#book critics

[charliejaneanders]

You have to review the story someone wrote, not the book you wish they had written. If someone wrote a book about pirates, there's no point in complaining that you wish they'd written a book about circus performers instead.

What Are Book Critics For? (my latest newsletter)

[tomorrowisyesterday119]

I’ve figured out why people that hate things like Twilight and Fourth Wing annoy me. It’s just never the hot take they think it is. Oh you hated something that is objectively kinda bad? Please tell me more about your superior literary critic skills. You’re agreeing with a majority, delivering it like you’re the first one that’s ever thought it, and you’re boring me. It’s a boring fucking take.

[ijustkindalikebooks]

So what is the good of book reviewing? A review of a review of the reviewers

How do editors decide what books get reviewed? Spoiler alert: it’s not meritocratic.

You see, novelists, when reviewing someone else’s efforts, often have more skin in the game than a professional critic and arguably can muster less distance. They know how hard it is to write a novel, and how devastating and embarrassing a snarky review can feel.

More selfishly, why would a novelist give a bad review to someone that might be reviewing their novel the following week? What if that writer is a judge on a prize committee? What if others judge the negative review to be motivated by malice or envy?

[englishmajorhumor]

[forestphantom05]

Tolkien on Critics of LOTR

“Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kind of writing that they evidently prefer.”

- Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, Foreword to the Second Edition

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you the master scholar of language, literature, and sass.

[justwriterbritt]

Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool.

King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 7:5 New Living Translation (NLT). BibleGateway.com

[theyouthtimes]

Book Critics Circle Officials Resign, Citing Privacy Breach

NEW YORK (AP) — The president and five other board members of the National Book Critics Circle have resigned amid allegations of racism and violations of privacy. Laurie Hertzel, who had served as president since 2019, announced over the weekend she was leaving the 24-member board. Her...