Terminalcoffee discussion

The NY Times has a special books section today called "why criticism matters":

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/boo...

There are more links to critics explaining what they do, etc., in an article sidebar.

What do you think? Do you read book criticism? Does book criticism matter?

I never do. It doesn't matter to me at all. I like to draw my own conclusions.

I subscribe to the New York Times Book Review, love getting it every week. I make note of the books that interest me, subject-wise (no missing or dead children! no animal torture!) and criticism. But it's just one source of info, there's many a book that they rave about that I've tossed.

Not to me. I read what I want to read. I got burned in the past, listening to reviewers and then hating the books.

I also don't heed blurbs anymore. A friend of mine heard James Ellroy speak. He said that authors just make them up because of their publishing contracts.

Whether a book is good or not, is a matter of individual taste. Just look at the books that are on Listopia's worst books ever. Some of the best classics are on it.

I tend to give more weight to readers' reviews than to the critics' reviews. I like that iBooks and Kindle allow you to download a sample of the book. I had Room on my wishlist. Many reviews spoke highly of it. But after reading the sample chapter, I decided I didn't like the way it was written and have crossed it off my list.

I enjoyed the piece by Katie Roiphe. Is it a human condition to believe everything is in decline? I do understand the importance of criticism but don't buy the literary "evangelism."

My reviews on Goodreads are for me. I do agree with Myles that others' reviews can validate or clarify my feelings about a book.

If I followed a particular critic and their recommendations meshed with my interests, I would use that as one way to choose books. Right now I am a Amazon wishlist/Goodreads TBR whore, so I'm not looking for more action.

Larry wrote: "I never do. It doesn't matter to me at all. I like to draw my own conclusions."

Do you use a pencil for that?

I don't pay a lot of attention to critics, but I do listen to a lot of you, and must say some of you have tastes quite similar to me, and for that I am very appreciative.

How was Freedom cliche-ridden? I have The Corrections. Should I read that? It's been on my shelf for years now.

I am swayed a bit by book reviews but more in the sense that they have introduced me to new books that I otherwise would not have been aware of. NPR is a good source for me, but I also usually follow up with what interests me. I have read some of Oprah's picks, but usually it was because I'd read them prior to her picking them. Otherwise, I turn my snobby nose up at her choices! :(

I am swayed by movie reviews, though. Ticket prices are appalling and I'm tired of being burned.

I don't read book reviews/criticism pretty much ever except for a cursory glance at the Sunday book review section of our local newspaper, all of one page, and glancing through Bookmarks at the library. So while book criticism doesn't impact me a whole lot, I guess, maybe there's something there I'm missing.

I guess it would only count if the person doing the criticizing had the same or similar taste in books as you. Otherwise, why bother?

I'll usually read professional reviews only after reading the book. They'll sometimes point out things I've missed -- historical parallels, biblical allegories and the like.

Yes and no. There are certainly ample shitty book critics/reviewers out there. They don't matter. The better ones at the newspapers, like Michael Dirda, do a good job. I'll read the book reviews in the New Yorker, and I used to get the New York Review of Books, which gives you a lot of ideas of what to read (they mostly review nonfiction). It is very rare for me to look through the NYT book section and read reviews, because I read so little contemporary fiction, and I am often bored to tears by the conventionality of their year-end notable lists. Many of the books I read are decades old; I do sometimes try to hunt down reviews of them when I'm done reading the book.

The fact that I disdain a lot of current book criticism doesn't mean I don't want learned people to tell me about books, though - how to read them, what to think of them. I feel like literary analysis is one lacuna in my education so anyone who can help me think clearly about books and give me a vocabulary to talk about them is helpful.

Lacuna.

Yes, book critics matter. They draw attention to books which should have attention drawn to them, books that might get lost amongst the raft of best sellers by James Patterson and Dan Brown, which have an automatic readership.

I don't read reviews that often for fun, and the New York Times book reviews are so long, I often feel like I don't need to read the book itself once I've read the review. But I do appreciate a good, entertaining review, both postive ones and negative ones. I agree with Katie Roiphe, a well-written, thoughtful review is a welcome thing.

Book critics can perform a useful service by drawing attention to interesting titles that won't necessarily be featured at the local chain bookstore.

For the most part, the way that books are displayed, stocked, and sold at Barnes & Noble, for instance, represents a business decision--an assessment of a title's sales potential based, in most cases, on an author's prior track-record.

If the author's previous books have sold well, his or her new book will likely be purchased in substantial quantity (called the "buy-in") by the chain stores, will have an ample first printing, and will receive promotional support from the publisher. First-time authors very seldom get that kind of treatment, and hence their works are easily missed by the vast majority of readers--unless a critic or someone else (like Terry Gross, for instance) speaks up in a way that draws some attention to the book.

Beyond that, there are certain books that are destined to be bestsellers regardless of what any critic writes about them. And yet those are the books that receive an obligatory review...It's a strange system, and I think it's actually reviews of this type that are the least useful. As many people have already mentioned, as far as widely-read titles are concerned, you're often better served by asking trusted friends for their opinions.

Hi - I'm not around Goodreads as much as I should be, but I wanted to thank Misha for saying nice things about Jacket Copy (thanks, Misha!).

One of the great things about Goodreads is that it provides a forum through which you can easily reach like-minded readers, and find trusted recommendations. Or even the inverse -- for example, I agree with lobstergirl above in every way, except that Michael Dirda's critical POV makes me kind of bonkers. So: discussion, hooray! Recommendations: maybe not so much.

I think it's the critic's privilege to be a total book geek and to try to bring his/her/our expertise those who might want to read it. If you feel inclined to, thank you.

And BTW, have you read Jennifer Egan's totally awesome A Visit from the Goon Squad? Because it is, yes, awesome.

Welcome, Carolyn.

I second Sarah's welcome to TC Carolyn.