-
Access Our
Best Book Club
Books of 2025!
In the age of star ratings and reader comments, you might wonder why professional book reviews are still important. The truth is that crowd-sourced opinions (like those on Goodreads or Amazon) can be useful but should be just one data point. Readers on these platforms often rate generously – 5-star ratings can be given out “like they’re giving away candy,” as one commenter put it. Popular opinion can also be volatile or “trendy”, sometimes skewed by hype, author fandom, or even coordinated campaigns (both positive and negative). For example, Goodreads users posted 26 million reviews and 300 million ratings in one recent year – an overwhelming volume where quality and honesty vary widely.
In August of 2024, Ace Books of Penguin Random House released Dungeon Crawler Carl, the first in a series of previously self-published books by author Matt Dinniman. The novel follows a character named Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat Princess Donut, who are stuck on a TV game show run by aliens, forced to navigate a series of traps to survive. Dinniman’s work employs a writing style known as LitRPG, in which elements of video games, often specifically MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games), comprise part of the story’s world. For example, characters may “level up,” gain experience points, and talk to other players. LitRPG is distinct from interactive fiction like Choose Your Own Adventure in that the reader is not involved in the game but remains an observer.
The Hugo Awards are presented each August for notable achievements in science fiction and fantasy published in English over the previous year. Widely considered the most prestigious awards in the genre, they're bestowed annually at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), a global gathering of science fiction and fantasy fans, writers, artists and musicians.
Hello BookBrowsers! As you probably noticed, we've updated the BookBrowse site and branding. While we will be ironing out the kinks over the next several weeks (and please do contact us if you see something that looks odd) it's important to us that we share why we've made these changes.
Since last October, the international and American literary landscapes have been deeply affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. One of the major ways this has manifested is in authors pushing governments and organizations to take action on behalf of Palestinians in the region, who face continuing violence and starvation. Below, we give a brief, non-exhaustive overview of how the situation in Gaza has been at the forefront of many events in the book world during the past eight months.
What author owns a bookstore near you? We may think of writers as people who live behind their words, out of reach of society, but many are deeply involved in their local reading scenes, and bookstores are one of the best spaces for them to connect with their audiences. Authors who own and operate these spaces have an opportunity to provide services to readers that reflect their own sensibilities and priorities, and some of the most exciting, community-focused and unique independent bookstores are author-owned.
So the next time you’re planning a day trip or vacation, check out the list below and plan accordingly! And if you can’t get to one of these stores at the moment but would still love a signed copy of your favorite novel by the likes of Louise Erdrich or Ann Patchett, note that many of them offer online ordering for delivery, along with email lists and other ways to interact with and support them from afar.
