A depressing list from American newspapers. More cheeringly, I can report from across the Atlantic that at least in Ireland there is still a vibrant culture including book reviewing. Every Saturday The Irish Times under Book Editor Martin Doyle has 10-15 reviews (I do some), which also make their way onto their website: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/
Easy to become complacent of course, but at the moment things are healthy here.
Favourite literary newsletters on Substack? One Joel J. Miller and, for in depth coverage of English classics, Karen Swallow Prior. Not very many for an avid reader, is it?
You see, growing up, I never saw a newspaper literary review - my low income parents couldn't afford a newspaper subscription and the free local papers didn't review books. I learned about authors via word-of-mouth, author entries in the World Book Encyclopedia, and popular new works on display in stores, like the ubiquitous Babysitter's Club and Goosebump series.
Oh, and controversy - controversy is great publicity. I'm a millennial, but due to being homeschooled I would have entirely missed the Harry Potter phenomenon, had not the Focus on the Family, et al, made such a fuss about supposed witchcraft in said books - the controversy was further enhanced by the new phenomenon of internet rumours and I recall one conspiracy-minded individual in my church who actually took that famously fake Onion quote of J.K.Rowling endorsing Satanism as being completely real. I eventually borrowed and read the first Harry Potterbook out of sheer curiosity, but it really didn't appeal (cough*it was boring*cough), so I never bothered finishing the series.
Reviews have quite a history. I was very amused when I got as far as your statement that Elizabeth Hardwick considered the reviews of the day to be "uninteresting, uncritical, [and] unctuous." Perhaps those were a reaction to the reviews of the Victorian era, which were hilariously critical. Reviewers embarrassed themselves for posterity by making ridiculous criticisms of novels now considered to be among the greatest achievements of literature. My favorite criticism was that some of Trollope's writing was "vulgar."
Are you familiar with Joseph Bottom's book, The Decline of the Novel? In it, he hypothesizes that the cultural importance of the novel has declined because we no longer see the novel as a form that can help us explain ourselves to ourselves.
If he's right (and he makes a good case), then the declining interest in book reviews makes sense. If a reader is reading purely for diversion and not expecting that a novel will help them understand themselves and their world, then it follows that they don't need a detailed review to choose a book. All they need to do is confirm genre conformance. And, of course, the publishing industry (and the indie publishing space to a great extent) has become expert at accurately producing and signaling genre-conforming books.
Or, to put it another way, you don't need restaurant reviews if everyone eats at McDonalds.
And if Bottom is right, it would also help to explain the slow death of the mainstream and the rising gulf between so-called literary fiction and genre fiction, each of which is driven by a fascination with the parts rather than the whole of the novel. The novel, having lost its cultural purpose, has been carved up the way a hedge fund carves up a dying company, selling off the assets to raise the most cash possible. Elegant prose and philosophical and psychological insight are sold to the academy. Plot, pacing, and excitement are sold to the genre mills. The old brand names have whatever value remains sucked out of them to sell the resulting slop.
What we can and must hope for from a book review newsletter is that it works to revive the old integrated model of the novel and to persuade the public that the novel can indeed do what it did for so many decades: help us explain ourselves to ourselves. (And so far, so good. Thank you.)
A depressing list from American newspapers. More cheeringly, I can report from across the Atlantic that at least in Ireland there is still a vibrant culture including book reviewing. Every Saturday The Irish Times under Book Editor Martin Doyle has 10-15 reviews (I do some), which also make their way onto their website: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/
Easy to become complacent of course, but at the moment things are healthy here.
I mentioned that too at the end of this post: https://www.juliangirdham.com/blog/english-teaching-in-ireland-and-the-united-states
I read Judicial Junkie and The New Dork Review of Books. And mine is Mostly Books by Marcie Geffner, if I may mention it.
Favourite literary newsletters on Substack? One Joel J. Miller and, for in depth coverage of English classics, Karen Swallow Prior. Not very many for an avid reader, is it?
You see, growing up, I never saw a newspaper literary review - my low income parents couldn't afford a newspaper subscription and the free local papers didn't review books. I learned about authors via word-of-mouth, author entries in the World Book Encyclopedia, and popular new works on display in stores, like the ubiquitous Babysitter's Club and Goosebump series.
Oh, and controversy - controversy is great publicity. I'm a millennial, but due to being homeschooled I would have entirely missed the Harry Potter phenomenon, had not the Focus on the Family, et al, made such a fuss about supposed witchcraft in said books - the controversy was further enhanced by the new phenomenon of internet rumours and I recall one conspiracy-minded individual in my church who actually took that famously fake Onion quote of J.K.Rowling endorsing Satanism as being completely real. I eventually borrowed and read the first Harry Potterbook out of sheer curiosity, but it really didn't appeal (cough*it was boring*cough), so I never bothered finishing the series.
This link is an example of a well written review that was a delight to read. I had never heard of the book, doubt I will find a copy and read it, but I thoroughly enjoyed this review, even laughing out loud while reading. https://nudeprudes.substack.com/p/whats-long-fluffy-and-cant-stop-moving?r=ftu5a&utm_medium=ios
I love reading reviews and being introduced to new authors. It’s very sad to me
Reviews have quite a history. I was very amused when I got as far as your statement that Elizabeth Hardwick considered the reviews of the day to be "uninteresting, uncritical, [and] unctuous." Perhaps those were a reaction to the reviews of the Victorian era, which were hilariously critical. Reviewers embarrassed themselves for posterity by making ridiculous criticisms of novels now considered to be among the greatest achievements of literature. My favorite criticism was that some of Trollope's writing was "vulgar."
Are you familiar with Joseph Bottom's book, The Decline of the Novel? In it, he hypothesizes that the cultural importance of the novel has declined because we no longer see the novel as a form that can help us explain ourselves to ourselves.
If he's right (and he makes a good case), then the declining interest in book reviews makes sense. If a reader is reading purely for diversion and not expecting that a novel will help them understand themselves and their world, then it follows that they don't need a detailed review to choose a book. All they need to do is confirm genre conformance. And, of course, the publishing industry (and the indie publishing space to a great extent) has become expert at accurately producing and signaling genre-conforming books.
Or, to put it another way, you don't need restaurant reviews if everyone eats at McDonalds.
And if Bottom is right, it would also help to explain the slow death of the mainstream and the rising gulf between so-called literary fiction and genre fiction, each of which is driven by a fascination with the parts rather than the whole of the novel. The novel, having lost its cultural purpose, has been carved up the way a hedge fund carves up a dying company, selling off the assets to raise the most cash possible. Elegant prose and philosophical and psychological insight are sold to the academy. Plot, pacing, and excitement are sold to the genre mills. The old brand names have whatever value remains sucked out of them to sell the resulting slop.
What we can and must hope for from a book review newsletter is that it works to revive the old integrated model of the novel and to persuade the public that the novel can indeed do what it did for so many decades: help us explain ourselves to ourselves. (And so far, so good. Thank you.)