Number of fiction titles double since 2002; number of book reviews dwindle

After  reading the latest Bowker report about book production,  book reviewer M.A.Orthofer sees a disconnect between the amount of published fiction and the paltry space given to reviews of it:

Twice as much fiction was published in 2007 as in 2002 ! (and that doesn’t include the POD publications).
To repeat: twice as much fiction was published in 2007 as in 2002 in the US ! (So much for creative writers having trouble practising their craft in a post-September 2001 world …..)
Is everyone just trying to ignore that ? Quite possibly: it certainly doesn’t fit in the view of the literary world a lot of prominent folk have. So for example The New York Times Book Review editor Sam Tanenhaus: in 2004 it already seemed dubious (to us) that he excused the lack of fiction coverage at the NYTBR by claiming: “There’s a lot more nonfiction published these days than there used to be” — but certainly he now should face the fact (and the facts, in terms of raw numbers) that if that was true then the tide has turned — in a big, big way.

But after the 25 May issue (ratio of fiction titles to non-fiction titles that get their own full-length review 1:5 !) they offer their 1 June ‘Summer Reading’ issue — and provide only three (3) reviews of fiction titles and nineteen (19 !) reviews each devoted to an individual non-fiction title, as well as four reviews each devoted to several works of non-fiction. What world are they living in ? Obviously one where fiction doesn’t count for barely anything (devote the ‘cover’-review to a novel, and that’s apparently good enough …).

…

For the coming months all these book review editors of course have the excuse of the American presidential campaign and all those ‘timely’ (i.e. worthless the day after the election) titles they ‘have to’ get to. (It wouldn’t surprise us if the NYTBR reviewed more books with ‘Obama’ in the title than they did books in translation over the next five months …..)

Orthofer’s site (called the Complete Review) contains book reviews of  esoteric and international fiction.  Here’s a list of titles which have received the best reviews.  Many reviews contain additional links to book reviews published on European sites.

Although Orthofer’s complaint is legitimate,  many online book review sites have emerged to fill the slack. For starters, Conversational Reading, Literary License, Indian Writing, Critical Mass, Grumpy Old Bookman, Silliman’s Blog, Mumpsimus.

Discussion Question: Where do you go for book recommendations?