This post is part of my year end "Attack of the Best Lists" coverage. To see every post in my "Best Books 2021" series you can use the best lists tag.
Today I want to highlight the Book Marks aggregated list of the Best Reviewed Books of 2021. Please see this post from March 2020 as to why Book Marks is such an important resource for all of you. And then magnify that to consider the "BEST" reviewed books. But I love their Twitter bio: LitHub's Rotten Tomatoes for Books." That is PERFECT!
This is a "best" list and resource that works even better when you understand how it works, so see below for more details.
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020
I love resources that aggregate other resources. Not only do these types of resources save all of us time, meaning we can go to one place for lots of similar information, but also, this aggregation means we get a broader picture, with representation from multiple resources in one place.
How It Works
Every day, the Book Marks staff scours the most important and active outlets of literary journalism in the US—from established national broadsheets to regional weeklies and alternative litblogs—and logs their book reviews. When a book is reviewed by at least three outlets, each of those reviews is assigned an individual rating (Rave, Positive, Mixed or Pan). These ratings are then averaged into a result and the book becomes part of our Book Marks database.
Each book’s cumulative rating functions as both a general critical assessment, and, more significantly, as an introduction to the range of voices and opinions that make up the world of American literary criticism. These opinions are accompanied by pull quotes representative of the overall stance of each individual review, and readers can click through to the full review at its source.
Readers can express their own opinions alongside those of the critics in each book page’s What Did You Think Of… comments section.
Book Marks exists to serve as a consolidated information resource for the reading public and a link between the worlds of literary creation, criticism and consumption. We hope it will bring more attention to great books and great criticism.
The writing community benefits from a multiplicity of voices. We’re eager to hear yours.
Now full disclosure before I move on, my reviews for Booklist andLibrary Journal are included in this resource with my name attached. However, I honestly use it for every genre EXCEPT horror, so I can stay up to speed on the titles I need to know about.
I like that they classify reviews as "Rave," Postive," "Mixed" or "Pan" to give an overall view of the book's critical status before you even click through. Also, you need serious "Rave" reviews to get more than a positive.
Too often, one review, be it positive or negative, from an influential source can define the book for the majority of readers. Yet, with Book Marks, you can easily get a full picture of the professional book reviewers' opinions on a title in one place. And even if everyone loved it, the one of two who did not, will get their voice on equal footing.
Also a plus with Book Marks, genre titles are placed on an equal footing. Click here to see all of the categories they have created including all genres, formats [poetry and Graphic Novels, for ex], and multiple categories of nonfiction.
You can use the site to help readers, by providing them with multiple viewpoints on a specific title without reading the book for yourself or being forced to share your personal opinion], for collection development [you can search newest titles and they make lots of best lists], and for displays [the categories and lists are there for the taking].
I personally like the "Best Reviewed" carousel, on the homepage. There are often find titles that I have missed. Maybe they didn't get the biggest buzz or publisher support, and yet, critics are still noticing them. Here is an example that I found in that list today, a book I really had not heard about at all. But because of Book Marks, I may be able to suggest it to a reader for whom it would be a good choice.
Finally, in at the end of each title entry there is a list of "similar books." Click here for the entry for a book I gave a star review as an example. I am not sure how they make those lists, but you can click through into the titles to see more information at least.
In general, I advocate for aggregated resources. I love crowd sourcing too. Check out Book Marks, yes, but also think about the resources you are using, how they are created, and if they give you everything you want or need.
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