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Missed opportunity
30.06.11 | Scott Pack
It is a truth universally acknowledged that readers are starting to turn away from the literary pages of our newspapers to online resources for their book recommendations.
Not all readers, by any means, and the literary sections are still a massive part of the culture of books, but the migration is happening in much the same way that readers are moving from print books to e-books. It is pointless pretending otherwise.
Given this, and the fact that newspapers themselves are repositioning themselves online, I am surprised that very few bloggers have been asked to review books for print newspapers. Actually, that's a lie, I am not surprised at all, but I do think it is a shame, and a missed opportunity.
Newspaper print circulation is on the decline as readers access more online content. So why not take some of the people who create that online content and print their words in the newspapers?
And before anyone trots out the tired old argument that newspaper reviewers are somehow more qualified and professional than the amateur blogger I suggest they check out some of the wonderful book blogs that are out there at the moment. Try Googling John Self's Asylum, Dovegreyreader, Farm Lane Books, David Hebblethwaite, Savidge Reads or Inside Books for an array of interesting, arresting, entertaining and relevant reviews. You can find a list of more on the FutureBook site.
One of the attractions of book bloggers is the element of familiarity and that leads to a better quality of recommendation. When journalist X reviews book Y in newspaper Z they are often unknown to the reader and however thoughtful, entertaining or well-written the review the reader doesn't actually know if their taste aligns with their own.
With bloggers everything is a lot more transparent. The reviewing history is right there on screen. You can see what they thought of Room or Beatrice & Virgil while reading their review of A Visit from the Goon Squad. You may also, whether you want to or not, find out their views on television, film or music releases which, I would argue, only helps to add context.
I'd love to see one of the newspapers give over its book pages to bloggers for the day. I guarantee they'll see increased sales and more web traffic as a result. That won't happen, of course, and I am not suggesting that the established print reviewers should be evicted from their positions, but it would be great to see a few bloggers being asked to review in print occasionally. John Self's recent review of The Loft by Marlen Haushofer in the Guardian was very welcome and proof that bloggers can hold their own alongside the more established print reviewers. More of the same, please.
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Maybe it's just me, but I never read reviews, whether written by a broadsheet egghead or a keyboard warrior determined to thrust any old opinion down your gullet. I like to flick through a book and trust my gut. Or take recommendations from friends whose opinion I value. Most of the time that works, sometimes not, but that's half the fun.
Look at the book One Day. Recommended and lent to me by a friend who assured me I wouldn't regret investing a few hours of my life in this garbage (in this instance, the above strategy failed, clearly). A truly terrible book in my opinion, but bewilderingly overrated. The internet is awash with gushing reviews of the "most amazing book I have ever read". That demonstrates, in a nutshell, why I don't read reviews written by any old thumbnail on the internet - because personal taste is, by its very nature, a highly subjective beast.
Corey, hence the whole point of context, something you illustrate perfectly in your comment.
Reading any old review on the internet is no more useful that any old review in a newspaper. Getting to know a blogger, understanding their tastes, interracting with them brings you to the same level as that friendly recommendation you hold so dear.
I can assure you that the internet is full of bloggers pointing out that One Day is really not all it is cracked up to be.
Yes Scott, I'm sure there is. The internet is full of rather too many people giving me their opinion, good or bad. There's far too much "noise" to combat in order to obtain useful advice or guidance.
I remember once trying to use the Amazon reviews section to help me decide whether to buy a book online. I ended up more confused than when I had started, so reverted to type and went to Foyles to have a quick read. I quickly realised it wasn't for me and exited the shop with something entirely different which I loved (Orson Scott Card in case you're wondering). That experience is what online shopping can never replicate.
Oh dear, I know I sound about 100 years old, but I am actually not even touching 40 yet...
Corey, what you are demonstrating rather well is the limits to a 'Google' approach to instant information. You see a book, you want to know about it, you do a quick Google search (or look at a bunch of anonymous - as far as you are concerned - reviews on Amazon) and you think, 'oh god, there's too much noise, I give up'.
Or worse, you happen to stumble upon a particularly well-written gushing review and buy a totally unsuitable book...
