your book. It lets other readers know your book is worthy of their time and money. Just like you wouldn’t go to a restaurant without reviews, most readers, unless they know you, have seen you, or a friend recommends your book, won’t pick up your book without reviews. Your first goal is to get to 25 reviews as quickly as possible. Once you reach that goal, keep pushing for more. There is no such thing as too many reviews.
When should you spend money on book review sites?
When you have a small email list or small following on social media and can’t generate the number of desired book reviews organically, you may consider turning to book review sites. It is against Amazon rules to have your mother and friends stuff your book page with reviews. So, it may be advantageous to engage readers out of your own ecosystem.
What to expect from book review sites
The most important thing to understand about engaging with book review sites is that you aren’t paying for reviews. You are paying to have your book in front of readers who may select your book and leave a review. Readers are under no obligation to leave a review, although most will, and they are under no obligation to leave a positive review.
Most reviewers sign up for the sites’ free and nearly free ebooks email list and/or social media feeds. They choose books in genres they like or will go off their normal reading patterns and choose something new because there is little to no risk if the book is free or cheap.
Who can expect the greatest return?
Not all books are created equal. Genre fiction (romance, mystery, etc.) will get consumed at a ravenous rate compared to nonfiction. You increase your chance of success with review sites using the same elements as you will selling them: a professional cover, an engaging description, and a well-written, well-edited book. Make sure you put your best book forward to entice readers.
Why give away your book?
Why would you give away your book for free? Isn’t the point to make money? Long-term, the goal is to generate income. In the short term, it may be more advantageous to expose your book to more readers and build a following. More reviews or more Amazon (or another platform) traffic may mean higher sales after you’ve run your book review promotion. Especially if you have more than one book, book review promotions can help with sales of all of your books. Your goal is to turn readers into fans. Giving your book away is one way to start.
Book review sites
The style, competition, and offerings vary from site to site. While there are free review sites available, the ones listed here are all paid sites. Except for Book Marketing Tools, all are run out of their own site using their list of reviewers. You can also sign up to become a reviewer and receive free and discounted book offers. You’ll help other authors and read some great books!
Most free book review sites won’t evaluate your book. Their Twitter lists may not be vetted either. This is one instance that you get what you pay for. Read the details of each program to understand what you are getting.
Book Marketing Tools
Book Marketing Tools has been around for a number of years, giving sound book marketing advice to its readers. More recently, they built a tool to easily add your information once and use it to be listed on 31+ free book promotion sites. While it isn’t a book review platform in itself, it does ease your efforts. And, of course, time is money. At the time of this blog post, it cost $29 to access this feature.
Readers Favorite
Readers Favorite offers free and paid book review opportunities. According to their site, 50% of the books listed for free receive a review within 3 months. For guaranteed, expedited reviews, there are three options for one, three, and five reviews. Readers Favorite only publishes four- and five-star reviews and with enough depth to allow you to pull out several shorter quotes for use on social media and other avenues. Their pricing model includes free, $59, $129, and $199 offerings.
Reedsy Discovery
With Reedsy Discovery , you first pick your launch date and are matched with readers who give reviews in your category. You receive a book landing page and are added to their Discovery feed. The best books get featured in their catalog. For $50, you are eligible for one review. If your book is not reviewed, you can resubmit it three times at no charge. They require that you submit your book within six months of publication and must submit a copy of your ebook and front cover.
NetGalley is a way to reach a growing community of influential readers (media, reviewers, booksellers, librarians, bloggers, and educators) who can read, review and recommend your book(s). You can enroll in 3-6 month packages individually or through partners like Books Go Social (below) or Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for $199-$399 (partner prices). Reviewers request pre-publication digital copies of your book and publish reviews to their profile and to share with their audiences.
Book Raid is another high-quality book review site. The benefit to promoting your title with this site, besides its popularity with readers, is that you only pay per click on your book, and your maximum spend is capped at $60. While they don’t take everyone, they do have a few requirements including minimum page count, recently discounted or free, and not promoted on their site within the last eight weeks, among other things.
Written Word Media
Written Word Media is another popular site hosting a variety of book promotion options. Among their offerings are Free Booksy for free books, Bargain Booksy for discounted books usually between $.99 and $2.99, Red Feather Romance, New Releases for books released within four months, and a Facebook/Instagram ad option called Reader Reach. Their tiered pricing levels the field with more popular genres promoted for a higher cost. Your book gets the attention it deserves with a growing reader list of well over 300,000 to date.
