Really good book blogs?

April 13, 2024 2:07 PM

Are there blogs like Smart Bitches Trashy Books, but for other genres?

I find their reviews pretty reliable (I don't always agree with their opinions, but feel that they represent what to expect pretty well), I appreciate the regular ebook sale and new releases posts, and they update frequently. But romance isn't even my favorite genre! So where are the similar blogs for other genres?

posted by 168 to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

Best answer: Modern Mrs. Darcy (which also had a podcast, and is not the least focused on historical fiction, but on all kinds of books) — It has a huge following, and the comments sections are often full of great discoveries, too. Between the post and comments on one of her time travel book posts, I got something like 80 new, classic, and unkonwn titles!

Book Riot
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 3:15 PM on April 13, 2024 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Lady Business is the first similar blog that comes to mind. It's a fantastic intersectional feminist blog that reviews all sorts of media (tv, games, fandom) in addition to books, and the (multiple) writers there also do link roundups, rec lists, and essays. The Dreamwidth format is a little unusual for people not used to the site interface, but I would suggest navigating the archives using the post tags for topics you are interested in!

I read mainly sf/f, so here are a handful of individual blogs that review (mostly) sf/f. IIRC, Smart Bitches Trashy Books is a collective of people, but these are individual bloggers:

Reading the End
The Bibliophibian
The Bibliosanctum
Wormholes & Wooden Doors
Lightreads' Reviews
SFF Book Reviews
Fantasy Cafe
Reading Reality
Book Reviews Forevermore

And I always keep up with Marissa Lingen and Jo Walton's reviews, since I love their fiction. It's fun to see the meandering, idiosyncratic journey of an individual reader.
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 3:35 PM on April 13, 2024 [7 favorites]

A couple of classic crime ones. Both are single author. Martin Edwards at 'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?' And Kate Jackson at Cross-examining Crime. Then Word Wenches, which is a group blog about historical fiction, sometimes about history rather than books. Not sure that any of these is that much like SBTB, which is more focussed on new releases and has its series of regular posts in different formats, but worth a try. You could also consider asking for recommendations of other blogs at SBTB itself - either in the comments to one of the Links posts, or emailing Sarah to ask if they'd do a post on it.
posted by paduasoy at 10:55 PM on April 13, 2024

Best answer: The Inquisitive Biologist regularly writes excellent, readable reviews of science books, mostly but not totally biology-related, and has a big archive of posts browsable by subject or by their covers.
posted by mediareport at 7:04 PM on April 14, 2024 [1 favorite]

Alas, Book Smugglers is no longer active, but this was very much what you are looking for. The archives are still up and you can sort reviews by # (10 being the highest, 9, 8, and so forth).
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:04 PM on April 15, 2024

In terms of finding new things to read, I actually appreciate Kirkus Reviews, especially in genres I am less familiar with like mysteries etc. This link goes to the science fiction and fantasy reviews that have the "starred" recommendation from Kirkus.

Speaking of science fiction and fantasy, Reactor Mag (recently renamed) has some of what you are seeking since it's very up to date and does round up posts about new releases. Strange Horizons is more idiosyncratic since the individual reviewers can have very different takes and often contextualize the books more than a typical review, but still, I find their review section helpful in looking for new things to read (a la SBTB).
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:10 PM on April 15, 2024 [1 favorite]

Mod note: [btw, this has been added to the sidebar and Best Of blog!]
posted by taz (staff) at 6:50 AM on April 16, 2024

Electric Lit
Lit Hub is an old standby, and if you're into mystery/thriller their CrimeReads is also pretty great
posted by thivaia at 5:05 AM on April 17, 2024