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Type “books” into Google’s search engine, and the result is millions of hits. Where do you start? It depends what you are specifically looking for, of course, but even with a relatively narrow focus the selection is apt to be (too) large. Here are a few worthy sites that have come to our attention.
African Review of Books
The African Review of Books “brings together, in one place, news, reviews and information relating to Africa's publishing industry.” You’ll find reviews and essays about a wide variety of books including children's, non-fiction, essays, poetry, fiction and even coffee-table books as well as “information … [and] Africa's 100 best books; not just a list but a sample from many so you can taste the best the continent has to offer.” Fantastic; highly recommended.
Arts & Letters Daily
It says of itself that it is devoted to “philosophy, aesthetics, literature, language, ideas, criticism, culture, history, music, art, trends, breakthrough, disputes, gossip” which makes it sound wonderful. I can tell you it’s even better than it sounds. A fabulous site of amazing quality. Superb in all ways. Highly recommended.
Authors ‘Round the South
ARTS is a unique site that offers a calendar of events—book signings, author appearances, book festivals and other literary events—in more than 300 independent bookstores across the south. Excellent resource; highly recommended for regional folks.
Biblioexpeditions
This company “produces fundraising package tours that escort library patrons to shop at bookstores located within a three-hour driving radius of the host libraries.” This “vacation product” sounds like such fun that I am almost sorry I live across the country from this Massachusetts-based firm. Support this kind of thing if you can—please. Recommended.
Bibliomania
Bibliomania is an attractive resource site which intends to be, as it notes, “the ultimate source of information for book buyers, sellers, & collectors … [and] to inform and educate book enthusiasts so that they can make wise decisions in their internet transactions.” Links include Authors and Illustrators; Book Arts; Book Collecting; Organizations; Repairs, Cleaning and Conservation; Supplies and Services and more. This place makes me lust over old-fashioned bookbinding classes and letterpresses for sale. Wonderful! Highly recommended.
Book Balloon
A discussion forum that offers a wide variety of discussions devoted to the written word in one
way or another. Readers will find this a wonderful way to interact with
other passionate readers from around the world. Highly recommended.
Book/Cut Sculptures
Su Blackwell, an artist, has taken books and created fantastic art images out of the pages. Normally I’d be horrified at the destruction of the books, but these creations are so beautiful I can do nothing but admire them. Stunning!
Book Design Review
Its subtitle is “The best—and sometimes the worse—of book cover design,” and it does what it says it will do very well. Joseph, who terms himself an information architect, loves book design. As will you if you read this even if you don’t now. Because you are interested in cover design. It’s what makes you pick up a book if you are browsing (what’s the first thing you see?) and what gives your subconscious its first thoughts on any book. The fact that he is a wonderful writer makes this entertaining as well as enlightening. Highly recommended.
BookExpocast
BEA is the annual trade show for the publishing industry. Their podcasts offer up a wide range of panels on all aspects of the publishing industry from book reviewing ethics to author interviews to business strategies. Now anyone can listen in. Recommended.
Book Information
Another resource site, it says it has not been updated since March 2000, but there is still a lot of good information on all aspects of “books, book arts, book history, letterpress printing, fine printing, book schools, book and paper restoration and conservation, paper and papermaking, book artists, bookbinding and bookbinders, antiquarian books, book search services, book auctions, individual book dealers, manuscripts, pop-up books and the history of printing.” This is a recommended place for any bibliophile.
Book Inscriptions Project
This project is devoted to collecting the personal messages given as gifts (no author dedications or autographs) written inside books. They also include poems, pictures and notes on paper. Don’t just enjoy the ones on there; they are asking for everyone to send them in. Highly recommended.
Book Sale Finder
If you like book sales, you’ll like this site which calls itself “the online guide to used book events” in the U.S. and Canada. Not all sales are listed, but it appears to be quite good. Recommended.
Books & Book Collecting
Though it hasn’t been updated for a while, this is a wonderful research site. The left side of the page lists a number of book-related sites including those for associations, author signatures, dust jackets, uncorrected proofs and much more. Recommended.
BookTour: Where Authors and Audiences Meet
This is a free online service that connects authors and audiences of all sorts, from bookclubs to corporations from bookstores to civic organizations. Authors create their own page, and any individual or group looking for speakers can contact them directly to arrange for an appearance. Recommended.
Book Towns
A book town is often a small rural town or village of historic interest or scenic beauty in which secondhand and antiquarian bookshops are concentrated. The original and most famous book town, established in 1961, is Hay-on-Wye, Wales. The idea of book towns as economically viable models has grown, and today there are quite a few throughout Europe. Sadly, only one exists in the United States. Perhaps more will come soon. Meanwhile, if you are headed to Europe, check this site to get information on book towns in your destination. Recommended resource.
Book TV
Think books and television are incompatible? Think again. This cousin to the public affairs station, C-SPAN2, spends each weekend (8:00 a.m. Saturday to 8:00 a.m. Monday) on nonfiction books. If you are television-free (as I am), you can also enjoy Book TV's offerings online. Highly recommended.
CaliforniaAuthors.com
One of the best regional web sites I’ve ever seen, this site focuses on bringing together “California’s often fragmented literary scene.” You’ll find the latest books, an author directory, lists of bestsellers, independent stores, publishers, excerpts, essays, shopping and more. A fantastic resource that is highly recommended.
Caribbean Review of Books
This is a quarterly magazine exclusively covering new Caribbean books and writing. Each issue includes reviews of new and recent writing of Caribbean interest (about the Caribbean or written by Caribbean authors): novels and poetry collections, plays and films, biographies and memoirs, books about history, art, culture, politics, and current affairs. An excellent site; recommended.