Books Go Social
Books Go Social offers a variety of book review opportunities as well as ad programs through Facebook and Amazon. Their package pricing varies depending on the service, and many packages offer tiered pricing options. They offer launch packages with ads, a book trailer, cover, description, and subtitle reviews, tweets, and email placements to their legions of followers, along with NetGalley membership. They also offer 4-8 week memberships to boost book sales and reviews. Packages start at $99.
BookBub earns its title as the coveted spot for book marketing. Books are vetted, and authors compete for featured deals due to the prestige and effect on sales that accompany it. There are many factors in getting your book accepted or denied. Some of those are required, like page count (differs between categories), or not discounted enough or already discounted within a month. You must offer at least a 50% discount on your ebook, preferably at a price between $.99-1.99. Most others are subjective. You are competing with other books. A great cover and description, wide distribution, well-edited, and plenty of reviews put you in the running. While they don’t have a requirement for the number of reviews, it is clear that under 25 positive reviews won’t cut it.
BookBub’s pricing reflects the high demand for the service. Costs for the Featured Deal vary by the popularity of the book category and the price you charge for the book. At the time of this writing, a featured deal could be as low as $92 or as high as $3066. Pricing changes regularly based on several factors. Here is more information about boosting your chances to get a BookBub featured deal.
Ok. That’s eight but who’s counting?
These are just a few of the book review sites available. As with many advertising programs, success will vary based on the platform and its ability to connect your book with the right readers. Once the promotion ends, use your online presence to turn readers into fans. They will be poised and ready for your next book or another product or service.
Do you need help navigating the book marketing path? Find your guide here .
10 Comments
But these reviews are not verified purchases–so does Amazon still use them in the rankings?
Thanks for your comment. Amazon uses purchases in their rankings and not reviews. They will post reviews, although some are removed if they think they aren’t actually readers.
This comment makes me very hesitant to use most of these sites which do not provide verified reviews.
Hi Regina, If reviewers are receiving their books from Amazon, they are verified. However, you can have reviews that aren’t verified that are still valid reviews wherever they purchased or received the book.
HOPE TO START A NEW CHAPTER IN MY LIFE
We’re always writing new chapters. That’s what makes life exciting!
What do you think of pubby book review site?
Betsy, I’ve heard that Amazon has been rejecting many of the reviews generated from that site. Amazon’s review policy disallows reciprocal reviews and that seems to happen a lot on the Pubby site, according to some anecdotal evidence.
I found a $49 lifetime deal on BookMuffin, which works in a similar way to Pubby but is smaller. I think it is worthwhile is it doesn’t matter if it takes a week or more for people to review my books because I am not paying a monthly fee.
BookMuffin sounds interesting. Any others not listed above that you recommend? Pubby is not for me as I learned from experience; don’t go there. It’s way overpriced and it takes much time to get in touch with a person; it’s all botted out and the bots just aren’t up for the job ad nauseam.
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Best Paid Book Review Sites for Authors
Reviews are the lifeblood of your book’s success. Getting them is vital throughout your author journey, starting from before until long after you launch your piece of writing. Paid services are, of course, well aware of this fact. There are so many to choose from, so if you’re wondering what the best paid book review sites are, keep reading!
Dozens and dozens of companies are happy to take your money in exchange for the promise of landing you some good reviews.
With the many book review sites out there, you might be wondering which one should you choose.
Not All Paid Book Review Sites Are The Same
You can easily find plenty of companies out there that promises reviews in exchange for dollars. But, as much as you’d want them to be, not all of them will turn out effective. In fact, you may come across some that aren’t even legit.
Rather than take you through all the options available, I’ll share the tried-and-tested ones we use to help get your search narrowed down.
Here at Book Launchers, we use:
- BookSirens, and
- Booksprout for our authors.
Now, you might be thinking, “ A review is a review. So why so many different sites for the same thing?”
Well, if you haven’t noticed, paid book review sites aren’t all the same. Your book category, overall strategy, goals, and who you’re targeting are essential aspects to consider before going with a review company.
Still, every review site has the same ultimate goal: increase your exposure, find new readers for your book, and bump up those review counts.
Not all sites can make sense for every author. The best course of action would be to pick those that best suit your unique needs.
Here are the four best paid book review sites you can rely on for non-fiction authors, each with its distinctive features.
#1 goodreads.
Goodreads is the most popular review site in the publishing industry today. It remains the top on-line community for book lovers and authors alike.
Amazon runs it, so it boasts some perks for authors with books in the Amazon database.
