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BOOK REVIEWS

The primary focus of this guide is resources for book reviews. Some of the sites discussed are exclusively devoted to this topic. However, there is considerable access to reviews from online bookstore pages and from websites devoted to a variety of book/literature/reading resources.


AcqWeb’s Directory of Book Reviews on the Web

• Sponsored by AcqWeb, “a World Wide Website providing links to information and resources of interest to librarians with acquisitions or collection development responsibilities”
• Links to “General Sites” for libraries, the “popular press,” “scholarly and interdisciplinary” journals, electronic publications
• Also links to 17 topical areas; particularly useful for information technology, physical sciences
• Brief annotations accompany most links
• Excellent; although the target audience for this site is librarians, it’s a great resource for some of the most authoritative book review sites currently available


Amazon.com

• Provides reviews for thousands of books which are available for purchase from one of the largest online bookstores
• Book reviews are from major review sources (including Publishers’ Weekly, Booklist); readers may submit their own reviews
• Also links to reviews for electronics, music, software, videos, other products
• Outstanding; one’s chances of locating reviews are excellent


Arts & Letters Daily

• Maintained by The Chronicle of Higher Education, this site is one of the best resources for a variety of current news, commentary and opinion on the arts, humanities and social sciences, and includes links to book reviews, newspapers, magazines, web blogs, syndicated columnists, additional resources
• “Book Reviews” section links to over 30 sites, including major national and international newspapers, literary/current affairs journals, forums
• “New material is added to Arts & Letters Daily six days a week”
• “As most links will eventually expire, we urge readers who see an item worth keeping to save or print it while the link is still valid”
• Outstanding; great for staying current not only for book reviews, but for many aspects of contemporary culture and opinion


Barnes & Noble.com

• Provides reviews for thousands of books which are available for purchase from one of the largest online review sources
• Book reviews are from major review sources (including Publishers’ Weekly, Library Journal); readers may submit their own reviews
• Also links to reviews for DVDs/videos, music; includes “out-of-print” service, additional products
• Outstanding; one’s chances of locating reviews are excellent


Bestseller Lists 1900-1995

• Sponsored by Cader Books
• Based on Publishers’ Weekly’s archives of annual bestsellers in fiction and non-fiction
• Despite the site’s name, the bestseller lists are actually from 1900 through 1998
• Great source for listing the 20th century’s bestselling books in America; no links to reviews, but should be of interest to many


Book Reviews: A Guide to Selected Sources

• Maintained by Mary Soom, Arts & Sciences Libraries (ASL), State University of New York at Buffalo
• Discusses ASL’s print sources for book reviews; these should be available in many academic libraries or large public libraries
• These resources include “basic sources” (current/retrospective), “special subject sources”, citation indexes, “foreign/non-English sources”
• Also includes limited links to book review websites
• Brief annotations accompany most citations/websites
• Last updated May 2003
• Excellent; not extensive, but a great place to become familiar with many of the standard print book review sources


BookBrowse.com

• Concentrates on recently published books, especially bestsellers
• Browse by author, title, genre
• Includes “From the Book Jacket,” reviews (also includes reader’s reviews), excerpts, author biographical information/interviews, “Readers’ Guides”
• “Test drive the next great book that you’re going to read”
• Excellent; does a fine job of providing reviews and additional useful information on many recently published books


Booklist

• “Digital counterpart of the American Library Association’s Booklist magazine”
• Over 4,000 reviews for adult books, 2,500 for children’s books, 500 for reference titles/electronic reference tools
• Also includes author interviews, bibliographies, feature articles
• Excellent; this site is “mixed,” i.e., some of the content is free-of-charge, but only subscribers are allowed access to all of the site’s resources


Books and Literature

• Maintained by refdesk.com
• Directory of over 170 sites for book/literature-related sites for the following: book reviews, full-text sites, author biographical information, book trade directories, trade journals (many of which contain book reviews)
• “Book Reviews” section links to over 20 of the most authoritative review media; international in scope
• Short annotations accompany many links
• Complements Digital Librarian’s “Books and Reading” (please see below)
• Excellent; very useful for an overview of “the basics” for these topics


Books for Understanding

• Sponsored by the Association of American University Presses (AAUP)
• Originally began as a project to respond to the needs of “teachers, scholars, journalists, librarians, booksellers and others” for authoritative information about the events of September 11, 2001; “grew to comprise more than 650 books on topics ranging from the history of Afghanistan, to United States foreign policy to the operations of New York’s World Trade Center”
• “Underscores an abiding commitment of university press publishing: to publish top research and scholarship in all necessary fields regardless of immediate commercial potential”
• Free e-mail alerts
• Outstanding; one of the best sources for locating reviews/information on books concerned with issues of national/international interest


CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries

• Sponsored by the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), American Library Association (ALA)
• Provides an introduction to the resources/services of CHOICE, the foremost book/electronic resources review source for academic/research libraries
• Reviews cover over 50 topical areas in business, science/technology, humanities, behavioral/social sciences
• Reviews are excellent; they are objective and are written by librarians or academic subject specialists; target audiences are identified
• Over 7,000 reviews annually; site includes sample reviews; includes subscription information
• Outstanding; the best review resource of its kind; most academic libraries have either a print or online subscription to this resource


Digital Librarian: Books and Reading

• Maintained by Margaret Vail Anderson
• Directory of over 200 sites for books/publishing resources, including book review sites, book trade sites, online bookstores, professional associations/organizations, directories, author biographical information, full-text sites, “out-of-print” services, trade journals (many of which include book reviews)
• International in scope
• Short annotations accompany many links
• Links to other “Digital Librarian” pages for newspaper directories, publisher directories, magazines/journals
• Complements refdesk.com’s “Books and Literature” (please see above)
• Excellent; a great place to begin research; links to a wide variety of sites covering many aspects of the book world


Resources for Readers and Writers

• Developed by Marylaine Block, creator and webmaster of the current awareness site “Neat New Stuff I Found on the Net This Week” (and additional excellent web pages)
• Based on a presentation for the River Bend Library System, October 8, 2003
• Directory of links to book-related sites for the following: “MetaSites,” “Blogs,” Reading Lists and Reviews,” “Discussion Groups and Guides,” “Online Texts,” “Basic Finding Tools,” “Online Commentary and Magazines”
• “MetaSites” and “Reading Lists and Reviews” are very useful for reviews
• Excellent; not extensive, but great for an overview of these topics


Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only. Johnson & Wales University Library is not responsible for the accuracy, content, or stability of any websites linked to this page.

Compiled by Rick Keogh, 7/01; links last checked 11/07

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