How Critics Decide What Books To Review
Why I didn’t do a Hemingway biography and more
Being a critic — at least in my case — is an investment in guilt.
You can never write about all the worthy books, not with more than a half million published each year. If I dressed appropriately for the job, I’d live in that T-shirt that says, “So many books, so little time.”
Amid the crush, how do critics make the calls about what to review or skip?
Cosmo Kramer makes the cut at People
The editors of influential media — the largest newspapers, magazines, and websites — focus on what’s most newsworthy for their readers. No one should be surprised that People’s list of the “best books of June 2024” included a memoir by Michael Richards, who played Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld, and a novel co-authored by James Patterson and Michael Crichton. The readers of People expect stories about celebrities.
But individual critics have leeway. They can turn down editors’ requests to review books that don’t interest them or involve a potential conflict of interest. Critics can also skip books for which they don’t feel qualified.
A question that came up routinely when I edited the book section of a large newspaper was: Do I review this book…