Right through the site, you can claim your profile and earn a badge that verifies your identity. You’ll also be able to access a wealth of statistical information on your books listed on KDP.
So, how do you know if Goodreads is the way to go? Well, if you want your book to go viral and gain as much exposure as possible, Goodreads could be your ticket.
Here, the strategy is to get people to add your book to their virtual bookshelves, and of course, leave some reviews on it.
This way, your book gets raised visibility. Other users can now see it in their friends’ feeds, giving it a much better chance to be added to their reading list.
Think of it as like playing a giant book-fueled game of telephone with 80 million people.
Speaking of games, did you know that we have an entire YouTube channel dedicated to guiding authors like you to create an excellent self-publishing game plan. Check it out, and if you like what you see, let’s see how fast you can smash that subscribe button.
Back to our topic, you can also run a giveaway on Goodreads, a surefire way to get book reviews. It’s something we do regularly for our clients.
All active giveaways are listed on the giveaway section of the website. Your fans can link to it and encourage their friends to enter the giveaway.
Here’s a video dedicated entirely to helping you get all the goods you can get on Goodreads.
#2 NetGalley
Next up on the paid book review site list is NetGalley. NetGalley is a service that delivers digital Advanced Reader Copies, better known as ARCs.
This service provides ARCs of your book to professional readers. We’re talking about reviewers, media, journalists, bloggers, librarians, booksellers, podcast hosts, and many others.
These professional readers use NetGalley to access digital copies of your book, making it an effective marketing tool not just for your book but for your entire brand as an author.
It allows your work to be made available to people who want to read it in their professional capacity.
A NetGalley promotion offers your ARC three months to be highlighted in their database’s recently added and read now sections. The promo also lets you showcase your book to the sections specific to your title’s categories.
By opting for this promo, all users will see your book listed on the NetGalley website.
There’s a lot more to NetGalley when it comes to figuring out if it’s the right one for you.
To help you out, we have a video that goes into all the details of this review site. We also dive deep into costs because it can be pretty expensive and may not be worth it for all books. Stick to the end of this video to make sure if this review site is for you.
The following two on this list are similar to NetGalley. These two book review sites also deliver your ARC copy to both readers and reviewers. But, they focus more on getting your ARC securely to reviewers, bloggers, and your book army.
#3 BookSirens
BookSirens boasts over 10,000 readers across various genres with an average review rate of 75%, making it an attractive site to get book reviews.
The high average review rate is because their users are vetted and accepted as serious book reviewers. Before users can get approval to join BookSirens, they must have posted at least 20 starred ratings on Goodreads.
How this works is that you first need to send your book to the BookSirens team for evaluation. They will then confirm if it is a quality book – something that they want to offer to their users. Once approved, they will add your book to its appropriate category where users can discover it, download the ARC, and start reading.
A remarkable feature of BookSirens, which leads to their 75% success rate, is that readers can only download one ARC at a time. They can’t download a new ARC until they finish reading and reviewing their active one.
This feature is pretty cool for authors because your advanced reader is much less likely to ghost you without leaving a review. And they’re entirely focused on one book at a time.
BookSirens will also give you a direct link that you can send to your book army. So, those folks can hop on over there and securely download their ARC for free.
You also have the option of choosing whether your reviews are posted on Goodreads, Amazon, or both. Now if you’re wondering about getting book reviews from your book army (And how to keep them from being removed) – check out this article .
#4 Booksprout
Booksprout is another option to consider if your main priority is a prelaunch review push.
Similar to BookSirens, Booksprout is a review site that automates the delivery of your ARC to over 40,000 users.
Their average review rate is around 79%. Even your book army will find it challenging to beat that.
Before you get all excited, we’ve been testing this one for some time, and we’re getting mixed results.
Self-Publish and Succeed , well after launch, got four reviews from a single Booksprout listing. Yet, the other books we tested did not bring any results.
Right now, we’re playing with it to figure out whether it’s a timing issue, a topic, or something else.
We’ve experienced the same thing with BookSirens. My book wasn’t even accepted by them for their reviewers. So, I only used BookSirens for ARCs, but some authors from our client base have gotten good reviews.
BookSirens Vs. Booksprout
So what’s the difference between the two paid review sites? Which one is better for you? Let’s discuss the main differences between BookSirens and Booksprout:
- Booksprout focuses on getting reviews by a specific date, while BookSirens focuses on getting a particular number of reviews.
