Top Ten Favorite Book Sites and Book Blogs

August 14, 2018 Top Ten Tuesday 14

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. The meme was originally the brainchild of The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week’s TTT topic is Ten Favorite Bookish Websites or Blogs. Since I couldn’t decide which one to focus on, I did both!

 

My Favorite Bookish Websites

Goodreads: Goodreads rules! I use Goodreads to keep track of what I’ve read and what I want to read, check out reviews of books I’m thinking about reading or have read, read blurbs/synopses of books I’m interested in, link to cover images for my blog posts, check out publication dates and other book stats, discover new-to-me books I’d like to read, check out lists of books on various themes, and see what my friends and fellow bloggers are reading.

NetGalley: Since a lot of my readers are fellow bloggers, I’m sure most of you are familiar with that candy store of ARCs known as NetGalley. It’s dangerous, people! But also irresistible. Back when I worked in a bookstore, the physical ARCs we occasionally received were one of my favorite perks, but with NetGalley, I can choose which books I’d like to request, which is great. I read 2–8 books per month from NetGalley.  I’ve discovered some wonderful new (or new to me) authors and series through NetGalley ARCs, including some who have become autobuys for me.

Edelweiss: Rinse and repeat for Edelweiss, except that my approval rate isn’t as high there for some reason. On the other hand, I’m auto-approved by at least one publisher there, which is nice. And it’s a great place to browse publisher catalogs and see what’s coming out in the next season.

Amazon: My nearest physical bookstores are all at least a half-hour drive from where I live, and there are months when I have very little time to drive to town. So much as I would like to support my local bookstores (and do, when I can), I also buy a fair amount from Amazon. And then there’s Kindle; I buy an average of 2 or 3 Kindle books per week, usually when they drop to $2.99 or less.

Tumblr: You may not think of Tumblr as a book site, but it’s got a booklr community, so there are book reviews, book photos a la Instagram, book lists, and discussions about specific books or types of books. There’s even some fanfic and a lot of fan art. Some bloggers, especially some of the younger crowd, blog exclusively on Tumblr, and a few of the authors I really like have Tumblr accounts as well. I actually have two tumblrs, one for The Bookwyrm’s Hoard and a sideblog for other interests, including most of my fandoms, tea, costumes and weaponry, scenery, and social awareness.

Instagram: Again, it’s not only a bookish site; there’s a thriving bookstagram community. Some of their photos are marvelous! I follow a number of book bloggers on Instagram, as well as on their actual book blogs. On my account, I post mainly books and my knitting and spinning projects, plus a smattering of other pictures.

The Guardian‘s book section: My go-to newspaper book section, because a) their articles, interviews, and reviews are thoughtful and well-written and b) unlike the NYT, Washington Post, and many other papers’ online sites, they don’t have a paywall. (I do donate to them several times per year.)

Tor.com: So much more than just a publisher site, Tor.com is one of the best sites for SFF in books, movies, and popular culture. They feature articles, opinion pieces, reviews, read-alongs of classic or popular SFF books, and free short fiction.

BookBub: I use BookBub for one thing only: to alert me to sales on Kindle books by authors I like. BookBub lets me track specific authors and watches for price drops on their books. It’s a large part of why I buy so many Kindle books, and it’s allowed me to duplicate some of my favorite books and series in Kindle (which I do so I can take them with me when I travel, and so I will still be able to read them as I get older and small print gets harder for me to see.)

 

(Some of My) Favorite Book Blogs

I wish I could highlight all the book blogs I enjoy! But here are some of my favorites, either because their interests and tastes are very similar to mine, or because the bloggers have become, over months and years of blogging, my  friends. Often it’s both. I’ve put them in alphabetical order because I can’t possibly rank them. If you’re not on the list, it doesn’t mean I don’t like your blog, just that I ran out of room!

 

Because Reading is Better Than Real Life.  In addition to being entertaining and friendly bloggers whom I’ve “known” for years, Michelle and Berls host the COYER reading challenges, which are always fun.

The Book Smugglers are intelligent reviewers who don’t hesitate to include their personal reactions along with more objective critique. I enjoy their reviews even when I disagree with them. I especially appreciate their Old School Wednesday reviews.

Book-Wyrm-Knits. I only discovered Nicole’s blog recently, but we share a love of both knitting and reading, as well as some similar genre interests, so I always enjoy her posts. (And she’s a fellow bookwyrm!) Nicole actually has two blogs, and posts her reviews at Book-Wyrm-Reads.

The Caffeinated Reviewer. Kimberly (or Kimba, as I first knew her) has been blogging almost as long as I have, and with far more dedication and organization (not to mention flair!) And I’ve been following her nearly as long as she’s been blogging. Her reviews are fun and personal, and her blogging advice is great—she’s the one that put me on to Ashley at Nosegraze and her fantastic Ultimate Book Blogger plug-in (for WordPress.)

Eclectic Tales. Lianne’s book choices are eclectic, which (as an eclectic reader myself!) I really enjoy. Our tastes overlap enough that sometimes she’s reviewing books I’ve read or want to read, and sometimes she introduces me to a book or author I hadn’t heard of, but find intriguing. Her reviews are personal, conversational in tone, and perceptive.

The Emerald City Book Review. Lory writes thoughtful, deeply insightful reviews, often of older or classic books. And she is a fellow Elizabeth Goudge fan, which is lovely; so many people don’t know Goudge (a mid-20th-century writer) at all, but she’s one of my favorite authors.

I Wish I Lived In A Library. Katherine is another blogger I’ve been following for literally years. We share similar tastes in books, particularly when it comes to mysteries, YA, and contemporary small-town romance. I always enjoy her reviews, and through the years of reading her Sunday Posts and commenting on each other’s blogs, I’ve come to think of her as a friend.

Lark Writes… on books and life. Besides the fact that we share an online nickname (Lark), I enjoy Lark’s blog for her succinct but very useful reviews. She also occasionally posts lovely art featuring books, which you can see on her Gallery page.

Read All the Things. Aj’s reading tastes are eclectic (like a lot of the bloggers I follow!), but often similar to my own. And I really like her sense of humor.

Socrates’ Book Reviews. Yvonne reviews mainly mysteries, both cozy and traditional. She also hosts the Cruisin’ Thru the Cozies Reading Challenge each year. This is the first year I haven’t participated, and I miss it; I think I’m going to sign up again.

 

 

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14 Responses to “Top Ten Favorite Book Sites and Book Blogs”

  3. RO

    Well, there are two sites that I’ve been visiting for years, Katherine and kimberly, and they are fantastic. You’ve passed on some great sites for books that I was unaware of and need to check out. Very cool post! Hugs…RORO

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      You’re welcome! And I know what you mean about Goodreads. I just keep a GR tab open in my browser all the time; I use it that much.