This is part two of a two-part post on how I keep track of what I want to read and keep a steady stream of good books flowing into my life. Read part one here. Now, on to blogs and sites.
Publishing blogs
Chronicle Books Blog keeps me up to date on the SF-based publisher’s latest offerings on creativity, adventure, and design. They publish beautiful, thoughtful books with distinct personality and presence.
LitHub compiles the latest in contemporary literature from hundreds of sources, so it can be hard to keep up with (its posts tend to dominate my Feedly) but so rewarding when you do. A great way to sample writing from an array of publications and discover new ones, too. Even just skimming the headlines gives me a sense of the latest publishing buzz.
The Paris Review’s blog, The Daily, brings the esteemed lit magazine to a digital format with musings from luminaries like Hanif Abdurraqib and R.O. Kwon. I especially love their series: Revisited invites writers to reacquaint themselves with works they encountered long ago, Feminize Your Canon profiles underrated female authors, and Poetry RX prescribes a poem to match readers’ emotions.
The Millions is another site overflowing with excellent literary content (see The Last Unhappy White Guy), but my favorite section is Lists. Start here to keep up with new releases, top picks, and every long and shortlist contender. A surefire destination to beef up your reading list.
Blogs by prolific readers
For a year, Ann Morgan read one book from every country and wrote about it on A Year of Reading The World. While she’s completed the project, she still writes regularly about books from lesser-known regions. Her dedication really highlights the difficulty of procuring work from countries whose work isn’t easily found in the US or UK.
On A Little Blog of Books, London-based voracious reader Clare logs her latest reads in a well-indexed blog, with reviews dating back over seven years.
Explore the shelves of Book Pickings for a visual tour of Maria Popova’s recommended reads on art, history, psychology, creativity, science, and design. She’s never steered me wrong. The reading lists on her blog Brain Pickings have introduced me to some of the most inspiring books I’ve read. Don’t miss her children’s book picks, either.
Girls At Library is like the Coveteur for readers. I’ve gotten many good recommendations here. Also feeling a lot of kinship with the women who share favorite books with me. I really enjoyed Angela Ledgerwood’s profile—we share a love of the Babysitters’ Club, Judy Blume, and Roald Dahl books.
Speaking of Angela Ledgerwood, her podcast Lit Up is such a treasure. Explore the archives for provocative interviews with authors about their latest works and the writing life. Angela interviews with patience, warmth, and a true reverence for the power of literature, so she’s able to have some really fascinating conversations with her guests.