The future of book reviews
Earlier this week, I visited the Baltimore Chop bookstore (a baseball-lovers dream, it even had Dice-K tshirts) for a meeting of the Maryland Writers Association. The Baltimore chapter invited ma and Heather Johnson, a local book blogger, to talk about the changing landscape of book reviews.
As papers across the country cut staff and page counts, book coverage has suffered. Several book editors have taken buyouts, and have not been replaced by full-timer editors. A few papers have developed an online presence like Read Street. But in most cases, independent bloggers have taken up the slack.
There are tons of bloggers out there, but not all book lovers read them. Is it because it's so hard to figure out which one(s) to follow? Or do folks still prefer "professional" reviews in major newspapers, journals and magazines? Are the preferences of you and your friends changing?
While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, 
Comments
Dave, thank you so much for your presentation at the Baltimore Chop! You provided great information about the changing face of book reviews. I respect the Sun for taking this leap into blogging and exploring a new media.
For me, blogs were confusing and somewhat terrifying before I started blogging. I think the mere concept is alien to a lot of people, and there are many misperceptions out there. Which is sad, because blogs have the potential to provide a wealth of information. I would suggest that anyone interested in starting to read blogs set up Google Reader. It's simple to use, and you only have to remember one url. And you already have this blog to add to your list!
Posted by: Emma Larkins | October 29, 2008 1:34 PM
Dave,
Why not create a resource list of local book-bloggers? Part of the reason that people may not be reading is because they don't know they're out there.
A little link-love from Maryland's largest online news site would help in that regard, no?
Posted by: Tim Windsor | October 29, 2008 1:48 PM
Great idea Tim! In my Google Reader I have a specific folder for any book bloggers from Maryland that I know of.
Posted by: Heather J. | October 29, 2008 3:28 PM
Tim, Heather: I agree. I'll start assembling a list fore the site. the more bloggers, the merrier!
Posted by: Dave | October 29, 2008 4:30 PM
I keep a folder of Book Blogs in my Google reader, too. There are also meta-sites, like Here Be Reviews that lists more than 70 blogs in a way that makes it easy to find the latest reviews.
Posted by: Lisa | October 30, 2008 6:29 PM
I started book blogging this year and I've found that I much prefer to hear recommendations from either other blogs I visit or readers who visit my blog. With limited funds for buying books, my choices for buying often are the books that "friends" recommend to me over what "professionals" recommend.
Posted by: Jen Forbus | November 2, 2008 1:14 PM