As a history student, or someone who’s just interested in sneaking in a couple of history courses amongst your already packed schedule, you’re probably a voracious reader, independent thinker, and someone who’s constantly on the lookout for information that can help you with your research. If you’re tired of visiting the library and sticking to official reading lists provided by your professors, try directing yourself to these book blogs that offer up all kinds of insight for history buffs, including book reviews and recommendations, military history books, books that deal with history and culture, and more.
Reference, Research and Industry
Follow these book blogs to gain insight into the book industry, private lives of authors, and the environments, situations and cultures that impacted their writing.
- Maud Newton Blog: This blog comments on the book industry and shares news, quotes and other information highlighting the motives of authors.
- Paper Cuts: The New York Times book blog is a great resource for discovering new authors and learning about the latest releases.
- Biblio: Read Biblio for posts about publishing, reading lists, banned books, literacy, and more.
- Reading Copy Book Blog: Learn about authors and author trivia here.
- Mercurius Politicus: This blog is all about the early modern book industry.
- Joshua Harmon: This blogger takes a look at the publishing industry.
- Guardian Books: The Guardian’s book blog has a solid archive of history books.
- PhiloBiblos: This blog comes from a reference librarian who loves talking about used books, library archives, book history and more.
- Inside Google Books: The Google Books blog can help you with research tips and tricks.
- Lisa Gold: Research Maven: Lisa Gold shares research tips while writing about plagiarism, creative research, the book writing process, and the book industry.
- At Home With Books: Alyce brings experience in the publishing industry to her posts and reviews about children’s literature, U.S. presidents and their biographies, politics, Shakespeare, and more.
- A Commonplace Blog: This blog comes from D. G. Myers, critic and literary historian at Texas A&M University who has written book reviews for the New York Times and other top publications.
- Arts and Letters Daily: This research and higher education blog highlights new books and resources dealing with a range of subjects.
- How Books Got Their Titles: If you’ve ever wondered how books got their titles, check out this blog.
- Future of the Book: This blog anticipates the future of reading, digital collections and publishing while paying homage to the history of books and the book industry.
- Wynken de Worde: This book blog focuses on the relationship between books and early modern culture and often references the book industry and the history of books.
Librarian Blogs
Librarians are invaluable resources for historians. Check out these blogs by librarians for intelligent, educated analysis and recommendations.
- Booknotes by Lisa: Lisa is a librarian who loves sharing her favorite books and highlighting classic passages.
- Paul Scott’s Library Blog: Paul Scott is devoted to helping historians and scholars connect over digital media and archives.
- 1morechapter.com: Here you’ll find extensive book lists and themed reading challenges.
- Reading 2.0: Get book lists and recommendations from this librarian, who fills up categories like history, memoirs, Presidents and more.
- Palatine Library’s Non-Fiction Book Discussion: Join this library discussion of selected nonfiction titles.
- Hip Librarians Book Blog: Get book reviews by librarians here.
- One Librarian’s Book Reviews: This librarian reviews biographies, the classics, adventure books, nonfiction works, and plenty more.
- GoddessLibrarian: If you’re a historian who studies youth culture, pop culture or social history, you’ll like this blog from the GoddessLibrarian.
Rare Books
When you want a primary source or first edition, head to these blogs to learn all about rare books and book collecting.
- Fine Books Blog: Fine Books Magazine blogs about first editions, historical books and more.
- The Collectible Book Blog: Learn all about collectible books about the classics, Medieval and Renaissance times, and more.
- Rare Book Blog: Here you’ll find a good archive of posts about books from before the 1920s.
- Rare Book News: Read Rare Book News to learn about book exhibits, classic authors and first editions.
- Yale Law Library – Rare Books Blog: Yale’s rare book blog highlights old books about American studies, law and literature, English law and more.
- Lux Mentis: Get musings and highlights from the old and rare book world here.
Novels and Fiction
Reading novels is a great way to study a time period, giving you insight into culture, gender roles, politics, the economy, writing style and more. These blogs can direct you to the types of novels and fiction work that will most interest you as a historian.
