Seeing stars: writers should not fear online reviews

Will social media and aggregated preferences sweep away book reviewing and literary culture? There’s nothing new about the death of literatureThe writer Caleb Crain is unhappy about “the intrusion of counting into the life of literature”. He believes that big data and predictive-taste algorithms are cutting humans “out of the loop”, and that social media are undermining our faith in “the mental states of other people” when those inner states aren’t acknowledged in tweets and likes. It seems we are mired in “a new kind of disenchantment”, he says, which is devolving our sense of literary merit. As big data blurs personal opinion into preference aggregates, and as Twitter-propelled article-surfing destroys reviewing communities and the authority of critics alike, Crain contends, we have no choice but to “declare war on counting”. So that, you know, “literature will survive”. Related: Computer says no: Amazon uses AI to combat fake reviews Bad criticism in public is a nuisance. Does it spell the end of days? Hardly [S]uddenly the cosmos seems like one vast plan after all, patterned in such a way that the novel you’re reading at bedtime connects to your astronomy lecture, connects to what you heard on NPR, connects to what your friend discusses in the cafeteria at lunch – and then briefly it’s as if the lid has come off the world, as if the world were a dollhouse, and you can glimpse what it would be like to see it whole, from above – a vertiginous magnificence. Continue... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #literary merit

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Seeing stars: writers should not fear online reviews

Will social media and aggregated preferences sweep away book reviewing and literary culture? There’s nothing new about the death of literatureThe writer Caleb Crain is unhappy about “the intrusion of counting into the life of literature”. He believes that big data and predictive-taste algorithms... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary merit


Children's Starred Reviews 2023: All of Our Stars

Our Children’s Starred Reviews Annual features nearly 400 reviews of exceptional books for young readers, a selection of interviews with some of today’s top authors and illustrators, our 50 Best Books of 2023, and a cover by Vashti Harrison. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #exceptional books #young readers #top authors #vashti harrison


Children's Starred Reviews 2022: All of Our Stars

Our Children’s Starred Reviews Annual features nearly 400 reviews of exceptional books for young readers, a selection of interviews with some of today’s top authors and illustrators, our 50 Best Books of 2022, and a cover by Felicita Sala. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #exceptional books #young readers #top authors


Seeing Stars: A Look Back at Select Starred Reviews in 2014

PW reviewers were impressed with these spirituality and religion books published in 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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RuPaul has launched an online bookshop that will share its profits with writers.

There’s a new online bookstore in town—and this time it’s helmed by RuPaul. Yes, that RuPaul. (Reading being, after all, fundamental.) Allstora, announced today*, is a membership-based bookstore that offers a profit-split to authors. RuPaul serves as Allstora’s Chief Creative Officer and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-04 16:45:28 UTC ]
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Novelist's book is canceled after she acknowledges 'review bombs' of other writers

A debut author who used fake accounts to “review bomb” other writers on the influential online platform Goodreads has been dropped by her agent and had her book deal cancelled Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-12-13 02:46:01 UTC ]
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Former 'Friends' writer says the stars were unhappy and purposely tanked jokes they didn't like

A former "Friends" writer's new memoir details her experience on the show at a time when the stars seemed unhappy, and the writers room wasn't so friendly. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-08-25 01:20:03 UTC ]
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Can You Guess the Fantasy Book Based on Its 1-Star Reviews?

Are you a fantasy mega-fan? Well, let's put it to the test: Can you guess these fantasy books based only on their 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-08-21 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Can You Guess The Horror Book Based On Its 1-Star Reviews?

You've seen every movie on Shudder and have a whole bookshelf devoted to King, but can you guess the horror book based on its 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-04-20 10:34:00 UTC ]
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Can You Guess the Sci-Fi Book Based On Its 1-Star Reviews?

"I hope you like calendars that you never understand" and "Dull soup": can you match the sci-fi novel to its 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-02-21 11:37:00 UTC ]
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Book review: “The Prisoner and the Writer,” by Heather Camlot and Sophie Casson

On the 125th anniversary of “J’Accuse,” a picture book for older kids places the lives of Alfred Dreyfus and Émile Zola side by side. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-01-06 07:36:52 UTC ]
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Koos Prinsloo: the cult Afrikaans writer has been translated to English – here's a review

Challenging myths about heterosexual white South African men, Prinsloo published four books of short stories in 12 years. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2022-11-28 05:37:53 UTC ]
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The Biased Online Book Ratings Systems Undermining Professional Review Sources: Book Censorship News, November 4, 2022

BookLooks, RatedBooks, and more biased online rating systems getting books banned. That, plus this week's book censorship news. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-11-04 10:40:00 UTC ]
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Why Authors Love You When You Leave a Book Review Online

Why do authors always ask for readers to leave reviews? Do reviews really help sell their books? Bottom line: yes. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-03-30 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Children's Starred Reviews 2021

Our Children’s Starred Reviews Annual features more than 350 reviews of exceptional books for young readers, a selection of interviews with some of today’s top authors and illustrators, our 50 Best Books of 2021, and a cover by Ruth Chan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Review: Southern mystery star S.A. Cosby blows up the odd-couple revenge thriller

"Razorblade Tears," S.A. Cosby's follow-up to the Times Book Prize-winning "Blacktop Wasteland," follows two men hunting the killers of their gay sons. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-07-06 13:00:10 UTC ]
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Ishiguro warns of 'online lynch mob' stifling young writers' creativity

Nobel Prize-winning author Sir Kazuo Ishiguro has revealed concerns that young writers are “self-censoring” to avoid an “anonymous lynch mob that turns up online and makes their lives a misery”.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-01 15:01:44 UTC ]
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The Book That Brought Writers’ Fears and Self-Doubt Into the Open

HarperCollins recently reissued Writing Past Dark, by Bonnie Friedman, the classic, bestselling guide to the emotional side of the writer’s life, marking the book’s 25th anniversary. Three decades ago, when Friedman was fresh out of the Iowa Writers Workshop, the New York Times Book Review... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-29 08:48:36 UTC ]
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'PW' Announces New Nonfiction Reviews Editor, Writer-at-Large

Harmony Difo joins 'Publishers Weekly' as nonfiction reviews editor, replacing Mark Rotella, who left the magazine earlier this summer. Zoe Christen Jones has been hired in a newly created writer-at-large position, which includes a new magazine column on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Where to Find the Best Audiobook Reviews Online

One audiobook listener scoured the internet and came up with this list of the best websites offering good audiobook reviews. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-23 10:34:10 UTC ]
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