WELCOME TO JOY READS

For voracious readers like myself, recommendations from others with similar tastes are the backbone of our collective reading life. Like many of you, I’m a picky reader and it’s often the case that the books I like best come to me recommended by others. For that reason, I’m thinking those of you who like my Clever Mill Horse books may have similar taste to my own and thus might appreciate hearing about some of the books I’ve liked or loved. As you might expect, I read largely historical fiction. That said, I’m open to books in almost any other genre if someone tells me it's worth reading. I’ll say candidly that I’m quick to put down books that don’t grab me, but I’ll also stick it out on occasion with something I’m enjoying for, say, mostly the setting. But I won’t typically recommend these to others. 

When I began the blog I was able to recommend mostly books that others of you will have already read, as many of my favorites are well-established best-sellers or classics. My newest mission is root out and recommend independently-published books (aka "indie books") that have trouble finding the light of day in the crowded world of book promotion. To do this I subscribe to various organizations and publications that serve indie publishing, and I've also begun to keep a close eye on the notable books of the Historical Novel Society. As an indie author myself I clearly have a stake in the promotion of indie books, so this is not a selfless mission, but I have come to believe that we will ALL be better served by access to a wider breadth of choices than the same five or ten new books that are on nearly every front table in nearly every bookstore in America on any given day.

As for the form of the posts themselves, I am writing a form of modified review in that I'm not panning anything--only recommending things--so I will give a balanced account of what I liked and didn't like, but overall every review will be positive. Also, as I have a pet peeve for reviews that recap the bulk of the plot and describe the characters, you’ll find me giving only the barest essentials of these sorts of details. I’d rather read them myself and I’m sure you would too!

I love to receive recommendations in return, so please send me yours!