Complete Review
Its subtitle is “A Literary Saloon and Site of Review,” which well sums it up well. It has a tendency to make you click several links to get to where you want, but it is quite interesting and well worth visiting. Highly recommended.
Dirda on Books (Washington Post)
Former Washington Post Book World editor and reader extraordinaire Michael Dirda hosts this lively one-hour live discussion about anything and everything books every Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. (EST). Search for “Dirda on Books.” Superb; highly recommended.
Great American Book Giveaway
It’s real. Every week they give away five books. Five free books. You choose which one you’d like, and then you enter simply by listing your e-mail address. And you can enter once per week. Its founders include thriller writer M. J. Rose and book publicity firm founder Meryl L. Moss. Highly recommended.
KCRW’s Bookworm
Talking about books is host Michael Silverblatt’s specialty. The show features interviews with writers of fiction and poetry. It airs live on Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. (PST); you can listen live online or download it via podcasting. Excellent; highly recommended.
Latin America Review of Literature
Like its sister site, African Review of Books, this site focuses on a specific region’s books and authors, here the countries of Latin America. Its English-language reviews include literature and fiction, children’s books, non-fiction and coffee-table books. They “hope to provide an objective source of information in English about writing on Latin America from outside the hemisphere, offering where necessary unconditional support for voices that might otherwise struggle." Highly recommended.
Library Designs
A custom home library doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of dollars. This site offers a fabulous array of ideas about home libraries, their design and their content including examples, before-and-after pictures, construction methods and materials, and budgeting information. A marvel of information. Recommended.
Library of Congress Webcasts
The LOC offers an astounding array of interviews via webcasts that include, among others, poetry and literature. Currently, there are more than 300 in that area alone. Brilliant and wonderful. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing
This wonderful site is an online service—a “cataloguing application”—that helps you record your books and connects you with people who have the same books. No software is needed, and there is no cost for a limited but useful version. (The full version is inexpensive, costing only $10 per year or $25 for a lifetime.) You can search out information on your books, sort it and tag it. There is a “Talk” section with numerous literary-related chats. Highly recommended.
Literary Traveler
A unique site that combines tours with literature. Do you like Dante’s Divine Comedy? Visit the book’s Italy and read along with the sites. How about Mark Twain’s Mississippi or Sherlock Holmes’ London? Does 1920s Paris interest you? It’s all here and much more. They also have a fascinating and extensive array of literary articles. Recommended.
LitMinds
A community of “readers, authors and indie bookstores . . . where new ideas will emerge, best practices get shared, and innovative ideas are born for celebrating readership and enriching reading experiences.” Recommended.
Los Angeles Times Calendar Live Books
The Los Angeles Times is under criticism for merging their formerly independent books section into another section. They have tried to counter that with an expanded online version that appears to have a wider focus and more interesting appeal. Recommended.
Miniature Books Society
The MBS is for those booklovers whose passion is for small books, those less than three inches in size—height, width or thickness—that are not novelties. but serious expressions of the book arts, finely bound and produced. Their history is fascinating, and this site offers articles on miniature books, links to publishers, dealers, conventions, exhibits, stores and more. Fascinating; recommended.
New Pages
A spectacular readers’ and writers’ site offers “news, information and guides to independent bookstores, independent publishers, literary magazines, alternative periodicals, independent record labels, alternative newsweeklies and more,” as they say. Highly recommended.
Project Gutenberg
This site is the Internet’s oldest producer of free e-books. It began as a public service project by Michael Hart in 1971. Today, you can download enormous numbers of public domain books than can be searched by authors, titles, languages, categories, Top 100 or recent additions. Amazing, and highly recommended.
Public Libraries
Want to find a public library or read about events happening at various ones? Try this superbly designed site. It's an excellent resource. Recommended.
Today in Literature
Its subtitle is “Great Books. Good Stories. Every Day." It is a superb, unique site whose founder, Steve King, is a former English teacher. King began it as a weekly radio series in Canada and now hosts it online. Obviously a labor of love. TinL shares fascinating daily vignettes of literary figures. This is literary breakfast at its best. Highly recommended.
Unique Publishers
BükAmerica
A bük is an inexpensive pamphlet (only $1.49) that contains one essay, short story, portfolio of pictures or collection of poems designed especially for a quick read if you’re drinking a cup of coffee, boarding a bus or train on the way home from work, waiting at the doctor’s office or anywhere else where something to read comes in handy. Each pamphlet is between 16 and 32 pages (and in a 5x7” format) so it’s easy to have a few on hand. These make perfect brief reading. Highly recommended.
Travelman
Travelman publishes classical and modern short stories and poetry on single sheets of paper folded like maps but read like a book. Accompanied by lovely illustrations, these editions are published in numbered series such as adventures, suspense, comedy, crime, romance and more. Outstanding idea and execution.
Warrior Librarian Weekly
A “zine for librarians who refuse to be classified,” this page offers up a humorous take on those infuriating error messages computers seem to dish out with regularity. They are hilarious—and spot on such as the one that reads” Memory Error: You have already read that book.” You should be able to print these out. If you use name badge labels, you can even use them as bookplates. Delightfully funny; recommended.
Words Without Borders
Even literate Americans are often ignorant of literature and magazines from around the world. This spectacular site gives you access to an astounding “world of words.” Highly recommended.
WOUB's Wired for Books
Recordings of one-on-one interviews as well as readings by famous literary voices of the 20th century. There is a fabulous selection including a brilliant reading of Homer's Iliad, Book I in ancient Greek and a stunning audio performance of Virgil's Aeneid in ancient Latin. Highly recommended.
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