Welcome to the Bibliofile! I'm Jenn. I like books, and I like people who like books. I live in the SF Bay area (in Oakland), and I spend my days hanging with a very cute, fluffy dog named Peanut.
I read all sorts of things, but mostly I'm driven by my curiosity. I'll occassionally slog through a hardcore literary novel (sometimes just for the sake of being able to say I did it), but I'm at heart a pleasure reader. I read because it's fun.
The Bibliofile is a site for people who want to live their best literary life. I write reviews with the goal of helping the right books find the right readers. So, please enjoy, and happy reading!
Review Policy
Browse through the books to see what types of books I review. I read both ebooks or hardcopies, but I generally don't review self-published books.
If you have something you think would be good for the blog, feel free to reach out with a boilerplate description of the book. Please don't feel like you need to craft a personal message to me. Your time is valuable and should be spent writing! If it's something I'm interested in, I will follow up.
Partnerships and Affiliates
Advertising and Partnership (media kit) information can be found here.
I don't accept compensation in exchange for positive reviews. I do host various forms of other literary content (giveaways, author interviews, etc.) for books similar to those on The Bibliofile. For those requests, please reach out.
The Bibliofile is part of affiliate programs such as the Amazon Associates and Barnes and Noble affiliate programs. I also read and review books from Netgalley.
Contact
Contact me at jenn@the-bibliofile.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who creates the content on The Bibliofile?
I do! The Bibliofile is entirely written, designed, maintained, updated and coded by me. I don't rely on any contributors or unpaid interns or anything like that, though Peanut (my dog) occassionally provides moral support.
It's also supported by subscribers and people who are kind enough to leave tips via Paypal.
Where did you get the template for your website?
I coded it by hand. If you have a specific question about how to achieve a certain effect, feel free to reach out and I'll try to help if I can.
Where do you get the images you use for the headers and on the site?
I design them in Photoshop. It usually consists of looking for the highest quality photos available of the book covers and then moving around the text to make the headers.
For some blog posts, you'll see some illustrations in the header images. I am not an artist, so these illustrations are generally purchased from Creative Market, and then I'll add text and other design elements in Photoshop.
Discussion and Replies
Bravo to you!
what a great blog. i love it. i wish i had the drive to read as much as you do. all i really have time for is book recommendations and sparse at that. have a great rest of the week.
It’s rare to find a reviewer who writes so well, and you write with so much depth about the books you’ve read. Unfortunately, I’m an indie author, so wouldn’t presume to ask you to look at my work. I will keep an eye on your work though. I have subscribed and will look forward to your next post. Oh, and btw I love your banner illustration.
Following you here on your blog. I love it! Your site is amazing! :)
thank you! and thanks for dropping by!
Anytime! :)) Will checking more of your blog. I’m sure I’ll find a book to read. :)
Beautiful dog and amazing setting…..🐶
Haha, yeah she’s my pride and joy! Thanks for dropping by! :)
You are my kind of person! I’m in the middle of reading three books simultaneously, including the subject of my post. Even though I “retired” because my position was eliminated, I go by the adage (which I might have made up): You can take the librarian out of the library, but you can’t take the library out of the librarian.” Keep reading.
Haha, that’s a good adage (made up or not!) — always glad to connect with fellow book lovers! Thanks for dropping by!
A fellow book junkie- cool
Certified bookworm here too! Happy reading :)
Just read your review for _The Last Black Unicorn_ and I have to say I looove your style! I agree about memoir being partially made up, though as you say it has to do with faulty memory and that completely fabrications and lies are not cool. One of my lit classes was all about memoir and autobiography, the differences between them, study of memory and so on. That portion alone brought back some great memories of discussions we had in class.
I also love your list of books read, partly because I have one that I’ve been trying to read (Biff) – nobody else ever heard of it it seems! – and you are so on the same page as me in terms of reading what I feel like reading of the multiple books I’ve got going at the same time. I think I have seven listed on Goodreads!
Oh and your front page banner: loooooove it!!! (said in a sing song voice :P )
Looking forward to reading much more, have a great day and stay warm! ~Lisl~
Hi Jenn,
Thanks for stopping by my site! I’ll be adding you to my blogroll and I’m looking forward not only to catching up on what you’ve been posting about, but looking forward to new posts as well.
Best,
Brian (Hippogriff)
P.S. Peanut is adorable!
I am a fellow Bay Area resident. As someone who loves books I expect to visit your site often
I only just found your blog completely by accident, but ohmygosh, it’s gorgeous! I can’t wait to read more of your posts, Jenn! <3
Hi Lilly and thank you so much! Really appreciate it!
My pleasure! 💖💖
Your page is awesome
Just wanted to swoop by to let you know I love the design of your site! I 100% want to steal it.
Hi Kristine, thank you so much! Really appreciate you taking the time to let me know! :)
Loved your blog!!!!