- The Elegant Variation: The Elegant Variation is a top rated book blog that reviews books, sponsors contests, and more.
- FictionBitch: Literary historians will appreciate this dissection of fiction.
- Mark Athitakis’ American Fiction Notes: Mark Athitakis has reviews books for the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers. In this blog, he interviews authors, reviews short stories, and comments on American fiction.
- Biblio: Find book news, reading lists and book history from this blog.
- Karen Vanuska: Karen Vanuska devotes much of her blog to American fiction and American writers.
- Blogging Anne of Green Gables: This blog is no longer active, but it contains a worthwhile archive for anyone studying the book, the era, or Lucy Maud Montgomery.
- Bookgirl’s Nightstand: This literature lover reads Jane Austen, contemporary authors, and everyone in between.
- Books I Done Read: Get reviews of books like The Cider House Rules, All Quiet on the Western Front and Middlemarch.
- Cam’s Commentary: This blogger relates her book commentaries to the greater conversation on religion, science and culture.
- dovegreyreader: This blogger has read an impressive number of books by Jean Rhys, Sarah Hall, Nicole Beauman, and more.
- Ex Libris: Here you’ll find profiles and reviews of books that deal with American history, pop culture, and more.
- BooksPlease: This blogger adds historical notes and points of reference to her book reviews.
- Bookstorm: Get reviews, news and recommendations about books from Cormac McCarthy and other great authors here.
- Classical Bookworm: This blogger mostly chooses to read and write about classics from Cervantes, Shakespeare, Dickens and others.
- Letters for Literary Ladies: Letters for Literary Ladies comes from a PhD student passionate about 18th-century literature written by female authors.
- American Indians in Children’s Literature: Study how American Indians are depicted in children’s literature.
- English Lit, American Lit, and All Things Humanities: Angela Courtney, the Illinois University librarian for English and American literature blogs about researching at IU and elsewhere.
- Classic Literature: This review of classic literature will help you explore authors like Dickinson and Dickens.
- Red Room Library: This blogger is a National Book Critics Circle member who writes intelligent reviews and commentary.
- Can’t Sleep, Must Read: This college student blogs about classics, new works, book news and more.
- American Short Fiction blog: Review classics and new releases from American short fiction here.
- The Classics Challenge: This book challenge serves as a great reading list and resource list for researchers.
- Samuel and Beckett’s Book Blog: This intelligent book blog combines contemporary literature, politics, culture and history.
Nonfiction
From military history to Roman history, these nonfiction blogs will point you to historical books.
- Kepler’s Military History Book Reviews: Visit this blog for reviews about all kinds of military history books.
- Roman History Books and More: On this blog, you’ll find resources and book reviews dealing with Roman history, religion, philosophy, and beyond.
- Invisible History Blog: This is the blog for the book Invisible History, which chronicles the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
- Civil War Books and Authors: Civil War historians can find reviews and interviews of Civil War books and authors.
- Lillian Secrest Buie’s Weblog: This blog acts as a "living memorial" for Lillian Secrest Buie, and it follows her story, her writings, and the book inspired by her life.
Specific Writers
These book blogs focus on the works of single writers like Shakespeare, Faulkner and Hemingway.
- One True Sentence: This blog is all about Ernest Hemingway.
- Mr. Shakespeare’s Blog: Learn about new books devoted to studying Shakespeare, plus events, news and history related to Shakespeare and his writings.
- The William Faulkner Blog: Perspectives on Modern Literature: Though this blog is no longer active, it serves as a great testament to the blogger’s thesis and research process.
- Austen’s Blog: This blog covers Jane Austen works and history, as well as all of the new books and trends that the classic author has since inspired.
- Bronte Blog: This blog is dedicated to the lives and works of the Bronte sisters.
Academic Press
University press blogs are great resources for learning about new releases from authors who write about history.
- Princeton University Press Blog: Recent blog posts here discuss books about the Bronze Age, racial profiling, the Supreme Court, and more.
- News from Duke University Press: Learn about new releases from Duke University Press, including books about music, culture, society, race and more.
