The Book Review sections of all major newspapers are under intense pressure these days.
The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) campaign to Save the Book Review is a noble effort and one I fully support but the problem is not in saving the Book Review sections it is about reinventing them.
It is about widening the scope of their missions. The book landscape has changes dramatically in the last 10 years while the book review sections, for the most part, have barely moved.
It is about serving all the different types of book lovers that exist in our communities not simply covering newly published books vying for a place on the bestseller list.
The readers
The collectors
The book artists
The printers
The librarians
are all deserving. They should all be able to look to their local book sections for content and community written not only by critics but from cheerleaders as well.
The book has tremendous range. It is both a mass produced commodity and a luxury brand. Books touch every life in some way. Even if you never read a book there is a good chance your favorite movie is based on one.
The fact that the ad revenues are shrinking is not the fault of the readers. We are out there. There are ad dollars to be had from the leading players in every sector of the booksphere; the auction houses for the collector, the publishers for the readers, the suppliers and galleries for the book artists and the technology companies for the libraries.
On some level The New York Times is working at it . They just unveiled a new twist in the book section. Steven Heller, former art director for the Book Review, had his debut piece for a column on visual culture.
They also attract ad revenue from a broader base with their back page frequently being an ad for an antiquarian bookseller, Bauman Rare Books.
More…
Edward Champion’s take
Sara Weinman’s post
Critical Mass the blog of the NBCC