All About Books discussion

I was wondering where you hear about new books that are worth reading.

I am from the UK and would look primarily to the Books page on the culture section of The Guardian's website.

Which sites, or magazines, or blogs, or newspapers, or friends even, do you look to?

Joe ,
In addition to Goodreads , I regularly look at the following to see what's new :

New York Times - online on the weekends
Earlyword. com
Bookmovement.com
Bookreporter.com
The Millions. com
Bookbrowse.com
Self-awareness. com
Bookpage.com
LibraryReads.com
Kirkusreviews.com
Flavorwire.com
Publishersweekly.com

You can also sign up for newsletters of specific publishers if they have one available .

I also look at the Book sections on Huffington Post , NPR, and USA today regularly .

I'm always interested in new releases by authors that I love and new authors and these sites work for me .

Hi Joe,
I like the NYT review of books on Sundays.I also use the 'net to read interviews with authors that I enjoy.They often suggest other writers.Blurbs on the back of books can be useful.If I like the recommendation,I will check out the writer who made the recommendation.I always check with librarians.They often point out great writers that I had never heard of.

I don't trust one author's views of other contemporary authors. You praise me.... I will praise you. But I am a skeptic through and through. I like GR because you can find people who think as you yourself do, but you have to find those readers. The same thing of course is true for paid reviewers, but here it is harder to know if other interests influence their opinions.

Still, first you have to find the books to consider and all those links above are very helpful. Thanks all of you.

I'm not particularly keen on new books - I prefere old ones generally. These last years, since I'm in Goodreads and in ABB I've been suggested a lot of new released books that surprised me a lot. SO I think THIS is my channel
In Italy moreover there's a really nice radio programme, Fahrenheit - reminding Fahrenheit 451 - on new books in here. I often listen to it

Laura, this year I have been more interested in reading the classics ! I have just been so sick of hearing about all these stupendous new books that in fact were not so great, though some of the classics disappoint too.

Thanks to everybody for the recommendations. I will spend the week looking through them.
I suppose what I am hoping to find is a literary equivalent of the old NME.
When I was younger, a lot younger, I used to read the NME (the New Musical Express) religiously ever week. I was into punk and post-punk and new wave, and lots of other labels and pigeon holes, and the NME let me know what was happening in, what was then, a small little world. Where the gigs were, and when the albums were coming out.
It also let me know when not to trust a band because the bass player was going out with the singer of a metal group, or because the drummer was suspected of voting Tory. I knew the journalists and critics on the paper (like Burchill, Parsons, Morely, and Baker) as well as, if not better than, the musicians they wrote about.
The paper helped create a community and a spirit. If you saw someone reading the NME you knew you had a friend, an ally.
I suppose what I was looking for with the question above was a place, a paper or a site, which has that sense of passion, excitement, and enthusiasm for books in the way the NME had for music.
However, I think a lot of it has to do with my approach rather than the community's. I don't think my, ahem, middle-aged self has the passion, excitement, or enthusiasm for anything the way my teenaged self had. It's more likely to be about what I bring to the party, as I think the party is already rocking.

Interesting that people need to know such details of bands; I often don't even know the faces or names of musicians, let alone their political leanings or relationships! The only thing that usually concerns me about a musician is if they're a manufactured band (boy/girl band) or have anything to do with that Cowell bloke; beyond that if I like the sound I'll listen to it.

I am similarly slap-dash and slipshod with books as I usually find out about books by either hearing about them in discussions here or stumbling upon them in shops (in bookshops, the supermarket or when browsing online. Mostly it's down to spotting interesting looking books in secondhand shops as I wander the stacks; I enjoy the haphazard approach.

Joe - Do you remember "Melody Maker"? That seemed to be going at around the same time, though it took more of a popular stance than NME, and I found it a bit ... trashy?

But my favourite by far was "Sounds". In-depth articles about Progressive, Rock and Blues Music - maybe a little before your time. I can remember the very first issue, which I found in a shop in Stratford-on-Avon on a school trip. My friend and I almost missed the performance of Shakespeare (starring a young Ian McKellen) as we became so engrossed in reading it!

I used to love looking in bookshops to see what had just come in, nowadays I'd be lucky if it's Tescos when I'm grabbing something to eat on my breaks during shifts. I also have some emails sent out to me that showcase new releases. I did set up a thread for them a while ago but I've let it die out but I'm hoping to resurrect it again.

Angela wrote: "Joe ,
In addition to Goodreads , I regularly look at the following to see what's new :


Angela, thank you so much for this list! There are some resources here that I was unaware of. Very helpful!

Terri ,
Glad you like the list . I guess it's the librarian side of me that makes me want to see what's newly published . I've found some good reviews on these sites as well as getting the heads up on what will be published . I check them a few times a week . Some of them have e-mail updates . I'm sure there are more but I need time to read my books, so this is enough for me - lol.

@Joe, I love the way you describe NME and the sense of community you found with it.

I get a magazine called Bookmarks (which is where I first learned about Goodreads!). They have summaries of reviews from many places, without spoilers, and additional features, such as Books about WWI, or a featured author, or a theme like books about childhood, etc.

I also read NYT and local paper reviews. And I use the Goodreads recommendations. I've even added books from advertisements on GR (though fewer since the new ownership).

Jean wrote: "Joe - Do you remember "Melody Maker"? That seemed to be going at around the same time, though it took more of a popular stance than NME, and I found it a bit ... trashy?

But my favourite by far w..."
Jean, I used to read Sounds now and again, and I remember there was always a, err, healthy debate between readers of the two papers carried out via their respective letters pages.
The Melody Maker always came across as a bit staid and uptight.
I'd really love to find literary equivalents of those three, along with their healthy rivalry and enthusiam, around today.