- LSU Press Blog: The LSU Press often publishes books about wildlife, Civil War history, local history and beyond.
- Columbia University Press Blog: Here you’ll learn about books about African American studies, economic history, environmental studies, and plenty more.
- University of California Press Blog: This blog features author profiles, major book events, and new releases about pop culture, politics, and more.
- UNC Press Blog: UNC Press’ blog is a terrific resource for learning about new materials for studying Asian studies, African American studies, American history, gender studies, politics, military history, and a lot more.
- Harvard University Press Publicity: Besides learning about special events and signings, check out this blog to learn about literary history, politics and literature, and author profiles.
- The Chicago Blog: Head to The Chicago Blog if you’re passionate about U.S. history, Chicago history or literature.
- News from University of Hawai’i: Here you’ll find great resources for studying Hawaiian culture, environment and history.
- University of Michigan Press Blog: Here you’ll find posts about books dealing with gender studies, the classics, American studies, and more.
- Yale Press Blog: Yale’s press blog profiles authors and books about American history and pop culture, art history, religion, science, global studies, Medieval and Renaissance studies, and more.
- University of Nebraska Press: This university press publishes books about military history, the American West, and beyond.
- The SUNY Press Blog: Take a look back at New York history, the history of the book industry, and other topics relating to literature and history.
Book Reviews and Criticism
If you don’t have time to read an entire book for research, browse these book reviews and critical analyses to figure out which historical books can help you the most.
- Blog of a Bookslut: Read this blog for consistent posts about authors, new books and more.
- Book/Daddy: This blogger is an experienced book critic who reviews everything from Frankenstein to Harry Potter.
- BookFox: John Matthew Fox has reviewed and written about books for the Los Angeles Times and other publications, and he’s also a writer himself.
- The Reading Experience: This book covers contemporary literature and criticism.
- Becca’s Book Blog: Becca writes posts about reading Nabokov, writing, and reading with the perspective of a writer.
- Chasing Ray: This blog is maintained by a New Orleans-based writer and book reviewer who often favors classics, memoirs and historical fiction.
- Incurable Logophilia: This blogger’s book lists and reviews include works by Aeschylus, Aristotle, Margaret Atwod, Saul Bellow, Chaucer, Pearl Buck, the Bronte sisters, and other important thinkers and writers.
- Mark’s Contemporary Literature Blog: Let Mark Flanagan’s blog start you off on your research about contemporary society.
- Books for Breakfast: Kristin Dodge read 150 books in a single year and has read over 90 banned books. Check out her blog for an extensive collection of book reviews.
- Book Blog Guild: Book bloggers congregate here to share reviews and more.
Regional
These book blogs deal with Texas history, Oregon history and more.
- Lone Star Book Blog: This blog has a decent archive of posts about Texas history and Texas books.
- West Linn Pictoral History Book: This book covers the history of Oregon trail and American exploration through the West Linn Pictorial History Book.
- MEMRI Arab Literature: This blog helps readers understand the Arab world by studying its literature.
- Southern Literature: This blog comes from southern historical fiction writer Marnie Pehrson.
Miscellaneous
Here you’ll find even more book blogs that can help you as a historian, including blogs about art history, book illustrations, publishing, and more.
- Critical Mass: Critical Mass is the blog from the National Book Critics Circle Board of Directors.
- BibliOdyssey: This blog covers everything from books and illustrations to history and science.
- The Art History Blog: This blog includes lots of great book suggestions for art lovers and historians.
- HTMLGIANT: Use your understanding of the past to learn about the Internet literature movement of the future.
- Scrivener’s Error: This book blog tackles it all: publishing, authors, military history, the First Amendment, and more.
- Survival of the Book: Book lovers who resent the ebook revolution will love this blog.
- The Millions: The Millions is a book and arts blog that serves as a great resource for studying society and culture.
- The Private Library: Learn how to build your own important book collection from the recommendations and posts on The Private Library.
- The Second Pass: Check out this blog if you want reviews and news about old and new books, especially works that deal with pop culture and American history.
- Judging the Books: Take a look at classic YA book covers on this blog.
