Over the last few weeks, I’ve been in the process of cleaning out my feed reader and weeding out the blogs that aren’t active anymore, that don’t suit my interests anymore, or that otherwise don’t merit my daily attention. I probably subscribe to a healthy number of blogs, but I haven’t subscribed to many new blogs in a long time. I put a call out last week on Twitter for help and got some responses, but part of the challenge is that you don’t know what I’m reading and enjoying.
In a way to spread some blog love, as well as a way to solicit some new reading suggestions, I’m sharing a handful of the blogs I love reading. Not inclusive, not a full representation of everything I read, but more of a way to talk up some of the blogs maybe not everyone knows about. These are blogs that are strictly book blogs (so the library blogs that do a lot of reviews I read aren’t included).
I’m not the best blog commenter, despite being a big blog reader, but these are among my always-reads and the ones I hope someday to be a better commenter at. Also, these are all full-feed blogs; as prickly as it sounds, I can’t read blogs that aren’t full-feed. I am trying to get better about it, but it does make me less excited about content if I have to click on a new screen.
Feel free to leave links to any other blogs you’d like to share. I am open to reading most book blogs, as long as they’re well-written, don’t rely on memes (one or two a week is fine with me as long as there is other content), and the reviews are thoughtful (length doesn’t matter). I’m not a vlog watcher.
These aren’t in any order.
- Crunchings and Munchings: Aside from their savvy and thorough reviews, I am digging how they’re writing book lists (and book/film lists) on different topics. They’ve got a great voice.
- That Cover Girl: If you love covers at all and you’re not reading Capillya’s blog, get on it. She not only talks covers, but she has neat features spotlighting the cover designers talking about their work. She’s also interviewed a number of authors about the cover process.
- One Librarian’s Book Reviews: We read way different things, so Melissa keeps me on top of books I would maybe overlook otherwise. But more than that, I am a huge fan of her Listless Mondays and her fun Name That Book game.
- Inkcrush: I like not only that she’s Aussie and exposes me to a ton of Aussie titles, but her reviews are thorough and thoughtful. Her short reviews, though, are just as good, and they’re to the point.
- Reading with My Ears: I love posting the links to Lee’s reviews during for AudioSynced, but anyone who listens to audiobooks needs to read this blog. She knows exactly what she’s talking about when it comes to the good and the bad side of the listening experience.
- The Readventurer: These girls are among my favorite GoodReads reviewers to read, and they have an excellent blog together. What I like best is that it’s a wide variety of books being reviewed, and that it’s not all reviews — and they’re not afraid to talk audiobooks, either. The pairing of a song with a book review is unique, too.
- Someday My Printz Will Come: I know I’ve talked about this one before, but this blog is so good at the in-depth, textual analysis I love reading. They’ve also just added a third blogger, Sophie, who served on last year’s Printz committee, so I expect this great blog is just going to get better.
- The Midnight Garden: I’ve been reading the GoodReads reviews Wendy writes for a long time, so that she and two fellow GoodReads power users have a blog excites me. Again, this one has thoughtful reviews and fun features that make it a must-read.
- YA Love Blog: Sarah’s a teacher, and the way she writes her reviews is very reflective of the fact she works with teens. I love that perspective, and I love how she has her students interview the authors for her interview features.
- The Book Smugglers: I’m pretty certain most people know this one, but just in case you don’t — they write some of the most thorough and honest book reviews around. I like to read what they write on books I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about, as well as the books I review myself because we either agree whole-heartedly or we’re on completely different sides. I love that! I don’t like to read blogs where I agree on everything said.
This isn’t at all exhaustive, as I’m also a regular reader of about twenty other blogs, including this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and so forth.
Hope this filled up some of your reading holes in the blogging world, and now I’m eager to see what you’re reading (and enjoying).
Many of these blogs are new to me; I can't wait to explore. I agree about vlogs. I like to watch a few seconds to see what my online friends look and sound like IRL, but I don't have the patience to sit through an 8-minute video; I like to scroll at my own quick pace. There is one exception: Adam at Hitting in Girls on Bookstores, because he's hilarious, he cusses, and only his left eye blinks. I also like his male perspective. Other blogs I enjoy because they're smart and in depth, to name two: Angel at Mermaid Vision Books, and Asheley at Into the Hall of Books. For laugh-out-loud snarkiness I follow Rachel at Books I Done Read, and for fun cover talk (cover lookalikes and comparisons of hardback to paperback versions) I like Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.
I do read Adam's blog (skip the vlogs), and I read Rachel and Alea's blogs, too. But the other two are new to me, so I'm going to check them out!
I like Alea's blog too. She's not just book-centric, and I like that.
That is exactly one of the reasons I love Alea's blog – it's pop culture, rather than just book culture. I've had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with her in person, and she's just as enjoyable as she comes off on her blog (and her voice is totally authentic, too, which I love and appreciate).
