Bookviews is Posted. Announces Ban on Self-Published Books.

By Alan Caruba

Rejoice booklovers! The October edition of Bookviews.com has been posted and it offers news of nearly sixty new fiction and non-fiction books on a wide range of topics.
If you’re not familiar with the site, visit it at http://www.bookviews.com/.

This month has sections of interest to those who enjoy reading history, on business-related books, on books for children and younger readers, and a selection of new novels. My favorite, of course, is "My Picks of the Month", the opening section that is devoted to unique books of merit and, this month, a DVD of the final show of the great British television series, "Prime Subject."

It also marks the announcement of a decision to ban self-published books from consideration. I receive an average of three to five books a day. That’s close to 135 new books every month! When you factor in the growing number of self-published books by authors who have turned to venders such as iUniverse and others, it just adds to those already in the pipeline from small, medium, and large publishers.

How does one make a selection from so many books? It helps to be a veracious reader and to have lots of experience. As a founding member of the National Book Critics Circle, I have been reviewing since the 1970s. What once was a column in weekly newspapers evolving into a newsletter and, in the cyber age, into an Internet site.

If you think you’re not getting the full story from the print and broadcast media headlines, you’re right. New books on the hot topics of our times are often the best way to gain insight to the issues and personalities in the news. For pure entertainment, there’s a constant flow of new novels.