More Bookish Newsletters to Enjoy
There is something here for most every book lover
Hi readers,
I read a variety of books, subscribe to several magazines, and read more newsletters than I can count; there just aren’t enough hours in a day to read everything I’d like to read. I’ve subscribed to newsletters, read them for a few months, and unsubscribed when they no longer met my needs. There are many different types of bookish newsletters; newsletters that review books and participate in blog tours, and others that interview authors and industry professionals. Some newsletters focus on specific genres and age groups, and others like mine write about a little bit of everything related to books. There are thousands available; the reader just needs to know where to find one that will interest them.
I discovered Substack about a year ago and joined the platform in May when I started this newsletter. Since then, I’ve found many different bookish newsletters that would interest readers, and I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorites. All but three of these newsletters are entirely free, and the others have some free issues along with paid subscriber options where some newsletters are behind a paywall. The link associated with each newsletter name below goes directly to its archive so you can view the variety of newsletter issues. I’ve also included a couple of links to my favorite issues for each one.
Read More Books by Jeremy Anderberg - I discovered Jeremy’s newsletter about six months ago, and I’ve been slowly catching up on his backlist of 200+ newsletters. I enjoyed the free issues so much that I became a paid subscriber to read the issues behind the paywall. He reviews books, interviews authors, discusses podcasts, provides links to other bookish fun, and appeared on my favorite bookish podcast, What Should I Read Next by Anne Bogel. It was hard to choose only a couple of my favorites as there are many to choose from. I enjoyed this issue about The Nickel Boys and American Dirt and this issue of an interview with Garrett Graff, the author of The Only Plane in the Sky.
Spark by Elizabeth “Betsy” Marro - Betsy says that her newsletter Spark results from a book club marrying a writer’s group; Spark is its child. It is a place for readers and writers to come together to share and connect. She features author interviews, short book reviews, and reflective looks at reading and writing. She ends most newsletters with a moment of Zen that includes a beautiful picture and a few words that often lead to a long-forgotten memory in the recesses of my mind. I am still working through her backlist of 100ish newsletters, but this issue about going home struck a chord in me because of a loss in my life earlier this year, and this one about her journals makes me wish I had been journaling throughout my life.
Can We Read? by Sarah Miller - Sarah’s newsletter is one of the best that I’ve found anywhere related to children’s books. Her mission is to help you build a culture of reading in your home and help children’s books find the right readers. She does this by sharing the books she reads with her children while sharing her research into children’s literature and raising readers. Her “about” page describes far better than I can what her newsletter is about; if you have children or an interest in children’s literature, be sure to check it out. She has a backlist of 100+ issues sharing extensive reviews of children’s books, author interviews, holiday and seasonally focused newsletters, and so much more. I don’t have young children, but I do have grandkids that love to read, so I’m always on the lookout for books for them. A couple of standout newsletters are the Summer special edition and Strategies for Raising Readers.
SHuSH by Kenneth Whyte - SHuSH is the newsletter of Canadian publisher Sutherland House Books, which focuses on nonfiction such as memoir, history, biography, political science, and current affairs. I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, but I do enjoy Ken’s newsletter, which has been on Substack for over two years. While he does write about books, he also writes about the publishing world, book awards, and other issues relevant to books and publishing. I enjoy learning about all the “behind the scenes” in the publishing world, which this newsletter delivers again and again. It’s no surprise that a couple of my favorite newsletters have been about the publishing side of the book world, including this one written on the year anniversary of SHuSH and this one about the DOJ lawsuit against Penguin Random House.
The Biblioracle Recommends by John Warner - John is an author and the books columnist at the Chicago Tribune. His newsletter features book reviews and recommendations, interviews with people in the book industry, bookish links, and other book adjacent topics. He has a backlist of 50+ newsletters, and many of them have lots of book recommendations that his readers have submitted requests for. A couple of my favorite issues have been book adjacent topics, such as a new social media app for books and a newsletter about literary prizes.
Reading Under the Radar by Cassandra Gutman - Cassandra’s newsletter focuses on one book a week that has probably slipped under the radar and didn’t receive a lot of buzz. It began in September and has so far featured ten books that I haven’t seen on any other list anywhere, and I see a lot of lists every week. I have added about half of the featured books to my TBR and am getting ready to start the one featured in her most recent newsletter. I also added this book to my TBR as I really like stories about families and triumph over tragedy.