- On BookSirens, you can post your book and have the reviews roll in for as long as your little heart desires. But on Booksprout, your reviewers have a time limit to read and write their review.
- Booksprout also limits the number of reviewer downloads depending on your subscription level. The more money you spend on their service, the more downloads you can do.
- BookSirens is a fee-per-book service, letting you choose the number of downloads from as little as 5 to as many as 250.
On the plus side, you can request Booksprout reviews posted on up to eight different sites rather than just Goodreads or Amazon. They include options like Kobo, Apple Books, Google Books, and even BookBub.
Whether you go with BookSirens, Booksprout, or both, these two book review sites are easy to use. They’re effective if you need a little help building up your audience.
If this is your first book or your book army looks a little sparse on the prelaunch battlefield, one of these two review sites, or maybe both, could be your answer.
Now that you know some of the best sites that can help you get book reviews in bulk, maybe it’s time to get in touch with us. See what we can do to help you take off even further, even months post-launch.
Here at Book Launchers we help authors like you in every stage of the self-publishing process. Whether you write the book yourself or with our help, we’re with you every step of the way.
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The 10 Best Book Reviews of 2021
Merve emre on simone de beauvoir, justin taylor on joy williams, and more.
The older I get, the more I’m interested in critics who play around with form and style. Mixing genres, experimenting with voice and structure, and tapping into personal experience are some of my favorite devices, though I still have a soft spot for the formal limitations of an 800-word newspaper writeup. From longform online essays to crisp perspectives in print, here are my 10 favorite book reviews of 2021.
Brought to you by Book Marks , Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes for books.”
Parul Sehgal on Soyica Diggs Colbert’s Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry ( New York Times )
Sehgal deftly takes on the style of the theatre in her review of a book about Chicago’s greatest playwright, by opening her first paragraph like the first scene in a play.
“The curtain rises on a dim, drab room. An alarm sounds, and a woman wakes. She tries to rouse her sleeping child and husband, calling out: ‘Get up!’ It is the opening scene—and the injunction—of Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun , the story of a Black family living on the South Side of Chicago.”
Merve Emre on Simone de Beauvoir’s The Inseparables (tr. Lauren Elkin) ( The New Yorker )
Emre always helps readers see things in a new way, in this case not just Simone de Beauvoir’s lost novel, but also Simone de Beauvoir herself.
“To read The Inseparables is to learn what could have been, and to judge what was a little more harshly. It is to see in the memoirs a lingering refusal to give Zaza the autonomy that everyone in life seems to have denied her at the greatest possible cost. And it is to see in The Second Sex an inability, or perhaps an unwillingness, to make as affirmative a case as possible for lesbian identity.”
Victoria Chang and Dean Rader on Douglas Kearney’s Sho ( Los Angeles Review of Books )
Reviews-in-dialogue are my new favorite thing. I love how naturalistic and conversational they are, as the form really allows critics to be themselves. Chang and Rader are a joy to read.
“Kearney’s body of work is very much about play with language, yet, that somehow feels like it diminishes the political aspects of his poems and his body of work. Perhaps play itself in Kearney’s work is a political act. I find this tension fascinating because on the one hand, I often get carried away in Kearney’s language (and the conceptual aspects of his work), but I’m also acutely aware of the humanity in his work (or the exploration of anti-humanity). In this way, maybe play and the political are not mutually exclusive. Maybe for Kearney, play = confrontation.”
J. Howard Rosier on Frederick Seidel’s Selected Poems ( Poetry Foundation )
Rosier does a great job bringing paratext to bear on the text itself, in this case interviews and Seidel’s other work.
“For a poet as revered as Seidel, there are scant mentions of turns of phrase being Seidelian, few poetic narratives or structures construed as Seidelesque. Chalk it up to the oddity of a formalist disassociating form from content; Seidel uses form like a hypnotist to mesmerize readers so that they are sedated, or at the very least put at ease, in spite of his content.”
Sheila Liming on Edith Wharton’s Ghosts ( Cleveland Review of Books )
Every editor’s dream assignment is a critic with deep subject matter expertise, and you can’t beat Liming—author of What A Library Means to A Woman: Edith Wharton and the Will to Collect Books —writing about Wharton’s ghost stories.
“Here are ‘fetches’ (ominous doppelgangers) of Celtic superstition, zombie mistresses rising from the grave, and ghost dogs, even. But for each of these paranormal threats there is an equally normal, equally mundane, and equally human villain attached to the story. In this way, Wharton’s Ghosts can be read and interpreted in concert with many of her better-known works, including novels like The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence , which tell stories of everyday human malice.”
