Things will be changing a bit around here in the near future. I am excited to announce that I have begun reviewing pre-publication galleys on behalf of some pretty major publishing houses. It is very likely that my already very eclectic reading habits will become even more so. Currently, I have non-fiction titles aimed at all three age brackets: adult, young adult, and children. One of the things that I find exceptionally fun about reviewing galleys is that there are books on the list which I would likely never have come across any other place, and nowhere is this more true than in the realm of non-fiction. Long a lover of history, I have kept up fairly well with new releases in that specific genre, but one look at the list of galleys available for perusal showed me how narrow my focus really is. I have books on everything from sidewalk chalk art to plastic to kindness to covered bridges. As I post the reviews, I hope that you will feel inspired to extend your reading horizons and order some of these titles for yourself, either from your favorite bookseller or your library.
I felt drawn to many more non-fiction titles than fiction, but I do have some wonderful looking reads lined up in that area as well. Selections run the gamut from a boarding school in British India to a spy thriller to short stories set in a small Israeli town.
One of the things that came as a complete surprise to me was the extensive selection of children's and young adult books available. The kids and I are having a lot of fun reading through a wide variety of picture books, both non-fiction and fiction. In addition, I have a couple of read-alouds which we are going to begin this week. I also accepted several young adult books, both novels and non-fiction, which I am hoping my fifteen year old son will read as well and join me in co-reviewing. Knowing that most of us who read ourselves also read to our children, grandchildren, or other little people in our lives, I am happy to add these reviews to my blog so that all of you can discover new titles to pass along.Aside from free e-galleys, which will disappear off my Nook in 55 days or less, I am not compensated by the publisher for my reviews. So, you can be certain that any reviews which you read here will be my honest, uninfluenced opinion.
I hope the widely divergent titles which will be making their debut here will catch your fancy and enrich your reading life!
I love that you're going to review nonfiction for all ages. I'm a fan of both grownup and children's nonfiction. (Actually, you reviewed my book, below, which I loved! I relied on adult-level insect development books so that some of the facts would be brand new to kids--particularly avid nonfiction readers, and I was excited to learn that, based on your review, my plan worked!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! Your plan did indeed work, and we look forward to reading some of your other books.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the book is getting pretty good buzz on GoodReads, but I had to add it to the catalog for LibraryThing. That is not terribly surprising, as that is not quite as active a site. On Shelfari, I posted the review to the Reviews group, under Children's Lit and on Play Book Tag. The latter is Shelfari's most active review group and has a large number of librarians. I also chatted it up, both as a status update and as a note, on Facebook.
Before the galley disappears off my Nook I am going to show it to our children's librarian (Anchorage Municipal Library System) and also to the naturalist out at the Eagle River Nature Center (in Chugach State Park). They have a wonderful, if small, selection of children's non-fiction, both for sale and for their in house library.
When I sent the review to your publisher via NetGalley I suggested they think about offering it as a kid's NookBook. Whether they did it as a regular book or as a Read-to-Me, it would be wonderful in that format. You might mention the idea...At the moment, because they are just getting off the ground, the selection of picture books is a bit kitschy-Barbie and the like-and not so large that parents can't skim every book on the list. I really think that yours would stand out.