BookStack Directory: Part 2
B is for Book Industry Professionals
In case you missed it, a description of this project and Part 1, “A is for Authors” who write Substacks where they regularly recommend, review or critique books other than there own, is here:
The second post in the series features 12 newsletters created by people who earn their living by bringing books written by others into our lives. They’re editors or publishers, booksellers and librarians, with a few professional reviewers and translators in the mix.
Here we go, alphabetically by newsletter title.
I hope Rosalynn Tyo won’t mind if I compare her All By Our Shelves newsletter to Championship Vinyl, the record store in High Fidelity. Rosalynn works at her neighborhood used bookstore and writes about her shifts there as well as what she’s reading and life as a solo mom/freelance writer.
Book Post, founded by Ann Kjellberg who worked for three decades on the editorial staff at the New York Review of Books and staffed by a cadre of authors who offer weekly-ish Diaries with thoughts on their reading experiences and occasional posts from Ann’s Notebook. They partner seasonally with independent bookstores, and those who spend at least $100 with their partners get a free three-month paid subscription which includes exclusive reviews direct to your inbox.
Close Reads HQ is produced by a family-run company connected to Goldberry Books, an indie bookstore in Concord, NC. They’re the friendly bookish neighbors of Substack, offering popular read-alongs
Visit Corners of the Mind by translator Katerina Michail for a monthly-ish focus on literature, translation and “bibliotherapy,” with a recent focus on Arabic literature and translation.
Crooked Reads by Ashley Holstrom, who works for a publisher of ebooks and writes about books all over the internet, offers a free monthly collection of three themed books reviews. They’re short, engaging, friendly and inclusive of all kinds of differences. If you click through to her site and looking for a helpful guide to poking around, she has a link to a directory of her posts by genre and title on the menu bar.
highfalutin thot makes the case for discovering, reading and recommending great books and their cultural antecedents, from an editor of classics. They’re pivoting their newsletter to offer personalized reading recommendation lists, so visit the site to submit your request.
Andrea Bass who has worked in libraries, including collection development and readers’ advisory, writes Literary Merit, a joyful exploration of books, poetry and life in the library.
MILLER’S BOOK REVIEW 📚 became a Featured publication in 2023. Written by former publishing executive and author Joel J Miller, this newsletter focuses on Classics, Memoir, History and how-tos for an intentional, well-curated and connected reading life.
Another librarian providing recommendations and comments on the reading life, with her own midlife Wisconsinite twist, is Katy O. The Mindful Librarian. I’ve been enjoying her recent series of interviews with different people who write newsletters on Substack.
Samantha Ladwig, co-owner of Imprint Bookstore in Port Townsend, WA offers a compartmentalized newsletter fitting of someone who used to catalog films for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences before realizing she’d rather live on a small island and hunt for agates. Narrative Sea offers three categories of posts: free subscribers get The Wrap, a free monthly summary of book and bookstore related items, while paid subscribers receive Owner’s Manual diary-type news about all things related to running a bookstore and The Practice, her guide to life as a writer and writing instructor.
The New Dork Review of Books by bookseller Greg Zimmerman, who also writes for the Chicago Review of Books and sells books for Chicago’s RoscoeBooks, offers reviews of an ecclectic mix of new releases and his backlist favorites. He still calls it Twitter and he’s still there if you are, too.
Cassie Gutman, a book publishing professional and contributor to Book Riot, writes her independent newsletter Reading Under the Radar. Just as you might expect from that title, subscribers get weekly recommendations of books that haven’t been widely featured and deserve more hype than they’re getting.
If you’ve ever fantasized about what it would be like to own a quaint little bookshop by the sea, Katie Clapham will keep it real for you. Receipt from the Bookshop offers weekly real time day-in-the-life posts from her award-winning shop in St. Annes-on-Sea, UK. Paid subscribers also get access to her book club and additional bookish essays. She’s hilarous on Notes, too.
Yes— some of these folks are also Authors. Welcome to my imperfect and evolving system!
I’m enjoying putting this time in to boost the community. If you discovered someone’s work as a result of this Directory or appreciate being included, I hope you’ll take just a second to like and Restack or share this post to help others find it.
I look forward to sharing some of the darlings of social media and Substack as well as reading enthusiasts with niche bookish interests in upcoming installments of this series. In the meantime, if you’d like to be included and you haven’t completed the survey to let me know where to find you yet, please do!
If you want to check in to let me know I’ve gotten something wrong or forgotten one of your favorites, comments and DMs are open!
Cheers,
Abra
This is so cool. I love love love reading about the ins and outs of publishing. I really recommend Notes from a Small Press by Anne Trubek, the publisher of Belt Publishing.
I'm a book designer and just started a Substack (still proving myself here)—do you know of any other Substacks pertaining to or focusing on the design of books?
Thank you for this list of great stacks!!! I’ve been looking for more book reviewers so this was super helpful 🩷