What to Read If by Elizabeth Held - This newsletter is one of the newsletters that I’ve subscribed to the longest and enjoy the most. Elizabeth is a writer and avid reader and shares three books in her weekly newsletter. Her book recommendations reflect the news of the day and feature diverse writers and genres. She presents a topic and gives a book recommendation with a short synopsis and why she liked it. When you check out a newsletter, you will see what I’m talking about. She also has author interviews and interviews with publishers, literary agents, cover artists, and other industry people. It was hard to choose only two of my favorites, but I enjoyed learning about book covers and this newsletter with a book buyer from independent bookstore East City Bookshop.
For the Love of Words by Olivia Mardwig - Olivia’s newsletter is one of my latest discoveries and a new addition to the Substack space. I found her through Sarah’s newsletter above when she linked to the book gift guide they put together a few weeks ago. She describes her newsletter as part reading group and part writing workshop for eight to thirteen-year-olds. She selects a book, and through the following eight newsletters, she helps the children read and understand the book through questions, and weekly writing prompts for different reader levels. Each week focuses on specific chapters, and the questions and writing prompts are designed to help with reader comprehension, grammar, creativity, and imagination. This newsletter offers a paid subscription option, but unlike the others above that I have subscribed to, I probably won’t subscribe to the paid version as it’s not my age group. However, what Olivia is doing is incredible, and I want to support her any way I can by telling everyone I know about her fantastic resource for children. Now, if she were to create a course like this for adults, you can bet I would be the first paid subscriber to it. Here are links to a book reading guide and a writing prompt newsletter. I wish her so much success with her endeavor; please tell everyone you know with kids about her newsletter.
Book Person by Michelle Cyca - Michelle describes her newsletter as a “semi-weekly interview series diving into the bookshelves of avid readers.” The 30+ issue backlist features a reader that tells about themselves and their reading life, the last five books they’ve read, and their likes and dislikes in books. In some of the later issues, the newsletter ends with a speed round of questions pairing up words and books; you’ll have to read an issue to understand what I mean. The style and format of her newsletter are something that no one else is doing that I’ve found so far. I enjoyed this newsletter issue because of the many book recommendations and this newsletter because the answers to questions were very detailed and thoughtful.
Bite Size Reviews by Kyle - This is another new to me newsletter that I’ve been reading for just a couple of weeks, but it quickly has become a favorite of mine. Kyle reviews at least one book in each newsletter and gives a “bite size” review telling about the book’s premise, his thoughts, and if there was a movie or series tie-in, he tells which he thought was better. He and Jeremy from Read More Books above have decided that in 2022 they are both going to read more books from female authors. I see a few books on their list that I might read along with them. You can check out Kyle’s list here if you’d like to, and then you can check out his conversation with his friend about The Nickel Boys and this issue about remembering 9/11 and The Only Plane in the Sky.
Do me a favor and check out these newsletters. These are some pretty incredible newsletters with equally incredible writers looking for some really incredible readers like you. Show these newsletters some love by subscribing to the ones that interest you; you might think they are pretty incredible also.
I hope one or more of these newsletters has piqued your interest; I know I enjoy seeing them in my inbox every week. There are dozens more available; you can search Substack here and use search words such as books and reading, books, reading, and literature. A word of warning though, Substack’s search feature isn’t the greatest, but those keywords will get you the best results.
Did any of the newsletters featured here interest you? Did you read any of the backlists available? Did any impress you enough to subscribe to them? I’d love to hear which ones you checked out and what you like about those. You can tell me in the comments below.
Happy Friday Links will be taking the day off this week. Coming up next Tuesday is a look at several 2022 reading challenges and some things to consider if you are trying to decide if you want to even participate in a reading challenge next year. I hope you have some time off this week and can share the holiday with friends and family. Relax, rejoice, reflect and take some time to read. Merry Christmas, happy holidays and happy reading!
Thank you so much for including Spark, Gayla. I love the company I'm in here. Several are brand new to me and I'm grateful to you for bringing them to my attention.
Thanks for the love, Gayla! I appreciate your support, today and always.