RobAroundBookBlogs: ‘Books on the Nightstand’

Thursdays are ‘RobAroundBookBlogs’ day, where I take an unqualified peek around one of my favourite book blogs and chat about what I like about the place. For this inaugural tour I’ve chosen to take a virtual stroll around one of only a handful of book blogs listed on the prestigious Alltop:Books site, Books on the Nightstand, the creation of publishing firm pros, Micheal Kindness and Ann Kingman.

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When you first arrive at Books on the Nightstand you’re immediately drawn both by the site’s ‘fun and quirky’ look (mainly brought about by it’s ‘fun and quirky’ logo – a creation attributed to a very talented Steve Donaruma), and its clean and uncluttered presentation. I think it’s hugely important to present a site that’s clean and straightforward and Books on the Nightstand achieves this admirably, making one feel comfortable from the outset, with exploring the site further.

One is also drawn to a sense of personal warmness that emits from the site, an emission that comes courtesy of its owners. Micheal and Ann state their raison d’etre for Books on the Nightstand clearly in the sidebar, and it’s one that exudes warmth (along with illustrating that when it comes to blogging about books, they really know their stuff):

“We are friends and colleagues who work in the publishing industry. That means that we talk about books all day long to other people who love to talk about books. But sometimes, those conversations have to end before we’re ready to stop talking. Thus, this blog.”

The thing that really brings the most warmth to Books on the Nightstand though is its ‘trumpcard’ feature -  book-themed podcasts, a feature which surprisingly few book blogs seem to implement. Averaging roughly 20 minutes in length the content and quality of the Books on the Nightstand’s podcasts is superb (and they’re only on their 13th). The production value is high – good quality recording, intro/outro and segment jingles, great content and best of all, two people who speak with a real passion for books.

Of course ultimately a blog is only as good as its content and the quality of its posts, and in this area Books on the Nightstand hits the mark too. The posts are well-written, succinct and regular (although perhaps not as regular as I’d like them to be – then again it’s all about quality over quantity), and at the very least all are highly informative i.e. ‘10 ways to find more time for reading’ and ‘5 reasons to join a book discussion group’ etc., while a few are quite thought-provoking. For example they were preparing for a presentation (which was today actually) and were asking readers for views on local booksellers having blogs, something I’ve never really given a 2nd thought to before. You’ve also got to neat little touch that Micheal and Ann throw in, by using images of their signatures in each post to signify who authored them. A small touch admittedly but one that works well.

The most successful bloggers in my mind, are the ones who can engage their readers in a two-way ‘process’. More often than not it appears as though blogs just dictate to their readers, while the readers just remain passive and silent. That doesn’t seem to happen on Books on the Nightstand. In fact Michael and Ann seem quite the opposite and try to pro-actively solicit their readers to interact. I’ve already mentioned their request for views, which to be fair is nothing unique, most bloggers attempt to do that, with various levels of success but Micheal and Ann have introduced a new thing which really impresses me. They’ve put in place the provision for their readers to leave book recommendations as voicemails which will be broadcast on upcoming podcasts. I loved that idea, and again it’s one that promotes that ‘two-way’ process.

A final thing that I’d like to applaud Books on the Nightstand for is their noble attempts to encourage readers to buy their books more thoughtfully and independently – outwith the mighty book selling mogul Amazon. They do this by providing where relevant, a summary of books discussed in a post or podcast, which detail title, publisher price and ISBN number. This list can then be printed off and taken along to the bookshop. Alternately each title in the summary also links to online book cataloger  LibraryThing, which aside from additional information, contains various online purchase options, and not just the ubiquitous Amazon affiliate links you see everywhere else.

So I think that about concludes this first RobAroundBookBlogs feature. I apologise if it comes over a bit scrappy, or not quite structured enough. This is something that will improve with time. The one thing I hope I have done right though is to show Books on the Nightstand in the glowing light it deserves. It really is a good place to some time at, and that’s a credit to thoughtfulness of its creators. In a blogosphere where more and more people seem intent on solely blogging for profit, it’s refreshing to find one whose purpose is just to entertain and inform it’s readers – no clutter, no ads, just straightforward book related information!

Note: If anyone has any comments or ideas for improvement of this feature then please do not hesitate to drop me an email.