The advent of e-readers has allowed people to carry a lifetime of books in their backpack for convenient, backlit reading anywhere. This proliferation of reading gadgets has not only been a boon for passionate readers, but for writers as well. It is easier and less expensive than ever for independent authors to publish their works to a possible audience of millions. This is a huge benefit to both writers and readers, and has led to an outpouring of independently published e-books for lovers of all genres. This list is a celebration of reading and writing for both academic and general audiences.

From e-publishing gurus to literature critics, authors, and bookshop owners, many people in the business of selling words have blogs and online storefronts to reach an ever more electronically connected audience of voracious readers.

The Newbie Author’s Guide is tailored for writers interested in publishing, but who lack experience on the business side of turning a file on their computer into a published, printed and promoted work.

Steve Adams is a writing coach and writer. He has worked with published, award-winning novelists, short-fiction writers, and nonfiction writers; unpublished but dedicated and experienced writers; and those new to the game who have always believed they had something to say, but didn’t know quite how or where to begin.

The Scholarly Kitchen analyzes difficulties associated with scholarly publishing. The purpose of the blog is to be a vehicle for discussing challenges with being published in the academic community.

The Millions is an online magazine flush with quality content on books, culture, and the arts. They look at challenges writers face, different writing styles, as well as writing events.

Chronicle Books ties together books with engaging blog posts, such as a discussion on recipes from upcoming books on cooking.

Must Read: The Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress has an Open House

Book Patrol has lots of book-related posts relevant to culture, with events around the country, among other things.

The Writer’s Almanac is supported by American Public Radio, which has a breadth of sources to pull material from, so it should come as no surprise that the blog is able to efficiently provide new poetry every day.

Author Paulo Coelho uses his blog primarily to promote his works, but pulls excerpts that are not only interesting, but draw the reader in to inquire more.

The blog focuses on musings of various speculations into the future of print, video, and formats not yet invented.

Ivebeenreadinglately follows a passionate reader who uses the blog as a forum to further develop thoughts and ideas from recently read books.

Blogcritics.org covers a variety of subjects, from film to sports and from gaming to books. The high-powered book section of the blog provides an impressive selection of book reviews, along with interviews with some of the most prominent contemporary authors.

Futurebook implements standards for contemporary reading blogs by including reviews of various literary-themed Apps tailored to various mediums for users’ reading experiences.

Interpolations takes the experiences and knowledge of a seasoned reader and cross-examines various themes in novels with notions picked up through his life as a reader. The result is a dense, thought-filled exploration of titles.

The Bookshop Blog is an in-depth blog compiling Top 100 lists for various genres, bookstore profiles, and general musing over different philosophies concerning how we read and interact with books.

Girlebooks has a 21st century view on being a book blog and exclusively handles ebooks, particularly those with women as authors. The blog aims to take a more active role in breaking out of the cycle of women being the only readers of literature authored by women.

Maud Newton’s literary blog is colored with a significant amount of cultural commentary. The depth of the blog is furthermore accentuated due the amount of travel he does and his ability to blend history into his reviews.

TeleRead features “news and views on e-books, libraries, publishing, and related topics” with special emphasis on reading related technologies such as e-readers, e-book managers, and the general creation and distribution systems used by Amazon and others to purvey written media in electronic form.

Must Read: Five Authors to Watch in 2013

Mark Sarvas runs this acclaimed literary blog that has a casual tone, while still maintaining a substantive style.

The Readers Almanac is the official blog of The Library of America, a nonprofit publisher whose goal is ensuring the most significant works of American literature stay in print.

The American Literary Blog focuses on 19th century literature, encompassing not only very popular books of the period, but more obscure titles as well. The blog includes links and dates to various talks and appearances.

The American Literary Review was created through the creative writing program at The University of North Texas and publishes a wide range of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction from writers with varying degrees of experience. Spring 2013 will feature the final issue in print before exclusively embracing the digital medium.