Wait. Only my left eye blinks? I'm going to go watch my videos…
Thank you for reading my written posts, Kelly. I find writing more fun than vlogs. So I'm going to go back to doing more of those.
Oh I am SO adding The Re-Shelf to my google reader. I definitely read all of the blogs mentioned here, I was glad to see the Readadventurer blog come into existence, I've followed Tatiana's reviews on goodreads and while I don't always have the exact same opinion on books as she does, I appreciate her critical and in-depth voice.
I regularly read Angieville. She's got this way of writing reviews that feel as though she's speaking to you over a cup of tea.
I'm also really into Forever Young Adult — I think I'm their demographic though, adult unabashed lover of YA. I always crack up while reading their reviews and their recaps of VC Andrews books and Sweet Valley High.
Kellie at The Re-Shelf is LOVELY, and so is her blog. And I agree about The Readventurer — I don't always agree but I love reading reviews where I don't agree. Makes me a better reader!
I haven't read Angieville but I'm going to check it out. And I do read FYA, but probably to a lesser extent than the others I've listed.
Awww, shucks! You're not too bad yourself!
And thanks for the link-out! And being lovely yourself!
And thanks, April, for the blog love!
Thanks for the shout-out, Kelly! We really appreciate it!
*blush* Thanks for the shout-out, K. =)
Cover-wise, I'm a frequenter over at Caustic Cover Critic: http://causticcovercritic.blogspot.com/ and I'd give Chachic, Tina's and Em's blogs a try:
http://chachic.wordpress.com/
http://onemorepage.tinamats.com/
http://loveyalit.com/
Oh, yes! I love Chachic's blog. She also reads back lists, and reads UK books, so she introduces me to new things.
I just discovered Chachic's blog this morning, and I added Tina's blog to my reader. Already have Em's!
Thanks, Capillya!
I'm so happy you included That Cover Girl because I didn't know about it (I'm now following), and because my students love talking about covers. This is a great post, Kelly! Some of these blogs I'm already following, but I've added some new ones to my RSS feed. And thanks for including my blog 🙂
I am so glad you found some new things to read — and Capillya's blog is one of my favorites. Your students would appreciate her interviews, for sure, if they're interested in cover design.
P.S. A couple blogs I really like:
Chick Loves Lit http://chickloveslit.com/
Heise Reads & Recommends http://heisereads.blogspot.com/
Added BOTH to my reader. Thanks, Sarah!
I need to read more blogs devoted to books and reading. They always get me excited about packing up my kids and going to the library. Thanks for the recommendations!
Oo la la! Thanks for mentioning us in your roundup. I have to admit, even I sometimes get excited to check my own blog because I like hearing what my cobloggers have to say and I don't always see it before it goes live:) I'm also so happy to see two of my best buddies (Wendy @ The Midnight Garden and Nomes @ Inkcrush) on here–I agree that they're awesome…though I might be a bit biased. I recently started following Capillya and I will definitely be adding the rest of these bloggers to my Reader. And these comments are an added goldmine, so I guess the thanks are all around on this post. Chachic is doing an entire week about Melina Marchetta this week (cleverly titled 'Marchetta Madness') and I can't wait to see what all her guest posters, authors and bloggers alike, will have to say. Thanks, Kelly!
I get the same way with my cobloggers, since we don't edit/confer on what we're sharing for the week. I like the surprise factor for sure.
I just added Chachic to my reader.
thanks for the suggestions. love reading quality YA review blogs like yours. I need to clean out my reader too
Oh these are good! I'm following a few but the others are nice, good new ones. :O)
I read http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com for their lengthy analyses of literary alchemy and ring composition. HogPro's coverage is very narrow (primarily Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games) but usually deep. Reading HogPro was my most effective method for coping with TEABS (see FYA's glossary) after I devoured The Hunger Games trilogy in one weekend.
I don't read http://www.yahighway.com regularly, but I like checking their Field Trip Friday series.
YA Highway is one of my favorite blogs, and I'll have to check out the other you suggested (and it sounds like something WAY up Kimberly's alley, too).
Thank you so much for mentioning our Readventuring team, Kelly:)
Judging by the fact that some of the blogs on your list are already on mine and are among favorites, I should add the rest of them to my Google Reader as well.
A very good blog I recently discovered and have been enjoying is http://cleareyesfullshelves.com
Tatiana (The Readventurer)
Thanks for the recommendation — I just added it to my reader. It looks like a winner.
Aw, I feel like a rockstar being on this list with all those fabulous blogs! It sounds like most of my favorites have already been mentioned (Angieville is a fave). I do like the Book Monsters and others that mix in book blogging with other kinds of life posts, etc.
okay, because I don't already spend mt first hour at work going through blogs…thanks a LOT, Kelly, for adding to the list! I'll have my boss call you later to complain:)