The Reader: A new review source for book lovers

The Washington Post recently discontinued its Book World column, leaving a noticeable gap in the literary community's source of book reviews. Jonathan Alter, a bestselling author and co-founder of The Reader, a new online book review publication, acknowledges this void. He explains that while only The New York Times still offers a separate book review section in its Sunday paper, The Reader aims to fill this gap.

Altered and Haley Sweetland Edwards, The Reader's executive editor, outline the publication's structure. Primarily featuring book reviews, The Reader will also include essays about books, columns on the literary world, and recommendations from renowned authors such as Robert Caro, Margaret Atwood, and Ann Patchett. The publication is set to be released daily on Washington Monthly's website.

Noteworthy are the contributions from 31 Pulitzer Prize-winners who have agreed to contribute over the coming year. These contributors will provide reviews for both highly anticipated bestsellers and lesser-known but excellent books.

The Reader's strategy extends beyond just reviewing books. Each weekend, they will offer two book suggestions – one fiction and one non-fiction – for readers to consider. For November 15, the suggested titles are "Stations" by Louise Kennedy, a beautifully told story about young friends in 1980s Ireland, and "The Sensualist: Adventures in Pure Pleasure" by Gary Shteyngart, a collection of absurdist essays on the modern pursuit of pleasure.

Both books are available in Hardcover, eBook, Large Print Trade Paperback, and Audio formats on platforms like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org.

For those interested, they can sign up for The Reader's newsletter to stay updated.