Today’s inspiration came courtesy of CynthiaW, following on from her Saturday suggestion: Why don’t we have book reviews here?
I like the idea, but would ask for reader/commenter submissions, since I’m not getting around to reading as much as I’d like. Plus, for me at least, reading with the intent of writing a review is more time consuming: I read more carefully when for a review.
For my part, I could review other media, or other parts of the modern world and modern life. But I’m not sure I could do it six days a week. I find it easier to present or recommend news articles that I think deserve wider attention, articles I’ve found after following an intriguing headline.
Still, good book reviews can be entertaining and enlightening, even in circumstances where you know you won’t have time to read the book. Maybe especially then. It’s your only chance to get something from the book. Besides, who could realistically read every book that’s reviewed and published in a given year? Reading reviews with no intention of reading the book at least tells you a bit about the contemporary Zeitgeist and broader cultural mood of our times.
So if anyone has reviews of books or other items, please send them to me along with a note on how you’d like to be credited. I’ll be more than glad to put them in the publishing pipeline.
A couple of years ago, Cynthia and I were reading (or planning to read) nonfiction books we thought topical and interesting, so we had an idea that we were going to write reviews (two different books, one review by each of us) and offer them for publication to The Dispatch. Mine was a really good book and my review *would* have been a good review (favorable to the book), and also I *would* have given it my best effort. But I never found time to do this, so it didn't happen.
I have a book to review, which I'll do this week. Of course, I review (yawn 😴) academic books, some of which you may not find as thrilling as I do.
I'm working on my presentation for tonight, 80 students. It's Black History Month, and it is on how internal conflict within the anti-slavery movement diminished the anti-slavery movement overall. I've got personal journals for 6 leaders of different movements within anti-slavery, and their vitriol for each other is a hoot! My favorite was "I didn't claim he was pro-slavery, only that his actions support slave owners". 😮
The goal is to make it memorable, fun, and less than an hour! For students, the goals are slightly reversed, less than an hour, fun, and, ummm, what was that 3rd one again?