Alannah wrote: "I used to love looking in bookshops to see what had just come in, nowadays I'd be lucky if it's Tescos when I'm grabbing something to eat on my breaks during shifts. I also have some emails sent ou..."
Alannah - if you do resurrect it please let me know.

Greg wrote: "@Joe, I love the way you describe NME and the sense of community you found with it."

Thanks. I miss those days.

Paulfozz wrote: "Interesting that people need to know such details of bands; I often don't even know the faces or names of musicians, let alone their political leanings or relationships! The only thing that usually..."

paul - I have a feeling that people in bands used to be more interesting then than they are now, but that might just be age and nostalgia speaking.

Angela wrote: "Joe ,
In addition to Goodreads , I regularly look at the following to see what's new :

New York Times - online on the weekends
Earlyword. com
Bookmovement.com
Bookreporter.com
The Millions. com
B..."

Thanks Angela. I have bookmarked them and will start reading them, looking for a home!

Robin wrote: "I get a magazine called Bookmarks (which is where I first learned about Goodreads!). They have summaries of reviews from many places, without spoilers, and additional features, such as Books about ..."

Thanks Robin. I will look at their website.

Owww..this is great!

Joe,
I've never found one single "home " and that's why I look in multiple places.

This, Words without Border, is a site I think is very good: http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=e...

This month it looks at Czech prose.

I find out about new books from amazon and GR.

Chrissie wrote: "This, Words without Border, is a site I think is very good: http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=e...

This month it looks at Czech prose."

I agree Chrissie that's a great site. Another one is: http://worldliteraturetoday.org/

Thanks for the link, Jenny. Looks like a great site. Does it always have newly translated books? I like reading books from different countries! But they are harder to get a hold of unfortunately.

Chrissie and Jenny ,
Thanks for these links which are both new to me .

I love Book Riot and New Dork Review of Books.

Angela, I am simply glad I could suggest something to YOU who provided so many to us!!!!!!

Chrissie ,
:)

I think the best place to find good books is through Goodreads groups !

Goodreads groups is a great way, or especially reviewers that you feel share your taste. You can follow them and browse their shelves for new conquests! I love to do that and have found about 90% of my favorite books that way. One, I found be just buying it from amazon before there was even a review for it. 1€ extremely well spent!

Paulfozz wrote: "Interesting that people need to know such details of bands; I often don't even know the faces or names of musicians, let alone their political leanings or relationships! The only thing that usually..."

I'm exactly the same with books, music art and anything really. I don't feel the need to know about their personal lives and interests, but can just enjoy their work. However, if I do happen to find out more about them and discover that they have opposing views to me, then sometimes that makes me reconsider what I purchase and enjoy.

Pink, I see what yo uare saying and noticed the same myself. I have read and enjoyed many Hemingway books. No not all! But when I read the biography on him I was totally put off. So sometimes it is best to know less. So now i am not that interested in reading more....part part of this is due to the fact that I have
1.had my fill and
2.the books remaining are short and I prefer long stories.

Nevertheless it ought to be possible to look at the writing separately from the person. Or is that wrong? There are plenty of artists I wouldn't go near with a ten foot pole, but I like what they create! I certainly wouldn't want to live with some of them. What about Frank Lloyd Wright? And that is just one person that flips through my brain.

LauraT wrote: "I'm not particularly keen on new books - I prefere old ones generally. These last years, since I'm in Goodreads and in ABB I've been suggested a lot of new released books that surprised me a lot. S..."

Once again Laura & I are in agreement. To be frank, anything written since 1990 is "new" as far as I am concerned! However, I am a list person so I do get ideas from "best of" lists that come out in Dec/Jan.

On the other hand , I love finding new authors but do love books written earlier too . I just tend to read more recent things for some reason .

Leslie, I have a 'new fiction' shelf and basically shelve anything written after 1980 on there!

I think you should adjust that to be 1984, Pink ;)

Pink wrote: "Leslie, I have a 'new fiction' shelf and basically shelve anything written after 1980 on there!"

:) I think anything published since I was in college counts as new so the older I get, the more "new" books there are!

Good idea Jean!

Angela wrote: "On the other hand , I love finding new authors but do love books written earlier too . I just tend to read more recent things for some reason ."

I agree with you again, Angela! I read a combination of new and old fiction, but the new is essential for me. I like getting to know younger/new authors, while still appreciating those I've grown old(er) with. New fiction is exciting to me. Finding the right balance of material to read is always an ongoing project for me. Sometimes I follow paths that lead to dead ends, but it's usually fun finding my way back.

Terri , I sometimes make the wrong choices picking things I'm not crazy about but that's the same with both old and new books . I'm disappointed when that happens because I want to read 4 & 5 star books all the time !

I check out what you are reading all the time because we do like a lot of the same things .

My TBR is long and getting longer but I remember the days before I joined Goodreads when I was begging people on Facebook for recommendations. Now between monthly reads and buddy reads and recommendation swaps and book clubs I have waaaaay too much that I want to read and don't have nearly enough time for!

Beth wrote: "My TBR is long and getting longer but I remember the days before I joined Goodreads when I was begging people on Facebook for recommendations. Now between monthly reads and buddy reads and recomme..."

Yes, my TBR exploded once I joined GR! Prior to that, I actually had time to reread whole series -- I am glad that I am experiencing so many new-to-me books & authors but now find it hard to find the time to reread...

I find most books on Goodreads these days, however I used to read Good Reading magazine (from Aus but I can get it in NZ) which had alot of reviews and interviews with authors etc.