The well-known New York Times Review of Books is one of the largest and accessible sources concerning literature. You’ll find countless interviews, reviews, and exposés of some of the finest contemporary authors.

Project Gutenberg provides a library of over 42,000 free eBook titles in the United States due to expired copyrights. The project categorizes the free e-books that are available and offers links to download locations.

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Literary magazines publish works of fiction, poetry, documentary, and just about any other culturally significant pieces of writing that are relevant to their target audience. These magazines often originate at universities or other academic communities, and have a distinctly intellectual feeling about them.

Virginia Quarterly Review houses an impressive assortment of information and guidance for all sorts of ventures, from moving to a different city, even state, to trends in film and pop culture. It’s well written and provides a large source for interesting reads.

New Letters offers many writing contests to keep the quality of writing featured very high. They also feature comprehensive writing workshops to help aspiring writers improve.

Must Read: Font and You: The Style-Memoir

The Missouri Review engages the reader with engrossing content and interesting tidbits that contribute to a very enjoyable literary magazine.

The poetry printed in Subtropics is highly regarded, and the magazine itself has consistently grown as an influential source within the writing community.

Ploughshares is a literary magazine based out of Emerson College that embraces the full spectrum of viewpoints people have and channel it into a productive forum for discussing issues at hand regarding literature.

Must Read: Open Letters to People or Entities Who are Unlikely to Respond

McSweeney’s is a publisher with an upscale quarterly and many affiliations throughout the independent publishing world. Their website has info on their products and also aggregates many other useful websites to help with becoming a writer and improving writing skills. Additionally, it directs students to appropriate links to help fund their college tuition.

Granta Magazine originated in the late 1800’s at Cambridge University and has seen large numbers of successful writers use it as a springboard. Fiction and non-fiction writers alike have attributed Granta for pushing the literary world forward.

Tin House includes mostly contemporary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, but also has an interesting Lost and Found section that examines obscure or overlooked literature.

Three Penny Review is a print magazine that supplements the content of each edition with online-only features and links to other work by the blogger.

Must Read: The New Decay of Lying

Rain Taxi specializes in book reviews, but the magazine provides interviews with authors as well.

New England Review accepts content from a wide variety of writers in different stages of their careers. This provides a large variety of voices for the publication to flourish.

A physical copy of The Massachusetts Review amounts to over 200 pages of content ranging from fiction and poetry to visual arts. The blog expands on the quarterly-released physical copies by adding supplementary content and more up-to-date commentary on contemporary issues.

Regarded as the most influential literary magazine in the 1940’s and 50’s, The Kenyon Review has a reputation for providing some of the best fiction, poetry, and short stories in the world.

The Gettysburg Review posts various short stories, essays, and poems. The works released through this literary magazine are held in high regard, as many of the pieces featured go on to be rereleased in literary compilations.

Conjunctions is the literary journal of Bard College and publishes fiction, poetry, criticism, interviews, and more, with an approach that focuses more on collaboration.

The Cincinnati Review looks at various poetry, fiction, and art throughout the country, but also highlights some lesser known artists in the Ohio area.

The Believer is a magazine centered around cultural aspects and provides in-depth social commentary on contemporary issues.

Must Read: How To Fall In Love Properly

A Public Space is explicit in underlining the desire to give a voice to the 21st century. The content includes a variety of works of fiction partnered with detailed art commentary.

The American Scholar covers contemporary issues with a distinctly academic tone. Additionally, the inclusion of global political commentary is a welcome facet of content.

Prairie Schooner started as a literature magazine in 1927, but has since expanded to cover a variety of subjects. It analyzes books, movies, video games, and general social issues with substantive commentary.

Must Read: Surveys (From The Cape of Good Hope)

The Georgia Review has been published quarterly since 1946 and they carefully select works of literature, art, and design for publication on its website and in the print issue.

