Comments from a Book Reviewer- Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com and sketchandtravel.comFor
past several years I have been reviewing books for my own site, Bookpleasures.com, as well as many other sites. I am also a regular contributor to Canadian Book Review Annual. As editor of Bookpleasures.com, I would like to make a few comments about book reviewing and what to expect, particularly from Bookpleasures.com.
Today, with advent of Internet, there has been a proliferation of book reviewers, whom I shall classify as good, bad and ugly. Those falling within last category are ones that you have to be particularly on look out for, as their only interest is to receive complimentary books without bothering to review them, or if they do review them, their reviews are very short and without substance. On other hand, there are many serious and excellent reviewers, who devote a great deal of their time and energy in reading and writing a review.
Unfortunately for authors, sometimes reviews are not exactly very complimentary. However, it is to be noted that it is not objective of a reviewer to be a salesperson or a public relations representative for author. If criticism is constructive, a great deal can be learned from review, particularly if reviewer is also an author.
From point of view of a reviewer, what I find most annoying is receiving a book without first asking me if I would accept to review it. Bookpleasures receives on average about 20-30 email requests per week. These requests are forwarded to our reviewers, who communicate directly with sender of email. In all probability, there is a 20%-30% chance that a request to review will be accepted by a reviewer. The reason why a book is not accepted is wide and varied. Many of our reviewers have a backlog that they would like to clear before accepting new assignments, or subject matter is not one that interests any of them.