Meg Ringer on Jon McGregor’s Lean Fall Stand ( Chicago Review of Books )
Some of the best reviews are the product of a critic who brings personal experience into their analysis of the book at hand. Ringer’s perspective on Lean Fall Stand is full of unique insights and emotional power. (Disclosure: I founded the Chicago Review of Books in 2016, but stepped back from an editorial role in 2019.)
“Though there was a time—before we met, before his diagnosis—when my husband traveled to Antarctica, Robert and Anna’s story is not ours. It is barely even close. But Lean Fall Stand reads like a meditation on the questions we all must someday face: Who am I? What can I stand? Who will be there when I fall?”
Ryan Ruby on Peter Weiss ( The Point )
Speaking of hybrids between personal essays and reviews, Ruby’s experience discovering the work of Weiss during the 2016 election is riveting stuff.
“By creating physical objects that survive their creators and the world in which they were made, the artist helps to manufacture the continuity of our collective experience of historical time, and to the extent that it distinguishes itself, the work of art can become a symbol of that continuity. ‘Imagination lived so long as human beings who resisted lived,’ the narrator writes, but in the end what Weiss demonstrates in The Aesthetic of Resistance is that the converse is also true, and just as important, then as now, for what the imagination always has and always will resist is death.”
Justin Taylor on Joy Williams’ Harrow ( Bookforum )
I love a good delayed lede. In this marvelous example, the title of the book Taylor’s reviewing doesn’t even appear until more than 800 words have passed.
“I drove across the Everglades in May. I had originally planned to take Alligator Alley, but someone tipped me off that, in the twenty years since I left South Florida, the historically wild and lonesome stretch of road had been fully incorporated into I-75, turned into a standard highway corridor with tall concrete walls on both sides, designed to keep the traffic noise in and the alligators out.”
Lauren LeBlanc on Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You ( Los Angeles Times )
Ruffin’s fiction does a lot of interesting things with place, and LeBlanc smartly centers her review on New Orleans, as well as the way Ruffin subverts geographical expectations.
“Several recent story collections (Bryan Washington’s Lot and Dantiel W. Moniz’s Blood Milk Heat spring to mind) present geographies as characters. While Ruffin’s stories can’t help but transport the reader to humid, sunken, decaying New Orleans, it’s too easy to say this book is merely a set of love songs to the city. What makes such collections ring true is the way they subvert conventional knowledge.”
Victor LaValle on James Han Mattson’s Reprieve ( New York Times )
Opening a review with a question can be a powerful way to focus a reader’s attention, as LaValle does here with a compelling lede drawn from his own insights as a horror fiction writer.
“Why do people enjoy being scared? This is a pretty common question for those of us who write horror, or stories tinged with horror, and maybe for those who design roller coasters too. Why do some people take pleasure in terror?”
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Also read: Top 10 Book Review Clubs of 2024 to Share Literary Insights. 6. Amazon. Amazon is one of the top free book review sites in 2024. It allows readers to rate books using a 1-5 star scale and receive a verified purchase tag after they have purchased books, increasing the authenticity of their reviews.
Fantasy Book Review should be high on the list for anyone who is a fan of fantasy works. The book review site publishes reviews for both children's books and adults' books. It has a section on the top fantasy books of all time and a continually updated list of must-read books for each year.
It's a site for every kind of reader, with abundant ways to comment and interact. 2. LibraryThing. Review styles: star rating, recommendation, community reviews. This is the OG of all online book catalogues and discussion boards — take a look and you'll see that it's an oldie but a goodie.
15. BOMB. BOMB is in it for the art. Art, literature, film, music, theater, architecture, and dance. There are reviews and interviews, and the literature section is a real delight. The reviews are like poignant essays, and the author interviews are in-depth and feature some fascinating minds. BOMB.
Goodreads is widely considered one of the best websites for book reviews. With over 90 million members, Goodreads provides a platform where readers can discover, review, and discuss a vast array of books. Users can rate books on a five-star scale, write detailed reviews, and connect with fellow readers through groups and forums.
The Magazine: Kirkus Reviews. Featuring 341 industry-first reviews of fiction, nonfiction, children's, and YA books; also in this special mysteries & thrillers issue: Attica Locke, Ron Stallworth, Sara Varon, Maureen Johnson; and much more. subscribe. The Kirkus Star. One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star ...
