tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-641443496612927441.post8210623051351230698..comments2023-09-11T05:46:29.728-03:00Comments on Novel Readings: Book ReviewsRohan Maitzenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12111722115617352412noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-641443496612927441.post-65363352067887870712009-11-13T04:05:58.515-04:002009-11-13T04:05:58.515-04:00A generous dose of honest, high spirited evaluativ...A generous dose of honest, high spirited evaluative criticism is what we need here...more passionate argument too damn it.NigelBealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06094387597632333192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-641443496612927441.post-19898020073243097602009-10-20T18:36:56.751-03:002009-10-20T18:36:56.751-03:00Finn, you're right that potential conflicts of...Finn, you're right that potential conflicts of interest was one thing I was thinking about: if you know your book will be reviewed soon, that may incline you towards being nice, or you may just be more sympathetic towards fellow writers and inclined to give them a break. But what I've been thinking about more is that literature and criticism are not, in the end, the same thing, and Rohan Maitzenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12111722115617352412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-641443496612927441.post-11909244030088875312009-10-16T21:35:35.882-03:002009-10-16T21:35:35.882-03:00"On average, I find the Globe reviews trivial..."On average, I find the Globe reviews trivial and uninteresting. I wonder about the wisdom of their apparent editorial policy of inviting so many creative writers to review each other's work."<br /><br />Dear Rohan, this is an interesting post overall, and an intriguing comment specifically. However, if you're suggesting a conflict of interest, why not come out and say it? It Finn Harvorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05120886779348342519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-641443496612927441.post-72263650185611632752009-10-14T16:32:48.327-03:002009-10-14T16:32:48.327-03:00AR's remarks make me want to clarify mine a bi...AR's remarks make me want to clarify mine a bit. First, the huge majority of TLS reviews I read and enjoy are of nonfiction, and I'm not going to say the prose doesn't matter there but it's not as important and also, these are books I'm probably never going to read. But the reviews are super interesting all the same and often provide some good intellectual history.<br /><br />nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06816358571437309223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-641443496612927441.post-35081473121332511642009-10-14T12:24:26.134-03:002009-10-14T12:24:26.134-03:00Here we see why a reviewer can't please everyo...Here we see why a reviewer can't please everyone. Because I demand a list of quotations divorced from context! How else can I tell if the prose is any good? Gimme a p. 90 test.<br /><br />One reason I have grown to distrust ordinary print book reviewers is that the prose they single out as "lyrical" and "luminous" and whatnot often turns out to be a jumble of overwritten Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-641443496612927441.post-59324566110345066402009-10-14T12:17:41.800-03:002009-10-14T12:17:41.800-03:00Mostly I read reviews if I know the reviewer in so...Mostly I read reviews if I know the reviewer in some way--maybe just by reputation. I agree about not being interested in plot summary (nor in reading a list of quotations divorced from context).<br /><br />In general, I think I'm more interested in the personal than you are. I like to find out how reading the same book affects different people.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-641443496612927441.post-86366000487532095392009-10-13T23:28:07.134-03:002009-10-13T23:28:07.134-03:00I too have given up reading reviews from print pub...I too have given up reading reviews from print publications (the closest one being the Globe's; I agree with you on why it's generally unreadable.)<br /><br />I too want more critical engagement with a book and less plot summary; yet, I tend to shy away somewhat from the analytical approach until after I've read the book myself. Just as I did when I was an academic, I prefer to come Bookphiliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05155882653615842141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-641443496612927441.post-76296805096489255632009-10-13T22:17:51.408-03:002009-10-13T22:17:51.408-03:00It's a bit sad, but I've almost completely...It's a bit sad, but I've almost completely given up reading book reviews from print publications. I still read one in the NYT here and there, if it's a book or author I'm interested in, but it's hardly ever anything special. Which is pretty much the same way I felt about The Globe and Mail when I lived in Canada.<br /><br />But the TLS, the TLS...my kingdom for the TLS! I usednicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06816358571437309223noreply@blogger.com