Welcome to Fiction Friday.

I started Fiction Friday so I would have the opportunity to excerpt my books and those of some of my friends and colleagues. But I’m between books to share with you today, so instead I thought I would share some of my favorite websites about books. Of course it makes sense I would enjoy reading about publishing–or at least that I would feel I ought to. But some of these book websites may hold unexpected pleasures for you, as well.

The Huffington Post book pages have a variety of book articles, reviews and excerpts. For instance today as I post this there’s an article titled 8 Uncommon Words, Perfectly Illustrated. Do you use “borborygmus” routinely? Maybe you should. My spell checker doesn’t use it, that’s for sure. Miss Spell Checker–I picture my 8th grade English teacher–is insisting and insisting again that the word doesn’t exist.

There’s another Huffington article titled If Only I Could Find the Time to Write. Sound familiar?  Yes, I blogged on this recently. Now’s your chance to read someone else’s take on it.  In fact the author Brandi Megan Granett chooses NOT to write early in the morning, which if you recall renourished my own writing experience. (And my pursed-lips spell checker claims that renourished is not a word. I say if not, it darn well should be.)

More articles? Top Ten Bestselling Ebooks. 15 Real Life Scientists Share Their Favorite Science Fiction Novels. I could go on, but hop over there and see for yourself.

Galley Cat, which describes itself as the first word on the book publishing industry, has articles on publishing, book selling, and writers resources as well as reviews–which are more promo boosts for books already doing well on the lists. There are a number of articles about people in the entertainment field who also write, so tune in to find out about Gillian Anderson’s first science fiction novel or Sting’s solution to writer’s block. And do you need to know who will be starring in the Boxcar Children movie? Here’s the place to find out.

The New York Times book pages really don’t need a pep talk. The NYT bestseller list is the one on which authors most hope to appear.  The pages definitely bend toward the literary, but no matter your choice of reading material you’ll always find something worth investigation.

The USA Today Book Pages are a bit more even-handed and their list is also an important one for authors. Today’s top news featured Grumpy Cat, Outlander, Amazon/Hachette, and ten hot romances to pack for the beach. I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but it’s 60 degrees in Western New York today and the romances would have to be really, really hot to get me to the beach, because they would be the only heat source available.

Finally take a look at The Passive Voice, which describes itself as A Lawyer’s Thoughts on Authors, Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing. Want to know how to make your new books available for pre-order on Amazon?  Here’s the place to find out. Or how about the inside scoop on the book that Bowe Bergdahl’s platoon mates are shopping around about him? There’s a post on Robin Williams and the connection between creativity and depression and much, much more. In fact you never know what you’ll find at The Passive Voice, but it will at the very least be interesting and at the best provocative.

Is reading about books as interesting as reading them? Maybe not, but it’s a great way to get recommendations, to find news about your favorite authors, and to see what issues publishers and authors are facing on a daily basis. If you love books, this may become a new addiction.