Recommended Reading is a blog that provides exceptional recommendations from authors and contributors to the website. The recommendations are curated in 4-week cycles, providing a variety of sources and information on a given subject.

EXPLORINGfictions publishes various fiction titles on the website, along with commentary and relevant discussions. Authors are not limited to modern or domestic, and titles available include past and international works of fiction as well.

Must Read: The Tragic Last Stand of the Skyhorse Clan

Bomblog is the online extension to Bomb Magazine, which aims to provide a forum for artists to expand on ideas and a place for discussion.

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Reading a book review in a newspaper is a good way to get a general feel for what a book is like and whether it is worth buying, but unless you’ve been reading a certain reviewer’s work for a while, and know that they share your taste, it can be tough to get a truly reliable recommendation. Fortunately, the Internet empowers anyone to be a book reviewer, and superfans of every genre, from paranormal youth fiction to romance novels and even the works of specific authors, have put up hyper-specialized book review blogs where anyone can find exactly what they’re looking for.

Caustic Cover Critic The Caustic Cover Critic takes a look at various book covers, sometimes remarking on their value as amusement and sometimes underlining their use to properly convey literary elements. Additionally, he adds details about the ability of a given cover to bring in potential readers. Must Read: Every Christian Needs a Chainsaw

A Common Reader A Common Reader quickly makes it apparent the purpose of the blog is simply to read for pleasure. He is interested in conveying his opinion of books, but has no interest of imposing his views. Must Read: Review: Beware of Pity

Bluestalking Bluestalking is a Chicago-based blog from a librarian who reviews for a number of literary outlets. As a result, there are a variety of works reviewed. Must Read: Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

Beth’s Book Reviews Beth’s Book Reviews is a very straight-forward blog for reviewing books she is reading. While she has ceased to do author interviews, this gives her more time to focus on quality reviews for her readers. Must Read: 100 Greatest Books Ever Written

Reading for Sanity Reading For Sanity is aimed towards the female reader by providing innumerable options concerning reviews and recommendations. Must Read: Reading For Sanitys Romantic Reading Recommendation

Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s New Book Review The main goal of The New Book Review is to present readers with up-to-date information and reviews on the latest in literature. It constantly is promoting books users feel are exceptional and truly compelling. Must Read: Donna McDine Reviews New Helpful Book

Epic Reads Epic Reads is a blog geared towards the 21st century reader. It has a forum for discussing, as well as contests, quizzes, and helps readers locate author signings. Must Read: Community

What Should I Read Next? What Should I Read Next takes a minimalistic queue from Google and simply provides the user with a search bar to find similar books to read.

Chick Lit Is Not Dead Chick Lit Is Not Dead is run by two women dedicated to the notion that literature for women is progressing at the fastest rate it ever has, in part due to not being pigeonholed by the romance genre. They provide reviews, discussions, giveaways, and plenty of insight into their personal lives so the reader can feel like one of the girls as well. Must Read: Club 2013: Julie Kilber and Calling Me Home

Neglected Books Neglected Books seeks readers who want to uncover gems that very well were looked over in their initial publication and tries to put an audience around books they truly think are special. They detail why the book deserves to be uncovered, but also examine why each was overlooked in the first place. Must Read: Most Neglected Books of the Past 25 Years (1970)

Bookslut Bookslut reviews various titles with a very cognizant style. Additionally, a plethora of interviews are available to learn more information about many of the authors. Must Read: Beyond The Alps: The Forgotten Legacy of Three Swiss Writer-Travelers

Book Chase Book Chase is an intimate blog paying homage to reading a book at a comfortable pace and having a good conversation about it. The blog is loaded with supplementary information, such as upcoming books to look forward to and trailers for books going to movies. Must Read: May We Be Forgiven

Books on the Nightstand Books on the Nightstand is run by two professionals in the literature world and includes in-depth looks into book recommendations, complete with a weekly podcast. Must Read: Podcasts

