Reference Desk


Book Reviews
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The Beat: Book Reviews
This website contains audio recordings and text transcripts of book reviews on Seattle radio station KUOW by noted librarian Nancy Pearl, author of "Book Lust" and former director of the Washington Center for the Book.

 
BookBrowse.com
Devoted to current fiction and nonfiction books. Contains information for starting a book club, including hundreds of discussion guides "with a substantial excerpt and multiple reviews of each book." Also features interviews with authors, bestseller lists, discussion forums, and more. Searchable and browsable.
 

Booknotes.org
Online companion to C-SPAN's weekly author interview program, which serves "as a forum for books about history, politics and public affairs." Includes transcripts and video of past programs, previews of future programs, and excerpts from featured books. Searchable.

 

BookPage
This online version of the monthly publication features brief reviews of new general interest nonfiction, fiction, science fiction, mysteries, romance, children's books, and audio books. Also includes author interviews.

 

Boston Review: A Political & Literary Forum
Progressive bimonthly journal of culture and politics featuring critical essays, movie and book reviews, short fiction, and poetry. Browsable archives as well as indices to poetry, fiction, film reviews, and articles about evolution.

 

Chapter One
Provides the "first chapters of selected new books." Includes reviews. From The Washington Post.
 
HLHS Book Reveiws
The section has been created from titles read by the HLHS Book Club covering 2007 to present.
 

London Review of Books
The online edition of this semi-monthly book review journal from England contains full-text articles and reviews, as well as letters to the editor. Registration (free) required to access the review archive, which dates back to 2000.

 
New York Times Book Review
Includes an archive of thousands of reviews, book-related news pieces, bestseller lists, and interviews back to 1996. In addition, the full-text of First Chapters of selected bestsellers and featured titles are available.
 
New York Review of Books
Online edition of the publication Esquire Magazine calls "the premier literary-intellectual magazine in the English language." In addition to selections from the current issue, it has an archive of several hundred articles from past issues including full text of its famous first issue (February 1, 1963). Also find a gallery of thousands of caricatures by David Levine.
 
Reviewing the Evidence
Reviews of nearly 2000 murder mysteries and thrillers in print and audio formats. Searchable by keyword, author, publisher, and reviewer. There are descriptions of the reviewers' backgrounds and reading tastes, and the site welcomes submissions of reviews, titles to review, and links.
 
The Romance Reader
A searchable collection of thousands of reviews for the different romantic novel subgenres. The Address Book contains addresses for many of the authors. Features contains all types of miscellaneous information including top ten, fifty, and one hundred recommended title lists, romantic movies, small presses, and more. There is also a list of related sites.