Independent online publication, Coffee Time Reviews, is paving the way for passion-led book reviews, recommendations and reading tips. The publication, based in Leeds, was founded by Eliza Lita over a year and a half ago.
Coffee Time Reviews
With passion and personal stories at the heart of the publication, Coffee Time Reviews is not concerned with simply reviewing books for the sake of it. Its founder and editor, Eliza “wanted to create a space where rigid guidelines didn’t exist and invite book reviewers to share anything and everything they needed to say about a book”.
The online publication certainly achieves that. With pour-your-heart-out reviews being the very essence of this publication, it allows book reviews to be as honest, open and passionate as possible, without having to adhere to strict instruction and criticism.
With now over 100 contributors, Eliza said: “they are not always reviewing the latest books on the market, but we’re reviewing those books that had an impact on our lives in one way or another.”
This impact is clear through one of Eliza’s contributors, Brina Patel, whose review of Disability Visibility by Alice Wong, is one example of how Coffee Time Reviews is a pour-your-heart-out publication.
Raw and personal reading experiences
Talking about the review Eliza said: “Brina shares in this extremely personal review that Wong’s anthology helped her confront her internalised ableism and embrace her invisible disability. It’s a beautiful review that outlines the true impact a book can have. I personally haven’t found another book reviews publication that shares such raw and personal reading experiences and that was what I wanted to achieve with Coffee Time Reviews from day one.”
This human-centred focus has not gone unnoticed by readers. Eliza has seen that many of them have commented on articles, feeling inspired to pick up a book after reading a review.
This was recently seen with Eliza’s review of Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese. A reader commented under her article: “Amazing review! I so want to read Hester before the autumn is over.”
Eliza said receiving such comments about inspiring others was the “highest satisfaction about running Coffee Time Reviews”.
Recommended reading
The online publication does not only publish book reviews. They also publish book recommendation lists curated for particular tastes, seasons, or genres, as well as publishing author stories and personal stories for readers. Examples of these genres include poetry, fiction – such as self-help, fantasy, romance and comedy.
When asked what makes her publication stand out, Eliza stands by the raw and personal reading experiences and the passion and freedom of their content.
Coffee Time Reviews prioritises individuals’ reading experiences and tastes. To add to the individual accessibility of her publication, Eliza also creates the Coffee Time Reviews podcast. She adds a narration element to some of their popular articles, ensuring people who cannot read can still get inspired by the content of her contributors.
Coffee Time Reviews is a space for honest opinions and reviews of books. It tailors to individual reading experiences, putting people at the heart of reading. You can find Coffee Time Reviews on Twitter: @CTReviewsPub
