Why We Need Negative Book Reviews
My new Substack post answers a question critics hear a lot
“Why do you review bad books? Why not just focus on the good ones?”
Critics often hear reasonable questions like these. Most large U.S. newspapers have killed their book review sections, one of which I edited for 11 years, and space is precious in those that remain.
So why should critics bother to review books that authors themselves don’t seem to have bothered with much? I respond in “The Lost Art of the Hatchet Job,” my latest post at Jansplaining on Substack, which you can read for free (and without subscribing) here.
I’ll keep writing for Medium (please don’t go away!). But I’m making some of my stories available only on Substack to show my appreciation for my followers there, including those kind enough to pay to subscribe.
Thanks a million for reading — whether you do it on Medium or Substack — which means more than I can say.
Special Labor Day wishes to all union members whose contributions America is celebrating this weekend. I’m a grateful former member of Local 1 of the Newspaper Guild. Thank you, labor unions, for fighting for fair wages, hours, and so much more. In your honor, here’s an acoustic version of my favorite union song, “Solidarity Forever”:
