Trying to decide what books to read this summer? On June 7, 2016, Lit Hub announced Book Marks, a new project designed to serve as the literary world’s answer to Rotten Tomatoes and give books quality ratings compiled from many book reviews.
Readers hungry for a new book can go to the Book Marks Homepage, where they will be greeted with colorful sections labeled "Hottest Books of the Season," "New Books," "Most Reviewed," "Best Reviewed," "Fiction," "Non-Fiction, and more to select a specific genre. Each section includes covers of books with letter grade readings marked on them.
The "Hottest Books of the Season" are chosen based on number and quality of reviews received and number of award wins and nominations.
Clicking on a book cover will take the reader to a page with top reviewer quotes, an option to look at further professional reviews, and a What Did You Think? comments section for users to leave their own review. There is also a list of similar books a reader might be interested in.
Here's how it works — once a book is reviewed by at least three important and active US literary journalism outlets, it is eligible for the Book Marks database. Book Marks staff assign each review an individual grade, average all the grades, and publish the average on the website. The individual grades are not published; however, if a reviewer gives the book their own grade, that grade is the one used and may show up on the site. Trade reviews and interviews are not counted as literary reviews by Book Marks.
Check it out today and find your next summer read!