I opened up the Sunday booklet from one of my favorite newspapers to see if there was a new book review. I don’t usually purchase any of the books I read about much but I enjoy keeping up on what’s new. I like to see what the current bestsellers are and who has written something recently in the group of authors I like best. It’s a pretty small group of people who belong to that list. The reviews of children’s books are the ones I tend to read the most because it seems that this is the area where new writers emerge most often that might be a match for what I like to read.
It’s funny to me that a few people make their living publishing their opinions on the artistic works of others. I wouldn’t be able to do this myself. Sometimes when I see a movie or read a book I try to imagine reviewing it and I think that I would probably do a weird job that might not give the reader what they were hoping to get when reading a new book review or new movie review. Seeing a movie or reading a book is an intensely personal experience for me and I can’t always easily translate my reaction to words or simple thoughts about what I think the person accomplished in their art.
I guess the main reason I look at a new book review is to see a short synopsis of story or style to see if I’m interested in a writer I haven’t tried before. With authors I love I don’t mess around much reading reviews because I already know I want to read more of the author already. Sometimes it surprises me how many opinions reviewers seem to have and how critical they can be of the art of another person. Sometimes it just seems like marketing to me. I suppose it is mostly just marketing in this commercial world we live in, but still it gives a window into a project by which I can see if I am initially interested enough in something to order it, or go down to a store and check it out.