Do you read and follow the literary guides in newspapers?

This is not meant to slam any particular Authors or their works. I am interested in your opinion about the literary guides that you may find in most local newspapers (Mine - Bellingham Herald/Seattle Times/Seattle Post Intellegencer.)

My question is this;

Do you read and follow these literary guides in your local/chosen newspapers?

As an aspiring author I like to review these articles to see the success of other authors. I find myself, however, increasingly disinterested by the selection of authors they chose to review. And as much as I would love to be on the NYTimes best sellers list I have never really paid any attention to that rag. So some of you out there may have a 'broader' opinion of these newspapers literary guides than me. But I am interested in how you follow them. I want to support the other authors out there who are creating interesting and worthwhile books, but I just don't seem to care about most of the authors/books i've seen reviewed.

I realize this may be due to the fact that there are so many books being published that I may be simply overwhelmed and not interested in the subject matter. I have noticed more often though that I do not agree with the political slant of the newspapers that I barely read. Because of this 'slant' by the newspapers I find myself therefore disinterested by their selction of books to review. (I tend to find fault not only in their slant in their articles, but also in their weak reporting of said articles - I.E. 'lack of good information.')

I usually find the best review on books I read from the sales people of my local book store (Shameless plug to 'Village Books' in Fairhaven/Bellingham WA.) I find their information credible and entertaining even though we may differ in our political views.

So, how about you? Do you read and follow guides about new authors/books? Or do you even care what else is being published out there?

Any information on good literary review guide welcome.

Whats an "Internet?"

I, too, tend to focus most of my research into books based on what someone tells me - then viewing internet sites for reviews. I have to admit that most of my books purchases as of late were due to me simply pulling a book off of the display table in my local book store. So I would give that to the "Advice from a sales person" type of purchase.

What's a 'Literary Guide?'

To the unwashed... A 'literary guide' or 'book review' is an article I have found in most newspapers. It is an 'opinion' type of page (like 'letters to the editor') but done on books as a review - like the movie reviews.

I have found that in most cases (as confirmed by the few post so far) I just don't find the books reviewed to be very interesting. I see now this is due mostly to the 'local interest' picks of these reviews.

So, to define the question a little more...

How do you find the next book you want to read? Do you use the literary guides offered in local papers, perview the internet for subjects your interested in, or just go by the 'word-of-mouth' from a preferred source?

Back to the studio audience...