Find and read more books you'll love, and keep track of the books you want to read. Be part of the world's largest community of book lovers on Goodreads. ... Best Books of the 20th Century. 7,788 books | 51,168 voters Best for Book Clubs. 13,137 books | 17,520 voters Best Crime & Mystery Books.
The New York Times' "Best Books of the Century" List Was an Unforgivable Erasure of African Literature ... 5 Reviews You Need to Read This Week. September 5, 2024 By Book Marks. Kelsea Yu: Writing Chinese Food into My Stories. September 10, 2024 By Kelsea Yu. Silvia Moreno-Garcia Writes a Hollywood Story of Biblical Proportions ...
Covers 300,000 books and cites over 1.5 million book reviews found in over 500 popular magazines, newspapers, and academic journals, as well as the library review media (the reviews originate in a group of selected periodicals in the humanities, social sciences, and general science published in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain).
The Book Against Death. Elias Canetti, trans. Peter Filkins. Rave. Literary Hub's Bookmarks is the definitive source for book reviews and critical conversations about contemporary writing.
Reviews, essays, best sellers and children's books coverage from The New York Times Book Review.
The best book reviews, readers' advisory, and collection development guidance from the experts at the American Library Association. For over 100 years Booklist magazine has helped tens of thousands of librarians as a book review source, and readers' advisory, collection development, and professional development resource.Booklist magazine delivers 8,000+ recommended-only reviews of books ...
I hope you'll find your next favorite book through this list of great book websites to grow as a reader. 20 Best Book Websites for Book Recommendations, Lists, and More (1) Amazon Book Review. Love it or hate it, but Amazon is a quality place to go to find out about new books.
Discover the best new and current books with BookBrowse, an online magazine that offers reviews, excerpts, reading lists, book club resources and more.
9. Olmenta. All of the recommendations on Olmenta are submitted by passionate readers. The site allows you to peruse titles by genre or category, and it's a fun way to let someone else pick a book for you (without needing to do any real work on your end). You can submit your own suggestions, too.
At Kirkus Reviews, discover the hottest new books, from bestsellers you love to writers you didn't know you'd love. Be the first to be in the know! ... Bestsellers Book lists Best Of 2023 Vacation Reads. News & Features . Popular Genres. General Fiction Nonfiction Teen Children's.
Here are some of the prices for Kirkus Reviews: Traditional Reviews: Costs $425 for a 250-word review. Expanded Reviews: Costs $525 for a 500-word review. Picture Book Reviews: Cost $350 for a 200-word review. All of the reviews are turned around in 7-9 weeks but can be expedited for an additional fee. After receiving your review, you can add ...
Number Of Reviews: All five of the test books are present and correct, and though the total number of books isn't listed, the number of users suggests there will be few gaps in the library. Search: You can search the site by title, author, or ISBN number, which is the bare minimum a book review site should be offering. A way of narrowing the ...
Readers Favorite. Readers Favorite offers free and paid book review opportunities. According to their site, 50% of the books listed for free receive a review within 3 months. For guaranteed, expedited reviews, there are three options for one, three, and five reviews.
The Book of Goose. by Yiyun Li (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Fiction. This novel dissects the intense friendship between two thirteen-year-olds, Agnès and Fabienne, in postwar rural France. Believing ...
Here are the four best paid book review sites you can rely on for non-fiction authors, each with its distinctive features. #1 Goodreads. Goodreads is the most popular review site in the publishing industry today. It remains the top on-line community for book lovers and authors alike.
Best Book Reviews of the Year Best of 2021 Book Marks. Adam Morgan. Adam Morgan is a culture journalist and critic whose work appears in Esquire, Inverse, and elsewhere. He founded the Chicago Review of Books, the Southern Review of Books, and The Frontlist.
Book Reviews. The US Review of Books connects authors with professional book reviewers and places their book reviews in front of 23,396 subscribers to our free monthly newsletter of fiction book reviews and nonfiction book reviews. Learn why our publication is different than most others, or read author and publisher testimonials about the USR.
Bookangel started as a London bookclub's private site to swap book recs and highlight free books. It opened to other users a few years back after realising that there weren't many sites that focus on UK readers. Blogger: Book Angel Team. 🌐 Domain authority: 29.
2. Be concise and direct. "Include your title, publisher, date of release, and genre in the first paragraph," notes Beverly Bambury. "Then you might want to include the cover copy or a brief description of the book. Finally, be direct and ask for what you want. If you want a review, ask for it!
100 Best Books of the 21st Century: As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.