Total Review Madness
From now through October 4, 2005, I am going to review every single book that arrives at my house.
Why? Because I feel like it, and because it's not like I already have a million things to do (for example: writing my thesis that's due in three weeks or so, and finding a new apartment, should be mega-quickies. Really.).
Freelance book reviewers get on a master list, some sort of publicity list inside each major house (and some smaller houses) that indexes us by who we write for, and where we live, and what subjects we've written about. For example, my profile lists me as a freelance reviewer living in Philadelphia. So, when a Philadelphia author publishes a book, most of the time I get sent a copy in case I want to review it.
Which I don't, most of the time, except for the cases when I do. If you've ever wondered, "How do freelance reviewers find out about books?" part of the answer is, "From the books that arrive at the house." There are other bits of the equation, of course, but you have to know the secret handshake first.
Most reviewers totally ignore the books that arrive randomly. They just pack up the books periodically and dump them in the library donation bin, or take them to the used bookstore for cash.
It makes me a little sad, sometimes, this system. So many books, all 120,000 new titles published each year, and so many of them are unwanted. (It doesn't make me sad, however, when I have to pack up my own giant box of books and haul it to the library donation bin, like I'm doing today. The box weighs a ton, I swear.)
I've often wondered: is it possible to review everything that comes through the door?
Obviously, it's impossible for book section editors to review everything. But I only get a small trickle of books weekly or biweekly, whereas they get a daily deluge.
So. I've decided to review everything, here on this blog, as an experiment in whether it can be done. It's a really random sampling of books, and usually the range of titles amuses and delights me-- except when I'm horrified by something that has no cause to exist in book form.
Below are the first entries, which arrived recently. Look for a review in the next few days.
Temple Stream: A Rural Odyssey by Bill Roorbach
The Energy Prescription by Constance Grauds, R.Ph., and Doug Childers
The Hot Sex Handbook: The Handy Pocket Guide to Hot Sex Anywhere, Anytime! by the unfortunately named Tracey Cox
Why? Because I feel like it, and because it's not like I already have a million things to do (for example: writing my thesis that's due in three weeks or so, and finding a new apartment, should be mega-quickies. Really.).
Freelance book reviewers get on a master list, some sort of publicity list inside each major house (and some smaller houses) that indexes us by who we write for, and where we live, and what subjects we've written about. For example, my profile lists me as a freelance reviewer living in Philadelphia. So, when a Philadelphia author publishes a book, most of the time I get sent a copy in case I want to review it.
Which I don't, most of the time, except for the cases when I do. If you've ever wondered, "How do freelance reviewers find out about books?" part of the answer is, "From the books that arrive at the house." There are other bits of the equation, of course, but you have to know the secret handshake first.
Most reviewers totally ignore the books that arrive randomly. They just pack up the books periodically and dump them in the library donation bin, or take them to the used bookstore for cash.
It makes me a little sad, sometimes, this system. So many books, all 120,000 new titles published each year, and so many of them are unwanted. (It doesn't make me sad, however, when I have to pack up my own giant box of books and haul it to the library donation bin, like I'm doing today. The box weighs a ton, I swear.)
I've often wondered: is it possible to review everything that comes through the door?
Obviously, it's impossible for book section editors to review everything. But I only get a small trickle of books weekly or biweekly, whereas they get a daily deluge.
So. I've decided to review everything, here on this blog, as an experiment in whether it can be done. It's a really random sampling of books, and usually the range of titles amuses and delights me-- except when I'm horrified by something that has no cause to exist in book form.
Below are the first entries, which arrived recently. Look for a review in the next few days.
Temple Stream: A Rural Odyssey by Bill Roorbach
The Energy Prescription by Constance Grauds, R.Ph., and Doug Childers
The Hot Sex Handbook: The Handy Pocket Guide to Hot Sex Anywhere, Anytime! by the unfortunately named Tracey Cox
posted by meredith at 7:40 AM
1 Comments:
Hey Meredith, I saw you at the recent mediabistro event and didn't get to introduce myself. congratulations on your recent successes (in life and career!). I'm new to the phila. creative/media community and would love to learn the secret handshake. Are you involved in any other orgs here??
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