To review or not to review – here’s how I decide

If all someone knew about my reading habits is my posts, they’d think I like all the books I read.  Nothing could be farther from the truth. There are tens of thousands of books published each year and no one can read every book that may appeal.  Reading time is very precious to me and I’d rather read more and write less, so I need to be selective.

What I will review:

• Titles that beg to be discussed with a group, both fiction and nonfiction.
• New titles from a favorite author.
• Quirky books that defy easy classification.
• Books about readers and bookstores, a particular weakness of mine.
• About-to-be published titles that I’ve read (and enjoyed) before reviews have appeared.
• Backlist titles that deserve another reading.
• Any book that I am ready to share with a stranger, let alone a good friend.

(For a quick look, check out the BOOKS page.)

What I usually won’t write about:

• Books I finished but didn’t particularly enjoy. I’ll share my opinion if you ask about a specific title but it may be my attitude, not the quality of the book. After all, who am I to bash a popular debut novel just because I found it pedestrian?
• Most of the books I read to cleanse my palate. Often these are mysteries or thrillers that I do enjoy but don’t stick with me once I’ve closed the book.
•  Nonfiction where my underlying knowledge is limited.

So how do I find my books?

Long before major new titles hit the shelves, information begins appearing in trade newsletters and emails. There are many regular emails for readers as well, many of which offer the chance to win advance copies or to read a sample chapter online. For something different, I often read the book reviews and awards announcements from British or Canadian newspapers in addition to a number of US papers. Only a portion of well-received titles come across the borders. And wherever I am, I seek out independent bookstores and the professionals that work there. Each community has some of its own “hot reads” and often quality books by local authors. The local library and the library’s used bookstore also fill my plate. And I ask everyone I meet, “What are you reading?”

As a book group facilitator and blogger, I periodically receive upcoming titles that may be of interest. They arrive with no specific obligation on my part. Certainly, the publishers’ marketeers are thrilled to get an email or see a post that will put my small band of followers on the lookout for an upcoming book. And when a gem lands on my doorstep, I am happy to share the find.

Once published, it is difficult to judge a book entirely on its own merit. Often there have been newspaper/website/radio/blog reviews or ads. Your best friend/work colleague/book group buddy/significant other loved (or hated) it and can’t imagine you’d think otherwise. Word of mouth on the new “hot” book can spread far faster than the flu.

Often as not, an advance copy may just keep moving down my “to-be-read” pile, displaced as the time gets closer for a calendared book group selection or an author/topical favorite that appeared in the mail. Sometimes, it is just a matter of the right book at the right time. Recently, work with a new book group provided the perfect opportunity to finish and discuss My Brilliant Friend, the first of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet.

So, my to-be-read pile continues to grow and with it books I may write about someday. But what is most important to me is that we continue to read and share books, over coffee, in a group or across continents via the web. In the beginning there were stories. And through stories we can better understand our world and imagine worlds beyond.

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