Why Book Reviews Matter

I like to get confessions out of the way first, so here goes: I loved book reports when I was in school. When I found out people got paid to review books, I was all over that. I could read, and write book reviews, all day!

I could also read book reviews all day. 

Do they matter? Oh, please. I've had shouting matches with people who say reading is a waste of time; we're not going to start that about reviews, are we? Ask Amazon, Goodreads, The NYT, Christian Science Monitor, your local paper, or check out the crowd at almost any library.

Obviously, book reviews matter a great deal to authors and publishers. So why do book reviews matter to the rest of us? Because we all need to feed our brains, and books do that. And just like food preferences and allergies vary from person to person, our tastes in reading material run the gamut, too.

(As I'm writing this, Duck Commander Family and Proof of Heaven are both on The New York Times non-fiction bestsellers list.)

Online book reviews are like a buffet - you can go grab a sample of anything. It's a great way to find out if you'd like more of a particular author's cooking. On the other end of the spectrum, discerning book review editors are like master chefs who study the freshest ingredients, take note of new tools, skillful preparation, unusual  treatments, and offer up only the most delicious, tantalizing combinations of all of those.

Book reviews matter because that classic t-shirt was right: So many books, so little time. The most avid reader will never, ever, ever be able to read all that he or she wants to. Book reviews help us discover books we "must" read that we might have missed, and they help us whittle down our (embarrassingly long) to-read lists.

They also provide countless conversation starters. You don't even have to read the book to use them, just the review! Try these, for example:

Have you read the new book on Scientology?
What do you think about that female author who rewrote one of Hemingway's books?
Forget The Good Wife;  have you heard about The Good Nurse?! 

Toss one of those out at your next cocktail party or agonizingly long elevator ride, and let me know what happens.

Mother's Day Recommendation: Military Moms

As Mother's Day approaches I cannot think of Jamie Reinart's collection of true stories without a lump in my throat and an almost unbearable sense of awe, gratitude, and pride for our service men and women. If you know a Military mom who doesn't own this book, please give her one. Soon.

Love You More Than You Know 

by Jamie Reinart

Whatever shall I cover up with?

As a writer of course I try to follow publishing industry news, and if you do too, you know it can be as mind-boggling as any industry.

Recently, I was boggled by a blog post from January Magazine, which suggests book publishers have their own internal fashion editors.

It left me wondering, how many readers choose books based on their covers? And whatever happened to the little black dress?

If you'd like to try to answer either of these questions, please let me know - seriously. I'm open to guest bloggers, and there's no dress code.

Henrietta Lacks, Would that we'd known you when...

"No dead woman has done more for the living." -- from a review in The Guardian

And yet she was dead for 20+ years before we acknowledged her.

Without a doubt, this one will stick with me.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, is so good I'm not going to attempt a full review. (The New York Times actually did two, following up its original with a sequel.)

Look, this blog is intended to give advice about what to read, or not. My advice on this book is: READ IT.

And while I'm crazy about libraries, I recommend buying this one, because chances are very good you'll want to take your time with it - it's not hard to follow, but there's a great deal to the story, and you'll probably need some time to absorb it. When you finish it, I'll bet you'll want to share it with several friends and family members.

I hope you'll buy a copy for those you know who are interested in writing, science, medicine, or law. Like I said, there's a lot to the story.

Read it.

Update: In September 2015, somebody who almost certainly didn't read the book tried to ban it. Obviously, not gonna happen - the movie hits HBO on April 22, 2017. 


  Update, 2017... And now it's a movie! 

Library Week, take 3

It's just an outline.

Got anything to add?


No? Well, then how 'bout this, from 25 Vintage Photos of Librarians Being Awesome?

Read on.

~Diane Stresing

National Library Week, take 2: You Might Be a Librarian if...

You might be a librarian if ...
... you have a bumper sticker that says, Get carded. Visit a library.

You might be a librarian if ...
... your spice rack is arranged in alphabetical order...

... or by geographic location of discovery of the spice.


You might be a librarian if ...
... you're polite but secretly smug when the IT staff comes to you for help downloading stuff on their

new Kindles.

You might be a librarian if ..
You could write all of the first season's episodes, and a spin-off.

St. Mary's College Library. http://pinterest.com/pin/229331805997359826/

You might be a librarian if ...
...your ringtone is Turn the Page.





You might be a librarian if ...
...you take off work every April 15 because you are tired of saying, "I'm a librarian, not a tax attorney" to the panicky, last-minute form-grabbers.




You might be a librarian if ...
... you've heard all of these before.

National Library Week is April 14-20, 2013

Libraries matter; really they do!
I agree!
The Wall Street Journal said so, and
The Monitor did too.


Let's make a deal:  I'll lay off the poetry and exclamation points if you go to the library.

(You go first!)

Seriously. Maybe I'll see you there... 

~Diane Stresing

How to Banish the Reading Doldrums

If you're bored when you're reading, my friend, you're holding the wrong book.

If it's your economics textbook, sorry. I can't offer much help on that front.

But if you (or your kids) are looking for a book that really grabs your interest and doesn't let go, let me suggest... fantasy. I heard that groan.

I'll be honest, fantasy isn't my favorite thing to read, and I've known other reading snobs who considered themselves above that particular section of shelves until a certain title changed their minds.

The much-maligned genre suffers from one-bad-apple syndrome, I think. Let's face it, "campy" hits like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes are campy because, frankly, they're really, really bad. That said, there are plenty of excellent fantasy books to be read. Some are enjoyable for adults as well as kids. (Remember that series about a boy wizard?)

Here, a few titles that might change your mind about fantasy and convince you to dive into a (slightly) different world:
The Phantom Tollbooth  - a splendid read-together book, for children 3rd grade and up*
A Wrinkle in Time  - 3d grade and up
Timeline and Diana Galbadon's great Outlander series are for adults, only, really.
Dr. Who  fans would certainly take me to task if I failed to mention them. (So, there.)

What fantasy title(s) have you liked, in spite of yourself? I'd love to hear about it.

~Diane Stresing

* Writers, you must read the NPR interview with Norman Juster. And if you're looking to bump up your child's vocabulary, head straight for the Tollbooth.