This article in Salon magazine got me thinking. When it comes to choosing the next book you wish to read, what parameters, influences, suggestions, critics, etc., do you use?
There used to be a time (not all that long ago, either) when you could pick up just about any fairly-large-circulation newspaper and read a section filled with book reviews. That time seems to have passed, and now there are few newspapers in the nation that regularly feature full book reviews. Certainly, those that still do, are concerned purely with the large publishers and the latest blockbuster novel from some famous author or other; you are unlikely to see the latest book from the South Dakota State Historical Society Press on those big name broadsheet papers!
As a result of the demise of the review section, we must get our book recommendations from somewhere else. For instance, if you have read a book from the SDSHS Press, where/how did you find out about it? We’re lucky in that as an academic press we can still get reviews in scholarly journals, and a great many of our books have been reviewed in that manner. However, I’m guessing that most of you did not find out about our books through that avenue. After all, typically, scholarly journals can take anywhere up to three years to publish a review of a book! No, I’m guessing you found out through another method. Maybe, someone you know recommended the book to you or, maybe someone gifted it to you. Perhaps, you follow this blog or our twitter or facebook feeds, and read about our latest release and decided you just had to check it out. It could have been that you saw an ad in a local newspaper or attended a book signing in your favorite local bookstore. It might even have been my preferred method for discovering books that aren’t on the bestseller lists: spending a good couple of hours browsing through a good bookstore. Finally, you may have used one of the various online sites that helps in your quest for the perfect book. That site might not even have been one of the big e-tailers, but instead might have been a modern take on word-of-mouth such as Goodreads or LibraryThing.com.
Whatever method you currently use to discover good books is perhaps less important than the enjoyment they provide once you have found them.
South Dakota Historical Society Press 