Book Souk
A bazaar crowded with random offerings. William Gibson/Henrik Ibsen. Zafon, Murakami, Van Gogh. A table of well-thumbed Louisa May Alcott. Shiny Urban Fantasy and an aromatic clutter of cookbooks.
BookRiot takes the mystery out of picking from a long shelf
This is such a great idea!
Sometimes you manage to glom onto a living writer early enough to read as the books come out. But more often, by the time a name hits your radar, the shelf of work is long and you can't figure out where to start. If you're lucky, you've got a like-minded friend who's read the whole lot and will give you some clues. But mostly, it's hit and miss. And sometimes, if you start with the wrong piece, you might give up on a writer whose work you would actually like.
A while back, the people at BookRiot addressed this situation with Start Here: Read Your Way into 25 Amazing Authors. It was a nice grab-bag of writers across time, place and even genre. Each artist selected was covered in a single chapter that presented a pitch (why you should read X) and a starter inventory of works designed to give an overall sense of the writer. It's not just pleasant to thumb through: it's a public service!
Today, BookRiot announced the launch of Start Here, volume 2. Yes, 25 more authors to explore! I can't wait to see what they have to say about China Mieville. So far, I've only read Perdido Street Station and I've been wondering where to go next.
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