Check It. NPR Books.

When I was little my mom used to say that I should read the first page of any book I was considering buying. Doing so gave me a taste of the authors style, storytelling abilities, and diction and I'm sure it saved me many a dollar.

Now, with NPR Books, you can both read a short book review along with the first chapter of the book, which is totally genius. I've gotten exposure to so many books I previously wouldn't have considered, like the recently-reviewed Pym, the eye-opening if not slightly horrifying Tiger Tiger, The Company We Keep, and Let the Great World Spin.

And if you're a FB fan, you get these little book excerpts once a day or so. Truthfully these make my day. Fan them!

-- Lauren William