Some Publishers I Read

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a good week. I love talking about books and instead of a book review, I thought I would do a reflection piece on some of the publishers that I diligently read, big and small. I get review copies through NetGalley and it has been a great way to interact with publishers around the world as well as get access to literature that might not be available in my country of residence.

Since becoming a reviewer and extensively diving into books, I have learned a lot about publishers, imprints and books. For example, publishers like the Big 5 or 4 (Hachette, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, now part of Penguin Random House) are present in multiple countries and a book published in the USA does not automatically become available in Canada. When I was living in India, most of my books came from Canada because Papa would send me packages. My friends and I enjoyed reading these “unavailable” books.

I will share some of my past reads as well as letting you know about some upcoming books by these publishers which are on my list. For this post, I will not worry about which country the publisher is associated with since most books are available as ebooks across countries. In text and images, I have linked to the Goodreads pages of the books. You can find links to my reviews at the end of the post. This is by no means an exhaustive list of publishers or books and I am always looking for new ones to check out so if you have some favorites that I haven’t mentioned (which I am sure), let me know in the comments, especially indie publishers.

My go-to for variety

Big publishers obviously have a lot to offer due to their respective imprints focused on genres and issues. That could be a whole other article so I am just going to speak broadly today. I get review copies from Simon and Schuster, Penguin Random House and Harper Collins. I used to read their books before reviewing too but I just did not realize how much I loved their works as a whole until I started reviewing.

Simon and Schuster offers a wide variety of genres: some of my favorite books are published by them. The Braid, The Only Good Indians, The Paris Library, The Forgotten Home Child and most recently High Conflict. Literary fiction, historical fiction, and nonfiction are some of my go-to genres for them. I haven’t explored their Middle Grade selection much but I have Amina’s Song and The Memory Theif on my list. Some upcoming books that I am looking forward to include My Heart is a Chainsaw, Lost Immunity, and The People We Keep.

Penguin Random House also offers a wide selection. I have read science fiction like Salvaged by them as well fast-paced thrillers like Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line and literary fiction like Satellite Love. Recent thoughtful reads included The Relatives and The Smallest Lights in the Universe (memoir). I am not on top of their upcoming catalog though When the stars go dark is on my list. This is also the publisher for Jordan Peterson’s follow up book to 12 rules for life: Beyond Order and Clinton and I enjoy discussing this work.

Harper Collins is a diverse publisher too and I have enjoyed books by indigenous authors like Karen McBride’s Crow Winter, thrillers like Cold Storage, historical fiction like The Children’s Train, alternate history (The Good German) and realistic fiction like Accidentally Engaged. Upcoming releases include Tuscan Daughter and Local Woman Missing. 

My go-to Publishers for thoughtful reads

I can always count on Columbia University Press and Algonquin Books for a thoughtful book. I discovered Columbia University Press through NetGalley, while Algonquin makes this list because I have been reading their books without realizing. 

Some titles by Columbia University Press that I have reviewed on the blog include: An I-Novel, a translated bilingual semi-biography about the immigrant identity and growing up in North America (one of my favorites), Aimlessness by Tom Lutz and This is One Way to Dance by Sejal Shah. The memoir style books both made me feel at home and offered a safe space to ponder thoughts I have not completely articulated.

Books by Algonquin Books that come to mind are: The Mountains Sing (my current buddy read with Ariel – so beautifully written), and Impersonation (this was an interesting story about ghostwriting). Upcoming books that I am excited for include The Last Nomad (out in August, this is the story about a girl from Syria) and How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby (this is about a young girl named Pluto, touching on themes of mental health).

Do you have some go-to publishers whose books you keep a special eye on? Tell me in the comments!

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In a future post, I will share in detail books from smaller presses and indie publishers I read and as well as some authors whose books are on my automatic buy list.

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Reviews:

• The Braid
• The Only Good Indians
• The Paris Library
• The Forgotten Home Child

• Salvaged
• The Relatives
• Satellite Love
• The Smallest Lights in the Universe
• Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

• Accidentally Engaged
• The Children’s Train
• The Good German

• Aimlessness
• An I-Novel
• This is One Way to Dance
• Impersonation

All aesthetic images of books and library from Unsplash.