Reading Matters Reading Matters focuses primarily on contemporary fiction, but provides a large number of resources for becoming more engaged with literature throughout London and the United Kingdom. Must Read: Reading Log: Books Read Year-by-Year

mirabile dictu Mirabile Dictu is a great little blog that goes in-depth on contemporary fiction, but approaches it in a fairly refreshing way. While fairly brief, the posts allow for an effective and to-the-point style. Must Read: Mirable Recommends: Books for Both Genders

Buzz, Balls & Hype Buzz, Balls, and Hype revolves mostly around fantasy novels, but it also has recommendations that branch out from this and make it an effective tool for finding good reads. Must Read: Imagine

The Mookse and the Gripes The Mookse and the Gripes looks at contemporary fiction, but supplements this by also having podcasts and links to all of The New Yorker short stories. Must Read: Karen Russel: Vampires In The Lemon Grove

The Book Smugglers The Book Smugglers is a blog unbound to a particular genre; their reviews span fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers, drama, and more. They aim to keep content fresh by posting four new reviews per week. Must Read: Book Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Booking Mama Booking Mama is a review blog that follows a stay-at-home mom who is an avid reader. In addition to reviewing a wide array of titles, she also provides good tips on starting and running a book club. Must Read: Introducing: Book Club Exchange

Love, Romance, Passion Love, Romance, Passion bills itself as a blog for reviewers, by reviewers. As implied in the name, they focus on romance novels, but aim to find an audience who is seeking atypical choices. Must Read: Best Romantic Short Stories

NonSuch Book NonSuch Book blog posts a variety of contemporary literature reviews, but also provides a surprisingly thorough selection of quality Spanish literature often overlooked. Must Read: Wordy Diversions

The Literary Life of the Well-Read Wife The Literary Life of the Well-Read Wife is a blog from an English Education major who now is a stay-at-home mom and wants to be an outlet for other well-read, intelligent women who have a passion for reading. Must Read: Best Memoirs of 2012

The American Poetry Review The American Poetry Review focuses on providing an array of contemporary poetry, but also being an outlet for poets to showcase work. Must Read: American Poetry Review Current Issue

Smartish Pace Smartish Pace is a journal-turned-blog that publishes compilations of poetry. The blog publishes a large amount of interviews with various contemporary authors and poets. Must Read: An Interview with Natasha Trethewey

Book Browse Bookbrowse is a very intuitive source for finding new books to read through their “read-alikes” tool. They break down recommendations in a variety of ways, but also include a categorization by decade. Must Read: Read-Alikes

BookLamp Booklamp created the Book Genome Project in 2003 to help pair people with books that they are believed to like, excluding social factors that typically inhibit new authors from being recommended on other sites for finding new books. Must Read: Book Genome Project

Flashlight Worthy Book Recommendations Flashlight Worthy Book Recommendations provides ample sources for new reads through hundreds of lists with different similarities. They make recommendations based on things as broad as similar plot devices, but also more fine-tuned recommendations, such as “Fractured Novels That Mirror The Uncertainty of Life.” Must Read: Book Questions

The Staff Recommends The Staff Recommends reads through books and if they enjoy it, will seek the publisher to pay to be featured on the site. The interesting dichotomy between the reviewer and publisher makes for an interesting list organized in an unconventional way. Must Read: Past Selections

Longform Longform pulls interesting articles from various publications for a stream of consistently interesting material. Additionally, Longform fills out its content with a substantive fiction section. Must Read: Fiction

Longreads Longreads provides a blog-style page filled with various stories and articles that range from less than ten minutes to well over an hour to read. It gives the reader ample opportunity to tailor the reading experience, which adds increased accessibility to the website. Must Read: The Prison Problem

Goodreads Goodreads takes the idea of finding similar books for a reader and adds a social element. By implementing a part of the website for connecting with friends, Goodreads aims to make finding the next good read a more contemporary notion. Must Read: Listopia