Book Riot's Reading Pathways

Yesterday in my review of Sula I linked to a Toni Morrison "Reading Pathway" on Book Riot and I wanted to talk more about those. Of all the fun and interesting things posted on Book Riot, Reading Pathways are my favorite. As a reader there are often prolific authors who I'd like to get acquainted with, but I don't know where to start. Often beginning with the earliest works and moving forward isn't the best route to take. Enter Reading Pathways, in which a reader who is very familiar with a certain author's work suggests a series of three books to read in succession to best introduce a new reader to said author's oeuvre.

I myself am two-thirds of my way though the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Reading Pathway and have found it quite helpful. I've always been intimidated by Marquez, so the pathway makes me feel more confident about tackling his works. I started with Memories of My Melancholy Whores, moved to Love In The Time of Cholera (which I completed yesterday) and will tackle 100 Years of Solitude Next.  If you're looking to conquer a new-to-you author, I really can't recommend reading pathways enough. 

There are a wide variety of authors represented, including but not limited to Zadie Smith, Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Trooper, Jane Austen, John Irving, and Haruki Murakami. You can pursue the ever evolving list of authors here. Let me know if you try one! 

A Holiday Gift Guide

With the holidays right around the corner, I thought I’d put together a special edition of Book Fetish this week. The Holiday Gift Guide features carefully chosen bookish gifts from previous Book Fetish entries. I hope this helps you to cross off the bibliophiles on your Christmas list.

You can take a look at it here. Happy shopping!

Let the Rioting Begin!

I'm sure by now you've heard the buzz about BookRiot - a new website dedicated to books news and reviews with a focus on variety: "sometimes we are serious and sometimes silly. Some of our writers are pros. Many of them aren’t. We like a good list just as much as we like a good review. We think you can like both J.K. Rowling and J.M Coetzee and that there are smart, funny, and informative things to say about both and that you shouldn't have to choose."

I'm really excited to be a part of the movement. I'll be posting a Book Fetish feature over there about once a week, highlighting bookish things for voracious readers everywhere. If you haven't already, I encourage you to check it out and sign yourself up. If you've got a passion for books, you're going to fit right in.