Who's the Roger Ebert of book reviews?

January 17, 2019 7:47 PM

I like thoughtful, concise book reviews. Where can I find them?
posted by Crookshanks_Meow to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly are the standards in this area.
posted by vunder at 9:39 PM on January 17, 2019

I would actually avoid Kirkus, they are not well-talked about within the industry right now, at least from the YA/kids side, due to various controversies surrounding editorial racism, pulling reviews/stars, and misrepresentation of authors. Pub Weekly is still generally good. LitHub aggregates reviews like Rotten Tomatoes, so you can search through there for a reviewer you click with. NPR Books is wonderful, the NPR culture reviewers in general have the kind of thoughtful empathy you might be looking for (I would argue for Mefi's Own Linda Holmes as exactly who you're looking for but she focuses on movies/tv mainly). Abigail Nussbaum at Asking the Wrong Questions isn't always on the same page as me but I enjoy reading her criticism regardless. If you like SF/F, Strange Horizons. Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Bookslut, may it rest in peace.
posted by colorblock sock at 11:26 PM on January 17, 2019

The Millions has been bought by Publisher's Weekly, so ... two in one? Adds up to three?
posted by chavenet at 6:24 AM on January 18, 2019

Lithub's Bookmarks will give you snippets of multiple reviewers' takes.
posted by gennessee at 9:28 AM on January 18, 2019