Thank you! :)
Thank you for dropping by Jennifer! Great to have come across your blog. It looks amazing! :) Love the design you used and how you organized your site. Keep up the great work. Will follow and try to learn from how you write and how you organize your site :)
Thanks Charles! Really appreciate the thoughts — I liked your post on The Alchemist, I’ve been trying to read The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon in spanish but never thought about trying to write a review in spanish to get feedback! What a great idea! :)
Brilliant! Would love to see some Australian authors on your list :)
Hi there — thanks for your feedback! I’ve never even considered whether or not I had any Australian authors before, but I will look into it! Please do let me know if you have any recs! Thank you!
Thanks for replying! I love crime and enjoy Michael Robotham or Adrian McKinty’s work but if you are interest, I have just posted a Shelfie by Shelfie tag which ends with a long list of Australian authors https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2018/09/03/book-tag-shelfie-by-shelfie-1/
what a great list — thank you! I will check it out, I know Mark Zusak has a book coming out soon but I’m curious about the rest as well!
Lovely blog! Would love to hear your thoughts on Jhumpa Lahiri’s books.
hmm I haven’t read anything of hers actually though the Interpreter of Maladies has gone on and off my TBR from time to time — I’ll definitely look into it though, thanks for the suggestion!
I liked her “unaccustomed earth” better
ooo good to know — thank you!
I admire your attitude! So glad to meet you.
Thank you! and thanks for dropping by!
Jennifer, you have a great blog here, and a talent for writing book reviews! Thanks for stopping by and I’ll be interested to see some more of your reviews.
Thank you! Really appreciate the kind comments! And thanks for reading!
Hey Jen! Your blog is amazing. Love what you do here. So the next time I am looking for a new book to read, I sure know where to stop by!
You’re a prolific reader, and it’s nice to meet another person who, as you said, …”have always been my way of escaping my little bubble and entering into another world. I’ve loved reading my entire life. ” Books are an escape for me, too, and it’s real nice to meet someone like you. I like your blog, and the pictures.
Great site design.
Thank you!
dear Jenn, it was a pleasure to discover your blog and enthusiasm to books :) I also love to read and I just notice how impressive all the stories and novels you´ve read eheh happy readings, happy days, greetings from Lisbon, PedroL
Great! Nice to meet you :)
nice layout – very clean – just wanted to share my thoughts.
I really enjoy your book recommendations. I frequently return to your “books to film” list and have read quite a few in anticipation of upcoming films. However, you have compiled 2 lists that don’t live up to their title! Could it be that 50 is a nice round number? Both your 50 Best Uplifting, Feel Good Books and 50 Best Books About Libraries or Librarians lists have only 45 books named. I counted them several times. Is that something that’s done in blog-dom? Another list that did the same was Goodreads !00 Best Books and I counted only 91…many times…..I am writing these lists down so that I have the pleasure of checking them off as I read them. It’s very satisfying.
Anyway, keep up the good work!
Sally
Hey sally, glad to hear the lists are useful! And yes part of it is that it’s nice to use a round number and the other part of it is that I’ll probably add more books over time so it’s easier to round up than have to recount and retitle the post later etc. I imagine they probably do the same thing for similar reasons. :)
Awesome- so glad I found this site!!
thanks, MJ!
Good evening,
Thank you for your summary of Midnight Library. Reading used to be a passion of mine, but the world has gotten a bit louder and busier as I age so it’s hard to stay focused on book details I seem to inevitably miss…
I will bookmark your blog for future books.
;) PS: I have white fluffy dog much like yours too!
Hi Jenn, I love this blog!
I can’t wait for you to review Meet Me In Another Life.
Happy holidays!
Bec
I miss your reviews!! I didn’t miss one. Will you come back?
Re: Apples Never Fall By Liane Moriarty
Hi Jenn! In your spoiler you couldn’t understand why Savannah singled out and focused on the Delaney house. It had very little to do with how she was mistreated as a child that one day she wandered into the Delaney house, and everything to do with the fact that her parents divorced because of her father’s obsession with Harry’s tennis career. After her parents divorce, there was little money to raise Savannah and her mentally ill mother starved her, traumatized her, and tortured her. She obviously inherited her mother’s mental problems and blamed her miserable childhood on the Delaney’s. On a whim, she sought out Joy to administer her twisted version of revenge.
See, not so confusing or flimsy after all! ;-)
I was curious to find out more about the team behind this beautiful, informative and FUN website and am so impressed to learned, that you do everything all on your own. You coded this website yourself?! And you came up with the designs and everything? And on top of that you have time to read so many books and craft detailed and thoughtful reviews?! Hat to you, madam! It all looks and reads so high-end professional!
I found this site to satisfy my curiosity about a book everyone raved about, but I had no intention of reading (I think it was Turn the Key, but maybe it was the other one with the locked doors – I always confuse thriller titles). From reading this first review on, I was hooked. I am so grateful for the many spoilers – but also the helpful non-spoiler sections that help me find out if I do want to read a book after all. Will return again and again ;)