When published author and freelance writer Dane Cobain of High Wycombe, UK, decided to start a book blog, he wanted to take an approach that was unique (and maybe a bit time saving). Since then, his book blog SocialBookshelves.com, has become an award-winning site ranked #3 in Vuelio's Top Ten Literature blogs in the UK, and his different approach is writing book reviews that have the same number of words as pages in the reviewed book. For example, if a book has 300 pages, it would be reviewed on SocialBookShelves.com with 300 words.
History of the site
Cobain founded SocialBookshelves.com in April 2013 and officially launched the site on May 1st of that same year. Through the site, he met the former VP of Community Management at Booktrope Publishing and on June 11, 2015, released his first novella, No Rest for the Wicked with Booktrope's Forsaken imprint.
Since that time, SocialBookshelves.com has published over 1,000 book reviews and interviewed dozens of authors, providing readers a useful resource full of well-written reviews. As a "labour of love," the website reflects its owner's own personal reading list and now has a number of reviews organized by author's last name and genre.
Navigating the site
The home page of SocialBookshelves.com shows the most recent blog post or review left by Cobain. Since the most recent book he reviewed was Three Japanese Short Stories by Akutagawa and others (containing 58 pages), the review was a brief 58 words, which to some, could be too little information.
In the right-hand menu bar, there are navigable links organized as follows:
- Authors A-E (By Surname) (374)
- Authors F-J (By Surname) (289)
- Authors K-O (By Surname) (249)
- Authors P-T (By Surname) (329)
- Authors U-Z (By Surname) (106)
- Fiction (776)
- Magazine (3)
- Non-Fiction (363)
- Poetry (145)
As you can see from the numbers to the side, the website contains over a thousand book reviews, searchable by the author's last name and the work's genre. Below the main menu, there are links to the Cobain's own books, along with reviews from Goodreads. Finally, you'll find icons of various awards that SocialBookshelves.com or Cobain has won.
Since one of my favorite contemporary writers is Gillian Flynn, I clicked on the Authors F-J (By Surname) (289) link to see if the site had any reviews of her books. The first review that showed on the screen was one for Flynn's Sharp Objects, a book that I hadn't enjoyed nearly as much as her bestseller Gone Girl. Since Cobain had both of these books reviewed on his site, I read both and (for the most part) agreed with his take on both novels. I was particularly impressed to read his disappointment with the end of the novel, stating that it was unbelievable and could have ended better. Most reviewers praise that ending for its "gotcha!" effectiveness and let the suspension of disbelief take over.
Review policy
Any author or author representative who wishes to submit a book for review to SocialBookshelves.com should note that the website only accepts paperback or hardback books for submission. This means that no e-books or Kindle versions will be considered, and the website notes that no books will be returned to the sender after submission.
Cobain also suggests that if anyone wishes to submit a book for his review, they should look on his Goodreads page to consider his overall tastes in reading. If he chooses to review the book, the review will be cross-posted across his author pages on Goodreads and Amazon, along with a link to purchase the book. He suggests to consider his "in-house style" when submitting shorter works or novellas, and note that an 80-page book will have an 80-word review.
Additionally, while most reviews are written within 2-3 weeks of receipt of a book, it can take longer in some instances. Cobain also notes that reviews are his honest opinion based on his preferences in literature and writing, so if he rates it negatively, it isn't something he will change. He mentions several authors attempting to contact him to convince him to change his rating but he insists on maintaining the integrity of the reviews for his readers and fans.
So why the page count/word count connection?
Cobain states that the reason he decided to create a unique connection between page count of the book and word count of the review is because he wanted to challenge himself in writing, succinct reviews. In doing so, he saves time (since running the website is not his fulltime job) and offers readers a different approach to reviewing books—hopefully one that keeps his readers coming back for more.
How to contact the site
If you'd like more information about the site and wish to contact the administrator of SocialBookshelves.com, you can email danecobain@hotmail.com. If you're interested in sending in a book for a potential review, send a brief synopsis of and links (if available) containing further information about it.
Final takeaway
I found the content of SocialBookshelves.com to contain well written, thoughtful reviews of a variety of books across a wide range of topics and genres. I liked the fact that the reviews tended to be concise, without a lot of fluff.
