By Denise Turney (author of Love Pour Over Me)
The Internet is packed with benefits, one rewarding novel connect after another. Websites, social media posts, e-blasts and digital newsletters have put a wealth of literary information at book lovers’ fingertips. At first glance, it’s like being planted in an oasis of book clubs, author interviews, book trailers, marketing slogans, author You-Tube video messages and free to low-cost print and e-books.
Perhaps at no other time in history has it been so easy to get in touch with your favorite authors. Gone are the days when you had to stand in line at a bookstore for one or two hours just to meet a writer whose books you’d read and absolutely enjoyed for several years. Now all it takes is the click of a button.
If you grew up in the 1970s or earlier, this might seem like a bit of culture shock. For younger readers, it’s the “norm”. No one’s as far away as they once appeared to be.
But, how do you know which websites, book trailers, author videos, interviews, etc. to check out? After all, you can’t see them all, just as you probably can’t read every book, even every book you’d love and appreciate. There is simply too much to choose from. You might as well settle in to the fact that you’re going to miss an incredibly large amount of good stuff, including books that could deeply inspire, motivate, educate and definitely entertain you.
We really are living in a time of great information wealth, great books being a tremendous part of this enriching data.
By sifting through all the data that’s out here, the time it takes you to discover life changing books can shorten significantly. In effort to help you sift through the massive amounts of literary data there is on and offline, I put together lists of resources that can benefit you as a book lover.
Book Clubs (some are great places to meet with other book lovers in person, make friends with people who share your passion and more)
- Go On Girl Book Club – http://www.goongirl.org
- Oprah Book Club – http://www.oprah.com/book_club.html
- Sistah Circle Book Club – http://www.thesistahcircle.com/
- RAWSISTAZ – http://www.rawsistaz.com/
- Sistah Friend Book Club – http://www.sistahfriend.com/
- Doubleday Book Club – http://www.doubledaybookclub.com/
- Literary Guild Book Club – http://www.literaryguild.com/
- Random House Book Club Center – http://www.literaryguild.com/
- Education Week Teacher Book Club – http://www.edweek.org/tm/section/bookclub/index.html
Large Book Websites
- Good Reads – http://www.goodreads.com
- Book Movement – http://www.bookmovement.com
- The Red Room – http://redroom.com
- First Book – http://www.firstbook.org/
- National Book Foundation – http://www.nationalbook.org/links_literary_orgs.html
- African American Literary Book Club – http://www.aalbc.com
- Reading is Fundamental – http://www.rif.org/
- Shelf Awareness – http://www.shelf-awareness.com/upcoming-events.html
- Book Browse – http://www.bookbrowse.com/booktalk/
- Mosaic – http://www.mosaicbooks.com
- Book Crossing – http://www.bookcrossing.com/
Guides for Starting Book Clubs, Etc.
- Oprah – How to Start Your Own Book Club – http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/How-to-Start-Your-Own-Book-Club
- Reading Group Guidelines – http://www.readinggroupguides.com/findaguide/best_of_new.asp
- Penguin Group Reading Guides – http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/bookclubs/index.html
- Lit Lovers Reading Guides – http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides
- Internet Public Library Reading Guides – http://www.ipl.org
Book Festivals/Conferences Writers Attend (places where you could meet your favorite authors)
- Book Expo America – http://www.bookexpoamerica.com
- Harlem Book Fair – http://www.qbr.com/harlem-book-fair.aspx
- New York Book Festival – http://www.newyorkbookfestival.com
- Miami Book Festival International – http://www.miamibookfair.com
- Chistell List of Book Events – http://chistell.com/upcoming_writing_book_events.htm
- National Book Festival – http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/
- Los Angeles Times Festival of Books – http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/
- Tucson Festival of Books – http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/
Enjoy visiting these and other book related websites, joining and participating in quality book clubs and finding and reading great books. After all, many great books are hidden, not featured in newspapers, magazines or even on websites. Finding these enriching, emotionally moving reads is like finding a rare jewel, a jewel you can treasure for years, perhaps the rest of your life.
Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You!