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Honesty is one of the five keys to being a good book reviewer, according to Mayra Calvani and Anne K Edwards in their new book, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, but accepting a book from a publisher and not reviewing it is stealing. Which is why I don't normally take advantage of offers of free books to review on my blog.
That's why I didn't accept the offer of a free electronic version of this book when the author wrote to offer me one. I bought it. And I'm therefore free to say whatever I like about the book or to say nothing at all.
So my honest evaluation of this book? It's the best book I ever read. No, wait! That kind of overstatement, along with giving away the ending or being rude and tactless are blinking neon lights saying, "Amateur." Of course I am an amateur, but those are still not a great way to interest one's readers in a book.
If you review books, or even if you just talk loosely about books as I do in my blog, the information packed into these 180 pages is invaluable. There are the five keys to being a good reviewer. There's the analysis of what exactly a book review is, which includes being a way for an author to get feedback on his work, providing you have been honest and employed one of the five keys, tact.
How to read critically, looking for pacing and point of view as well as the usual plot and characterization. The three basic parts of a book review. The absolute don'ts. Practical tips to remember: keep your writing style concise, avoid cliches like the plague, and never, ever, review a book by a friend or family member.
And this brings us only to the end of Part 1 (of three parts.)
What's wrong with the book? It could have used more editing. But I was an editor for several years so take that criticism from whence it comes. Its organization isn't perfect. It doesn't have an index. I hate the cover.
Things I liked about it: among many other things, sample book reviews broken down and analyzed, and the many on-line resources listed in Part 3.
I've mentioned only a few of the many checklists the authors offer. There's a lot of information in this little book. In fact, it's the best book on writing a book review that I've ever read!
The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by Mayra Calvani and Anne K Edwards, Twilight Times Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-933353-22-7, trade paper, 180 pages, $16.95. 5 / 5 stars. (Did I mention the authors' suggestions on how to use the star rating system?)
As I was reading this Booker Shortlist novel this morning I was overcome with tears. It's about Ireland in the time of the troubles and it's so well written and so carefully structured that it has tremendous power to move the reader. This is from the book jacket:
When she was a young woman, Roseanne McNulty was one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland. Now, as her hundredth year draws near, she is a patient at Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital, and she decides to record the events of her life.
As Roseanne revisits her past, hiding the manuscript beneath the floorboards of her bedroom, she learns that Roscommon Hospital will be closed in a few months and that her caregiver, Dr Grene, has been asked to evalutate the patients to decide if they can return to society. Roseanne is of particular interest to Dr Grene, and as he researches her case he discovers a document written by a local priest that tells a very different story of Roseanne's life from what she recalls. As doctor and patient attempt to understand each other, they begin to uncover long-buried secrets about themselves.
Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, the Secret Scripture is an epic story of love, betrayal and unavoidable tragedy, and a vivid reminder of the strangle-hold that the Catholic Church had on individual lives throughout much of the twentieth century.
A review by dovegreyreader can be found here.
Sebastian Barry, The Secret Scripture (2008) 300 pages. 5 / 5 stars (so far)
I am a great fan of Nancy Springer's Enola Holmes mysteries. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets is the third in the series, after The Case of the Missing Marquess (2006) and The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (2007.)
Here's the description from the book jacket:
Everyone knows Dr Watson is Sherlock Holmes' right-hand man -- so when he goes missing, it's a shock. Even Sherlock hasn't, well, the slightest clue as to where he could be. Enola is intrigued, but weary; she's still hiding from her older brothers -- and getting involved could be disastrous.
But when a bizarre bouquet shows up at the Watson residence, full of convolvulus, hawthorne, and white poppies, Enola must act. She dons her most discerning disguise yet to find the sender -- and quickly, for Enola knows the blossoms symbolize death!
Hold your breath, because Enola's about to take it away. The stakes are high and the mystery deeper than ever before in this third installment of this Edgar Award nominated, critically acclaimed series.
The Enola Holmes mysteries are intended for young people, but we old people are just as enchanted with these marvelous mysteries. I made the book cover particularly large so that you can see the clever three-dimentional effect.
The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (2008) 170 pages. 5 / 5 stars.
Stories like the one I found this morning on the front page of my local newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, give me hope that even in these days of bulletins breaking online and Cable TV's 24-hour news cycle there is still a place for the newspaper.
Becky Kramer has written a story about the concerns of people living near areas of defoliation and clear-cutting here in Eastern Washington. A company called Forest Capital has recently bought a lot of forested land from Boise Cascade and they are using the new and purportedly better-for-the-forest logging technique of clear cutting, defoliating, and replanting that has worked well in Western Washington.
The idea is to decrease competition for new cedar and Douglas fir by killing off the "trash." This works in the wet forests west of the Cascades but there are questions about whether it's feasible in this semi-arid area. In any case, the immediate results are not pretty. The photoabove by Jesse Tinsley of the Spokesman that illustrates the story gives you an idea what happens when a mountainside is not just denuded of trees but denuded of grass and brush as well. It's a case study from Erosion 101.
I can't remember when I've read such a thorough and well balanced newspaper article anywhere. The reporter has interviewed neighbors, people from Forest Capital, someone from the state's Department of Natural Resources, a nearby bee-keeper, and a wildlife biologist from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. None of these people is anti-logging. Out here in the northwest few of us are more than a degree or two from somebody who makes his living from logging - or used to before the industry collapsed.
Neighbors emphasize this isn't a matter of aesthetics, though if you ever saw a clear cut mountainside it would make you weep. The woman in the photo is upset about this technique because she rides in these mountains and knows the wealth of wildlife it formerly supported. The beekeeper is worried that his bees will no longer have the brush and "weeds" they need to gather pollen for their honey. A rancher has had severe problems with erosion and flooding in the past from this kind of logging. The biologist is concerned with habitat for creatures ranging from bluebirds to cougar and moose. The Department of Natural Resources administers laws to protect creeks and lakes. Forest Capital needs to make money to stay in business and provide jobs for the people who work for them.
Ms Kramer has presented all of these points of view clearly and fairly. The paper gave her the time and space to do it in. Her editor featured the story on the front page. The photographer got just the right photo to illustrate it. The reader is informed about all sides of an important local issue. (Al Gore would call it a planetary issue.)
Neither the web nor TV news can even begin to provide this kind of reporting. The newspaper is here to stay.
I spotted this biography of Emily Post in the NY Times book review section and decided it was time to give myself a break from politics, education, economics, history, and literary fiction. Laura Claridge's book is just the ticket.
Emily Post was born in 1872 and married Edwin Post in 1892. Her husband was an incorrigible womanizer but in those days a woman had little choice except to put up with it.
However, in 1905 a New York City tabloid publisher, Colonel William D'Alton Mann, discovered evidence of one of Edwin's liaisons and tried to blackmail him. Emily insisted they expose the extortionist, who had blackmailed many other well known New York sinners. The ensuing divorce was all over the newspapers.
Emily embarked on a writing career, but it wasn't until almost 20 years later that she published her famous book of etiquette. It was an immediate success and is today, in about the 17th revision, still in print.
I'm reading this wonderful biography on my Kindle.
Update: The book peters out at the end, alas. Borrow it from the library and read the first half.
Laura Claridge, Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners (2008) 525 pages. 3 / 5 stars