After almost two years of planning, it has been great to share 20SomethingReads.com with readers over the past six weeks. The site officially launched on Wednesday, February 29th, and we hope some of you already have taken a peek!
What is 20SomethingReads.com? It’s created for readers in their twenties, which we define as, “A decade. A state of mind. An age. A lifestyle. A time for self-discovery. A new perspective. An attitude. A philosophy. Independence. Freedom. A time to re-discover reading for pleasure - and FINALLY read what you want.”
20SomethingReads.com is where readers, writers, booksellers, librarians and twentysomething bibliophiles share the books they're reading and the books they suggest you read as well. Before you reach your twenties, most reading is by assignment for school with short stints for reading for pleasure, thus this is a time to broaden reading horizons and to discover and explore books in a whole new way. (FYI, we see 20-something as a state of mind; you don't have to be in your 20s to visit this site, all ages are welcome!)
Why 20SomethingReads.com? Twentysomethings were the one demographic audience who we were not reaching on our other sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com --- Bookreporter.com, Teenreads.com, Kidsreads.com, ReadingGroupGuides.com, GraphicNovelReporter.com and FaithfulReader.com. As so many of our staffers are twentysomething, we have had fun through the years seeing them enjoy the excitement of talking about books and authors in new ways. Also, before I founded TheBookReportNetwork.com, I spent 17 years at Conde Nast with Mademoiselle magazine whose core audience was twentysomethings, and I have always wanted to get back to talking to this audience.
We have had some great features during our first two months, including our 20 Days of The Hunger Games blog series, which you can read here, and we have even more exciting features coming in the weeks ahead.
Currently, we have a special opportunity for readers to win one of 10 autographed copies of THE LAND OF DECORATION by Grace McCleen. Our reviewer, Melanie Smith had this to say --- "...beautifully written and brilliant. It will charm, fascinate, and leave readers with quite a lot to talk about... I highly encourage everyone to read THE LAND OF DECORATION. It is one of the best books of the year, worthy of all the praise it has received and then some." I do agree with Melanie; this is one really memorable book. To enter the contest, click here. The deadline for entries is Friday, April 27th at noon ET.
Another great read we are featuring is HALFLINGS by Heather Burch, a novel about a girl who is attacked in the woods by vicious beasts and rescued by winged-saviors known as the Halflings. Filled with fantasy and romance, it is sure to keep you entertained.
Starting April 23rd, we will be launching a new feature --- 20 Over 30 --- with a collection of 20 mystery writers recommending books for 20-somethings. Ever wonder what bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark is reading --- and which of her books she thinks 20-somethings should start with? Well, you will find out in this special feature celebrating the Edgar Awards --- an honor bestowed upon the best mysteries, awarded during the month of April. 20 mystery writers will be sharing their picks for 20-somethings, including what book of theirs they recommend, what they're reading now, and what book by another author they think you should check out.
In addition, our in-house mystery expert, Joe Hartlaub, has put together a collection of the top mysteries of the last two years that 20-somethings will want to read.
Also on the horizon is a feature on THE DEFINING DECADE: Why Your Twenties Matter - and How to Make the Most of Them Now by Dr. Meg Jay, a self-help guide for people in their 20s. It's been making the rounds in the office here. Click here to read more about the book, and be sure to check back to the site on April 17th for our feature and a blog post by Dr. Jay.
We're thrilled to have you as part of our community, and we look forward to sharing more great books with you!
Thank you for reading, and feel free to contact us with suggestions on how to make the site better for you!
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
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