| Vol.
I, No. 9 | End
of School / Summer Issue | June
15th, 2001 |
Books
& Literature
Links to Books & Lit On-Line
. Links
to Books & Lit On-Line  | N.Y.
Times Book Review |
The amount of info on the web is enormous, as anyone who's ever tried to run a
search can attest to. And, to put it all in context, best estimates say
that only a fraction, maybe 20 - 40 % of what's out there is actually making its
way to the search engines.
Well ... Here
at DownStreet, we'd like to try to help. So each issue, we post a
few links in Books & Lit to sites that might interest you. Sometimes
the links will be related to one another ... sometimes we'll just
offer up a somewhat random sampling. In either case, we think we might be
able to help you find the kind of site you've been looking for.
Of course, while we can't vouch for the fact that every link we provide will be
of interest to everyone, we do our best to filter out the noise and the
bustle. ... Links
to Summer Reading Pleasures
In
line with this month's Book Worm: Librarians' Choice
Summer Reading List, we thought we'd scour the net for a few other choice
listings. ... We were ready to be surprised, and, in at
least one instance, we were. But we also found ourselves falling back on
some tried and true staples for the common booklover, including the N. Y.
Times Book Review. ... But let's face it, there's no sense in
having to have everything be new when you've already found something that suits
you just fine. ... So, without more ado, here are our
choices to supplement our Librarians' Choice Summer Reading List:
National
Public Radio's Summer Reading List 2001
NPR had Juan
Williams, host of Talk of the Nation; David Kipen, book critic
for The San Franciso Chronicle, Laura Miller, Books Editor of Salon.Com
and Elizabeth Taylor, President of the National Book Critics Circle, make
recommendations for the annual NPR summer reading list.
.
This
isn't a long list -- that may be good news if you get overwhelmed by pages
and pages of 'The Best of ...'. Or it may be bad news if you can never
be too rich or have too many book recommendations. But the list is
definitely diverse. It includes two, yes two, books about racehorses,
Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and a few from our
Librarians' Choice List. Listeners' recommendations are also
included. All the descriptions are very short, but enough to give you
a sense of what the books are about.
.
You
can also go to the lists from 1998-2000. Look for Kierkegaard in
'98, Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance in '99 and Anil's
Ghost by Michael Ondaatje in '00. ...
Rating: *** [3
Stars]
. The
New York Times Online Book Site
This site is treasure chest for
readers. It's easy to navigate and pleasing to the eye. The menu
links to the most recent Sunday Book Review section; recent
daily book reviews; news articles about books and publishing; an
expanded best sellers list that comes out a week before the printed
version; first chapters of hundreds of books with new ones each
week; featured author articles which include reviews, retrospectives
and readings; online reading groups and forums; and audio
recordings of readings and interviews.
.
The
graphics are wonderful with photos and illustrations like the one above. You
can search the archives for book reviews and are pretty likely to find what
you're looking for. Most reviews are written by published authors.
.
The
book review section also publishes an annual summer reading list. If
this doesn't get your summer reading launched, you've been watching too much
TV.
Rating: ***** [5 Stars]
. Vermont
Rapid Reviews
Says Amy Howlett, one of the Vermont librarians who
put together Rapid Reviews, it "is kind of a quirky
institution, but a venerable one. We've been around since 1976 or
so." Amy Howlett, Ernie Drown, Betty Howlett ,and Mary Jane
Manahan put this list together and presented it to Vermont librarians at the
Vermont Library Conference in May. Brattleboro's Brooks Memorial
Library has posted in on their website. It's also available in hard
copy, so your local librarian is very likely to have a copy, possibly with
her or his own notes.
.
The books
are categorized thematically, under headings like: strong characters,
short takes, sense of place, history, current affairs, just for fun.
And the reviews are, indeed, rapid ... but surprisingly adequate.
These librarians have done a wonderful job packing all you need to know
about a book into a sentence or two. For instance, they write of David
Bodanis' E=mc2: "Want to understand THE equation of
the 20th century? Bodanis explains what Einstein and fellow scientists
did and what understanding the relationship of energy and matter has meant
to the world." Or of Ann Crittenden's The Price of
Mother-Hood: Why the Most Important Job in the World Is Still the
Least Valued: "What the research shows and what America might
learn from Europe. Passionate argument."
.
This
is not an exhaustive list, but it is a carefully selected one. They
also list publisher and the hardcover price for each book. See what
your neighbors will be reading this summer. This site is definitely
worth a visit.
Rating: **** [4 Stars]
. *******
******* If you know of any
links that you think are worthwhile, why not send them along to ...
links@downstreetmagazine.com
... If we agree, we'll be happy to include
them in an upcoming issue to pass the word along. ...
Thanks. *******
******* .
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