http://www.dystel.com/blog/2014/08/what-do-i-read-next/ Mon, 26 Jun 2017 15:15:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.15 http://www.dystel.com/blog/2014/08/what-do-i-read-next/comment-page-1/#comment-42274 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 01:39:05 +0000 http://www.dystel.com/?p=10558#comment-42274 […] reports or reading queries. We even had the opportunity to contribute to the agency blog; this is one of our posts from last […]

]]> http://www.dystel.com/blog/2014/08/what-do-i-read-next/comment-page-1/#comment-38420 Sun, 10 Aug 2014 12:27:11 +0000 http://www.dystel.com/?p=10558#comment-38420 I think a good book review is an art form in its own right. I enjoy reading them – poring over the Guardian’s Review section is the highlight of my week-end – but I could count the number of books I’ve bought (based on a review) on the fingers of one hand. Frequently the book review is a substitute for actually reading the book itself: TLS reviews are so comprehensive that sometimes it feels like you actually are reading the book in question- for example, I know the plots and themes of around seven or eight Philip Roth books, but have never read any of them.

]]> http://www.dystel.com/blog/2014/08/what-do-i-read-next/comment-page-1/#comment-38400 Wed, 06 Aug 2014 04:06:34 +0000 http://www.dystel.com/?p=10558#comment-38400 I collect candidate books for my next read from any number of sources: books recommended by certain authors on their blogs, books that keep popping up on my local library’s “recently returned” list, books that rank high on Goodreads in terms of nr. of stars and reviews. If I’m in a brick-and-mortar, I typically browse the ‘new releases’ shelf and/or a couple of genres shelves, and pick based on title, cover art and synopsis (like someone else said). HOWEVER: the litmus test is how the first 3 pages read. I have discarded about 90% of my candidates that way.

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