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I spent some of the holidays cleaning out my “book room”. Many of you know what this room is. It’s the one room in the house where the books live in stacks on the floor on neat shelves. These are all the books I hope to read/can’t part with/use in workshops/give as gifts. But while [...]

The folks at The Millions are at it again, with a couple of strong recent posts. If you prefer to look back at 2011, try their Year in Reading, which asked a long list of authors, including some well known ones like Colum McCann, Jennifer Egan, Charles Baxter, Philip Levine, and Jonathan Safran Foer, what [...]

I just discovered a Canadian book award that I think I’ll be following closely from now on. The ReLit Award recognizes the best new work in three categories, Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story, released by independent publishers. The award was founded by Kenneth J. Harvey, a biblio-Renaissance man, and the prize is given at the [...]

I’m in a bit of geek heaven today because of a new online discovery. The British publisher Gollancz has launched a new website (http://www.sfgateway.com) to distribute classic works of science fiction and fantasy as ebooks. That’s pretty nifty, especially if you’re a fan of Golden Age SF that might not be available new in print [...]

While trolling around for older books I could suggest to community book groups I recalled a book blog I enjoyed very much. The Neglected Books Page. A recent visit reminded me of a classic author I’ll be sure to dust off and start promoting to library patrons. This blog has been in operation since 2006 [...]

OK, I know, you’re all playing with those new digital readers that you found under the Christmas tree, but put them aside for a minute. It’s time to enjoy something retro: Penguin has released a box of postcards that feature classic covers from its British paperbacks. You can sample a few more pictures here. Why [...]

I’ve posted the link to the first edition of my 2011 All the Best Books Compilation (ABBC). This is my fourth year of compiling all of those different best books lists and awards into one convenient sortable spreadsheet where you can see how many different mentions each book received from over 150 authoritative sources. The [...]

I have read all three of Kate Morton’s spellbinding Gothic novels now, and just read her first, The House at Riverton, last. Morton knows how to write parallel stories that draw you in. She tells a good story well and entices with atmosphere, period detail and suspense. But when I finished The House at Riverton, [...]

Did you know that Nancy Pearl has a show on the Seattle Channel called “Book Lust” where she has been interviewing a variety of authors for years? Well, now you know and your life will be better for it. And these interviews are all spectacularly noteworthy. I can’t think of very many other places, other [...]

I’ve begun my annual task of collecting all of the best-of-the-year lists and awards into one sortable spreadsheet. This is my fourth year compiling this massive labor of love-hate, and I almost chose to let it go this year, but once the lists started to come out, I just couldn’t resist. The analytical side of me loves [...]

Earlier this month my book group discussed Dave Egger’s Zeitoun. A work of nonfiction, Zeitoun takes a look at Hurricane Katrina and how one Syrian-American man and his family are swept into a terrible storm of a different kind in the aftermath of the natural disaster in New Orleans. The book fostered a wonderful discussion [...]

Let’s get ready to rumble! The latest Reading Group Choices book has just arrived on my desk and I’ll be using this to help select the book group titles for next year. RGC is in it’s 18th year and I have to say that I’ve kept every single one of these collections. I go back [...]

Only published every other month, Bookmarks magazine will never rival Booklist or other major review journals for the number of books that it reviews, but for years now, without much fanfare, this magazine has been quietly doing one thing very well: aggregating reviews. Rather than focus on producing their own reviews, the folks at Bookmarks [...]

One of my favorite features over at The Reader’s Advisor Online Blog is their collection of new book announcements, and they’re up to it again with their collection of links to book lists for the Fall season. It’s a great site to spend an afternoon and get caught up on all of the major books [...]

I have been having my own Ray Bradbury reading streak of late and was pleased to discover that there has been something of a Bradbury revival out there. For one, Ray Bradbury just turned 91 and writer Alice Hoffman wrote a very nice piece for the LA Times about Bradbury to mark the auspicious birthday [...]

Hopefully by now, you’ve all had a chance to view/listen to the Book Group Buzzing webinar from last week.  As I went through it, I realized one of the questions at the end was specifically asking for websites with advice for starting a book discussion group. Here are some that I think will be helpful: [...]

Back in February I mentioned some Twitter feeds I follow for book news and possible selections for book groups. Here’s another small batch of book tweeters who post pithy tweets about book groups, reading, book news, and other items of interest to readers. EarlyWord @earlyword– is the twitter handle for the favorite website of many [...]

During yesterday’s Book Group Buzzing webinar, a question came up asking for  good websites for book discussion groups.  I promised that I would address that here on the blog.  I’ve compiled a list of recently mentioned websites from my fellow BGB bloggers, as well as added some of my personal favorites.  I hope they are [...]

I’ve been updating some lists of classic authors at my library, and using the Julian Patrick-edited 501 Great Writers to do it. This is the kind of book that I enjoy bringing to a book group occasionally just to pass around the room. It may lead to ideas for which writers to try next, or [...]

It’s easy to find possible reading selections online, thanks to the vast number of library groups who make sure to put their current (and past) selections online for all to peruse.  While searching around recently, I came across a list of recent picks from Inkwood Books in Tampa, FL. I realized I’ve never actively sought [...]