Bookdwarf: lots of literary info

I was searching around litblogs the other day and came across Bookdwarf (www.bookdwarf.com). I found it very interesting. Most of the time I don’t understand literary blogs, but this one didn’t make me feel that way. While I still didn’t know most of the issues he was talking about, he provides links that are extremely helpful. That way, I have easy access to learning more about the topic at hand. Another thing I liked about his blog was that it contained a lot of different stuff. Not only does he review books, but he also keeps everyone who looks at the blog up to date on what’s new in the literary world. For example, in one post he comments on something he read on the blog ‘The Millions’ (www.themillionsblog.com), which attempts to define what a literary blog is and should be.

The book reviews were also pretty broad. Rather than focusing on a particular genre, numerous different ones are brought out. Some experimental fiction, which Bookdwarf then tries to define, new releases, and stuff I’ve never heard of, like Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa Smith & J.B. MacKinnon. It follows a couple who decide to only eat locally grown food within a hundred miles of where they live for a year. It follows their struggles, not only with the food, but their relationship too. I’m intrigued to read it, as I’ve never quite heard of this genre before.

Anyway, I found the site to be really informative. I didn’t have to look at any advertisements either, which I always like. However, there was quite a list of other blogs to check out, which I’ll have to do here shortly. This is also one of those blogs where posting comments is allowed, and some of the debates can get some good attention. One post stood out in particular because of this, as it had six comments, more than most of the other posts. It revolved around Shelfari, which happens to be a library cataloging/network site (I didn’t even know something like this existed!). Anyway, there was controversy over its association with Amazon.com as opposed to promoting more independent bookstores. This got me thinking about my take on the subject. While I find Amazon useful, though not so much now, since I can borrow most books I want from the library, I do like the idea of helping out the smaller companies. Besides, I think it spoils the purpose of the site to associate it with a bookseller, rather than just having it focus on letting others know of some good books. Anyone else want to weigh in on the subject?