Booklist Online: More than 130,000 book reviews for librarians, book groups, and book lovers - from the trusted experts at the American Library Association

I find it ironic that the last book that I read (A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess–see my previous post) had a glossary and so does Truth by Peter Temple.  Why is this so important?  Because there is a rhythm and pace to this novel that is driven by the use of language.  It is [...]

I pay close attention to national and international book awards, but I’m also interested in state book awards. These awards are the ones that find those sleeper titles that become book group favorites through word of mouth. Last week the short list for the Minnesota Book Awards were announced. The winners will be revealed on [...]

Why should football have all the fun? For those folks who are dragged to Super Bowl parties today and don’t know what color or shape ball is getting tossed around, here’s a few discussable titles about the gridiron sport. Might make for great half-time conversation. No one knows football widowhood better than Nanci Kincaid. She [...]

A new update to my 2010 Megalist, the compilation of all the major best-of-the-year lists and award winners into one spreadsheet, will be posted early next week. Compiling this list for the last three years has given me a unique perspective on how the business of selecting the best books works. When you’re reading one [...]

As I mentioned yesterday,  I’m not too sure how I feel about virtual book discussions.  Now I see that NPR is trying something new, “a book-club-meets-social-media experiment”.    In a nutshell, they are going to use Facebook, Twitter and NPR.org to have people read Lauren Hillenbrand’s Unbroken throughout the month of February, and then present a [...]

ReadingGroupGuides.com is sponsoring a contest for book groups. You have until February 21st to enter the titles your book group discussed in 2010. If you are selected, you may receive some free books! Here are the form and the details. One of the results of entering this contest will be to contribute to ReadingGroupGuide.com’s tally [...]

Last month, Random House launched an online book club show titled Beauty and the Book. Hosted by Kathy Patrick, owner/founder of Beauty and The Book, a hair salon/bookstore, the show not only features author chats, but “entertaining tips and makeovers”. I’m not entirely sure what I think of it yet, because I don’t quite know [...]

The Guardian online has a book club, facilitated by John Mullan. I look at the Guardian site frequently, but somehow didn’t stumble across the book club page until recently. The Guardian’s Book Club has been going for some time, and because of that, there is a wealth of resources available on the titles they have [...]

Located on East 47th Street in Manhattan, the Center for Fiction is a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating fiction by supporting authors, readers, and reading groups. If you’re lucky enough to be in New York, you can visit their bookstore, borrow from their library, or sign up for their book groups or special events. For all [...]