When was the last time you read a book review in The Tennessean or any other daily newspaper for that matter?
Book review sections used to be a staple of newspapers, but over the years they have been largely eliminated.
Happily there are two online options.
The Los Angeles Review of Books is an online literary web site founded last year. The temporary site is a basic blog style, but the editors promise a “multimedia, interactive site” soon.
The Table of Contents lists a full range of book reviews in art and architecture, biography and autobiography, economics, fiction, young adult, and others.
No reviews of Janet Evanovich, for example(!), but I enjoyed an essay entitled “The Other Nancy Mitford” in which Jane Smiley argues that celebrity Nancy is overrated, and Nancy the writer is underrated. I was also intrigued by a review of Michael Cunningham’s book By Nightfall. I disliked the book, but after reading Janet Fitch’s comments, I have a new found (albeit grudging) appreciation for it.
The Millions is an online magazine which covers books, arts, and culture. It is a more robust site than The Los Angeles Review of Books with ads and busy sidebars. I puttered here for at least 30 minutes!
One of several essays I enjoyed was by Kevin Hartnett on the appeal of classic children’s books. Did you love Caps for Sale too?
On the local front, Millions readers’ favorite book in February was Ann Patchett’s Kindle single, The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing & Life.
The LA Review of Books and The Millions are just two of many book review sites. I’ll talk about the others in a later post. In the meantime, snoop around the web and see what you turn up.
Happy reading!
