So many choices. So little time.
That could describe the dilemma of the book reader, a creature who lately –with the help of Oprah and others–is considered cool, sexy and worthy of pursuit.
Now several new magazines are trying to guide readers–many of them 20- and 30-somethings–through the barrage of titles to help them learn more about their favorite authors and start up discussions.
“There are so many books and so few reviewers,” says Jon Phillips, 34, editor of Bookmarks magazine, which published its first full issue last fall.
Bookmarks has been dubbed a Gen-X publication by some because of its quick-pick format and catch-up-on-classics features on such authors as Charles Dickens.
That’s not their only aim, but a “rejuvenation” of reading among 20-somethings may help account for the slew of new book magazines, Phillips says. “There are some great new authors out there, like Dave Eggers, David Foster Wallace and Michael Chabon, who are relevant to younger readers and who bring an energy to the literary world that hasn’t been there.”
The Internet, say several of the new editors, also helps foster a sense of community among readers. In September, a Web site, Readerville.com, spawned a print progeny, The Readerville Journal.
“It’s a way to bring in a different audience, and to give them something they can take to bed to read,” says Karen Templer, 34, who started the Web site in 2000 after spending four years at Salon, where she managed an online book forum.
For all the new magazines, the biggest competition (aside from each other) is 4-year-old Book magazine, which has sold more than 1 million copies of some issues. So part of the trick for each editor is defining a niche separate from Book, which features handsome author portraits on its covers, most recently Alice Sebold and Donna Tartt.
Book editor Jerome V. Kramer, 36, jokes of the new magazines, “We can’t believe that many people are as crazy as we are.”
