K.L. Kranes

I love books, like a lot. Enough that I wrote one. (see The Travelers). Therefore, it’s probably not surprising that I read and follow a lot of book-related sites and blogs. Blogs are a little tricky. I like so many great ones. That list would be very long and I may tackle compiling that some day soon. In the meantime, since it’s Friday, I’ll do a Friday 5 of my 5 Favorite Book Websites.

1. Book Riot

If you love books, tap your fingers on over to book riot. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, they’re constantly posting poignant and timely book-related material. The have articles, giveaways, interesting opinion pieces.

2. Fairfax County Public Library

Alright, not everyone might be interested in following the Fairfax County Public Library, especially if you don’t live in Fairfax, VA. However, this is a plug for public library websites everywhere. Not only do they post interesting articles, you can learn about local bookish events. This is how I learned about reading to dogs at the library! Like everything else, you can follow your public library on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I just learned today from my public library that February is Library Lovers Month!

3. Goodreads

If you love books and are unfamiliar with Goodreads, let me introduce you. This is a one-stop hub for book nerds everywhere. You can connect and friend people, create reading lists and share it with others, mark your progress, review books, read book lists. The opportunities on Goodreads are kind of endless. Go now, create a log in – get hooked. You’ll thank me. As a side note, love is really in the air, probably thanks to upcoming Valentine’s Day. It happens to be Romance Week at Goodreads. You should  check out what that means. And look me up while you’re there! I’m a Goodreads author and I love to have more Goodreads friend!

4. Project Gutenberg

This website is not flashy. It’s not slick. There are no articles. But, you know what it has – books, lots of them, for FREE –  53,000 free ebooks to be exact. It’s also really a noble cause. Project Gutenberg itself is run by volunteers and is part of a larger effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to “encourage the creation and distribution of ebooks.”  The project was founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart (who in case you didn’t know INVENTED the ebook – Amazon should thank him) and is the oldest digital library. It’s based on a great philosophy of information sharing and making sure books and information can be available to anyone.

“The Project Gutenberg Philosophy is to make information, books and other materials available to the general public in forms a vast majority of the computers, programs and people can easily read, use, quote, and search.”

5. NPR Book Concierge

OK. I admit it. I’m an NPR nerd. Some people may think of NPR as just part of the “liberal media.” (Honesty, that term is just so ridiculous but whatever. Apparently propaganda works.) ANYWAY, NPR is so much more than a place to get news. Yes, they have that and it’s good and very balanced, despite what some may think. But, there is so much more to NPR, including books and stories. (Have I mentioned I love NPR?) Nearly all the statements that come out of my mouth (at least the interesting ones) start with, “I was listening to NPR today and…” I love their programs, many of which are all about telling stories, like StoryCorps. If you really want to learn about other people, they feature all kinds of interesting people and their stories. If you like oral storytelling you really should listen to a podcast called “Snap Judgement.” It’s mix of jazzy music and great stories. BUT, if it’s all about the books, then check out NRP’s Book Concierge, which includes books and titles handpicked or featured on NPR. This is where I first learned about books like The Wangs vs The World and Hillbilly Eulogy. It’s an eclectic mix of reviews and suggestions that is worth a look or two or three or a million. I love NPR! OK, done nerding out now. No, I’m not. I love NPR!! I might have a little obsessive problem here. (If you do too support the National Endowment of the Arts!)