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Books
Unlimited
www.booksunlimited.co.uk |
|
| Books
Unlimited is the work of the Guardian
Newspaper group and as a result
many
of the articles and reviews are pulled from
both The Guardian and The
Observer.
But don't hold this against the site; the book
reviews are thoughtful
and
well written and there's a good selection of
excellent background
features
and interviews with authors. The Pass Notes
could prove handy if you
don't
fancy having to work your way through books
such as Gormanghast, the
top
ten lists also make interesting reading. And
if you're feeling suitably
erudite you could contribute to the online
chat areas which discuss a
variety
of authors. |
Good
Book Guide
www.good-book-guide.com |
|
| This
online book magazine is a comprehensive and
impressive guide to books
and
authors. The content includes interviews with
top authors and the
latest
news on who's writing what and what books are
expected out when. Every
week a handful of books across different
genres are selected as
recommended
reading and you can also search the archive of
book reviews, some of
which
include online extracts from the books. The
Author's Choice section of
the site makes compulsive reading, here
authors pick out their own
favourite
books and explain why they love them so much. |
Atlantic
Unbound
www.theatlantic.com/books |
|
| You'll
find weighty and learned reviews of the latest
books at Atlantic
Unbound;
the online version of the high-brow US arts
magazine. So you'd better
make
sure you've read more than the latest Maeve
Binchy and Jeffrey Archer
novels
if you plan to take part in any of the
literary discussion forums on
the
site. You'll find interviews with authors,
book excerpts and thought
provoking
features on the site, which covers poetry as
well as books. Just don't
expect to see a review of the latest Jackie
Collins' blockbuster. |
The
New York Review of Books
www.nyrev.com |
|
| The
complete 1963 first edition of this
authoritative literary journal is
now
online, complete with the original
illustrations and advertisements -
make
sure you visit that area of the New York
Review of Books site. This
journal
treats books very seriously and has introduced
lots of influential
writers
to an unsuspecting world. You can search the
archive of book reviews,
author
interviews and features - the information
stored there goes back to
1995. |
Penguin
Online
www.penguin.co.uk |
|
| You
can't buy books online from the Penguin site
but it's still well worth
a visit to get more information on Penguin
books and authors. Every
author
gets their own biography, along with an
extract from their latest book.
You should also peruse Penguin's online
magazine, snappily titled
read.me,
which includes news on the latest Penguin
titles, special offers and
chooses
a book and author of the month. And if you're
so inspired by the
website
that you fancy working at Penguin just click
on the Jobs button. |
International
Book Collectors' Association
www.rarebooks.org |
|
| This
site is a treasure trove of information for
anybody who collects books.
You'll find all the resources you need to dig
out those elusive rare
tomes
including links to literary search engines, a
rare book classified ads
section, a directory of rare book dealers and
a guide to valuing your
books.
There are also plenty of useful background
articles covering topics
such
as who are the most collectible authors and
how to identify first
editions.
It's fascinating stuff and could be the start
of a whole new hobby. |
Barnes
& Noble
www.barnesandnoble.com |
|
| Barnes
& Noble is a huge bookstore in the US but
it's yet to make it big
in
the UK. However its Web site is still well
worth a visit. There's an
enormous
selection of books here including specialist
books such as academic
tomes
and there's a special Out of Print section for
those rare books. Barnes
& Noble also sell a good selection of
Collector's Editions and
signed
books. |
Salon
Books
www.salon.com/books |
|
| Salon's
literature coverage is a prime example of
something the Americans do
extremely
well: produce intelligent, insightful essay
writing, without lapsing
into
the crusty tones of many of their British
counterparts. The quality of
the site speaks for itself, with its spacious
layout and easily
navigable
menus. No complaints can be lodged where the
content is concerned
either.
It is updated daily and approaches the
literary from a variety of
different
angles: lengthy reviews that rarely outstay
their welcome, in-depth
interviews
with authors both young and old, polemics and
opinion pieces from
columnists
of the calibre of Camille Paglia, amongst
others. |
London
Review of Books
www.lrb.co.uk |
|
| It's
not just the US that takes the literary high
ground - if you want the
UK
version of Atlantic Unbound or the New York
Review of Books then check
out the online version of the
political/literary magazine the London
Review
of Books. The magazine was founded in 1979 and
is published twice a
month
and it specialises in long essay-like articles
from distinguished
authors
such as Alan Bennett. Many of these articles
are available to read
online
along with an archive of book reviews and
reader's letters. |
Dusty
Books
www.dustybooks.co.uk |
|
If you
just can't find the book you're after in the
conventional online book
stores
and think it might be out of print then you
should check out the range
of second-hand books at the Dusty Books site.
Dredge through the online
catalogue or send off an email and ask them to
dig out a specific book
for you.
Dusty
Books is a
member of
the International Book Dealers Association so
you know you're dealing
with
a reputable company. |
The
Title Page
www.titlepage.com |
|
| If you're
looking for something a little unusual in the
book line then check out
this site and you'll find lots of signed first
editions for sale. The
authors
represented include big names such as Isabel
Allende and Michael
Crichton,
and the site also boasts online interviews
with many popular authors.
The
only drawback is that the site is based in the
US and so prices are in
dollars, however Title Page will ship to the
UK. The condition of the
books
is well described so you know exactly what
you're getting. |
Waterstones
www.waterstones.co.uk |
|
| Somewhat
surprisingly you'll find the prices are very
competitive at Waterstones
online store - some bestsellers were selling
for half the RRP. This
site
looks great and has some nice touches - for
example if you register and
tell Waterstones what authors and type of
books you like, they'll email
out regular book recommendations to you. You
can even create your own
personal
online library of the books you love or would
like as gifts. |
Alphabetstreet
www.alphabetstreet.co.uk |
|
| Not
only does this site sell books but it also
dabbles in CDs, DVDs and
video
games. The book prices are very competitive -
you're looking at 50 per
cent off the top ten list. Even better,
delivery is free to any address
in the UK. Books are reviewed by
Alphabetstreet customers so you can
check
out the word on the street before you commit.
An interesting feature of
the site lets you match your mood to books; if
you're feeling a bit
weepy
then Alphabetstreet will recommend a few good
love stories or for the
really
depressed, a Shakespearian tragedy. |
WH
Smith Online
books.whsmithonline.co.uk |
|
| Unafraid
of eating into its conventional sales WH Smith
has gone straight in and
whacked off up to 50 per cent on the RRP of
some of the books it's
selling
online. As well as flogging books, you can
also buy magazines, audio
CDs,
videos and computer games here. If you're not
sure what you want to
read
then check out the Top Seller charts or the
Read of the Week
recommendation.
Orders are sent out within 24-hours if the
book is in stock. |
BOL
www.uk.bol.com |
|
| BOL
stocks a whopping 1.5 million titles and has
new reading
recommendations
every day if you're a real bookworm. You can
browse the huge collection
by subject or if it's a gift you're after head
straight for the Gift
Ideas
section. Each book is well described and BOL
also gets some big name
authors
in for online interviews. Most books are
dispatched within 24 or 48
hours
and you typically save around 30 per cent off
the retail price. |
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BOOKS
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