On Oct. 4, Poynter.org published an interview by “Book Babes” Margo Hammond and Ellen Heltzel with the editor of the New York Times Book Review, Sam Tanenhaus. During that conversation, Tanenhaus said, “We’re going to treat books not as literary artifacts but as news about the culture.”
Expanding on that point, Hammond wrote, “To me, that means that the selection of what is reviewed by the NYTBR will depend not on whether a book will stand the test of time in a literary universe, but whether it has currency in the here and now.”
Interesting point. Generally I like that approach – although I think the focus on currency would be hindered if reviews were restricted only to newly published or reprinted books.
Here’s what I mean…
Earlier this week, while I was attending a conference in Pittsburgh, PA, I stopped by a great independent bookstore called Jay’s Bookstall. Browsing there, I came across an intriguing and surprisingly timely book: The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, by Eric Hoffer. This book was originally published in 1951, and most recently reprinted in 2002. Those details of publication would probably exclude it from most book review venues. However, this book is brilliantly relevant to the current state of the US, and even to the current presidential race. Here’s a quote:
“No matter how vital we think the role of leadership in the rise of a mass movement, there is no doubt that the leader cannot create the conditions which make the rise of a movement possible. He cannot conjure a movement out of the void. There has to be an eagerness to follow and obey, and an intense dissatisfaction with things as they are, before movement and leader can make their appearance.”
I would love it if the concept of “currency” in book reviews applied to relevance of content, not just publishing status. Ultimately, reviews should primarily focus on current relevance, not marketing – at least in my book.
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