Scott's making the point that the best book review 'sources' are those that you have invested a bit of time in, and thus know that they are a good fit for your tastes. This is not instant. That applies to a regular review column in a newspaper, a long-standing blog, an Amazon reviewer or a bookshop that caters to particular customers. It even applies to a friend - and hopefully you have a good enough relationship with that friend that you can tell them exactly what you thought about 'One Day'...
It's no accident that you went into Foyles and ended up with a book you love. The best bookshops do that, and are managing to survive because they work hard to match books to readers. In a world awash with increasing numbers of books, it's getting more important to know what's worth your time and what isn't. You just need to spend a bit a time to find a source that works for you...
I think Scott has opened up a very interesting debate on where it's best to find out about books that might interest you.
The problem with booksellers, no matter how good they are, is that there are so few of them, they may not be interested in the things you are and they may not be in the shop when you go in. Newspaper reviews focus on new books, and mainly hardbacks, so the joys of back list range are missed and anyway so many of the paper reviewers are pompous fools just trying to prove how clever they are by dissecting a new book.
Bloggers are our on-line friends with advice we can follow and, if we feel they share our tastes in reading, act on. I have a few trusted bloggers who have proven very reliable with their suggestions. Because you get to know the bloggers you follow they are even more reliable than Amazon reviews.
As for a paper devoting itself to reviews from bloggers - I doubt any of the big names would consider bloggers serious or clever enough to grace their pages. It's a great shame because in my mind they are and they would do a great job.
The main problem with Scott's suggestion though is that if you start bringing in bloggers in place of the journalists...where do you stop? I'm sure there are plenty of other parts of the newspaper where very good online commentators could replace the regulars. I can't see any journalists going for that...
The whole point of social media is to build relationships, that is where the 'social' part comes in. A blogger who maintains a two-way relationship with their readers will be trusted in what they write, this is something a journalist can't do. Not to say of coarse that a journalists opinion doesn't count, but why would a person trust the opinion of a stranger over someone they have built a relationship, and dare I say, friendship with?
If a blogger was to be invited to review a book in print, surely they would publicize on their blog that they are to do so, this would in-turn persuade many of their regular readers to go out and purchase the newspaper in question?
Maybe there is a trick being missed here.
The main difference between blog reviews and newspaper reviews, it seems to me, is that the newspaper often assigns certain new books to its reviewers, whereas bloggers tend to pick the books that interest them most. Publishers who send out Advance Reading Copies are getting a version of this from some bloggers (me included; I pick out one book a month from the offerings from Harper Collins).
I'm surprised Scott thinks readers only form 'relationships', as it were, with bloggers and not print reviewers. I'm well aware of many of my favourite print reviewers, what they like and don't like, as well as the ones who disagree with me. That's one of the reasons newspapers like regular reviewers - because they know their readers get to know them. As to quality - I'm afraid I do still find too many bloggers (including some of the ones you mention)to be woolly and meandering, far too often. Not having a word limit is a big problem, as is not having anyone edit your words. Perhaps one reason newspaper editors won't give space on their books pages over to literary bloggers is that they'd take over the whole newspaper...
Lesley, I made a point of not suggesting that readers only form relationships with bloggers and it would have been stupid of me to do so. Of course it is possible to get to know regular print reviewers and their tastes, likes, dislikes etc. I just think it is easier to do that with bloggers as they write regularly and can always be found in the same place.
And while I could not possibly disagree with your opinion of some of the bloggers I mention, it is after all your opinion, I have to counter with the simple fact that many newspaper reviews aren't really up to scratch and it never ceases to amaze me how many of them fail to actually review the book.
My main point, though, is that newspapers are missing a trick by inviting so few bloggers to write for them. I know of two, and both were bloody good reviews. Such avoidance suggests a prejudice or an ignorance. I hope I am wrong.
You're right- Papers ignore most bloggers and much of what they call reviews are simply puffs or advertorials. I blog about books and post book reviews on Bookrambler but I've also had reviews published in print and online publications, such as, TLS, Pleiades, the Literateur and I don't see a problem with crossing over. Book Review editors do, though. I've submitted to review sections on newspapers and other literary mags without success. I feel it's vitally important for literature that there are independent, robust, critical voices. Otherwise, we are fed but don't know we're starving.
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