I began reviewing for Kirkus about twenty years ago, back in March 1999 when my friend Ron Antonucci, who, at the time, was a librarian here in Hudson (he since moved on to the Cleveland Public Library) and who was also doing reviews for Kirkus and editing a regional publication called Ohio Writer, asked me if I'd liked to do a review for OW.
I agreed. Did a few for them. Enjoyed it. A lot.
Then Ron said he'd put a word in for me at Kirkus if I wanted to review for them.
I agreed. And in March 1999, Kirkus sent me a new history book to review. I did it--and then, somehow (impossibly), I looked up and discovered I'd done 1499 others, as well. And a couple of hundred for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, too.
A word about Kirkus. It's a semi-monthly publication (physical as well as online) that reviews new books a few months before their publication. (Link to their website.) The reviews are anonymous--though all reviewers' names are listed in each issue. Each review is about 310 words long--the length of the book does not matter. A thousand pages, a hundred and twenty-five--each gets its 310. Principal subscribers are libraries and bookstores--though myriads of Book Nerds no doubt subscribe as well.
It's a cool publication: You get to see what books are coming out in the ensuing months, and, if you're at all like me, you immediately order the ones that look appealing. It was in this fashion, for example, that I met novelist Brock Clarke, whose then-upcoming book An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England (2007) sounded so ... interesting ... that I ordered it, read it, loved it, invited him to spend a day with us at Western Reserve Academy (he did). I've now read all his books--a new one is coming soon. He's a friend, too--Facebook and otherwise.
Anyway, contrary to some popular misconceptions, Kirkus does not review every new book but does manage to do scores of them each couple of weeks in fiction, nonfiction, and some other categories. I'm a Nonfiction Guy and review mostly American history, biography, and memoir.
Oh, and the books arrive at our house as ARCs--(Advanced Reading Copies)--paperback versions (sometimes called "galleys," as well). They are like the penultimate draft of the book--and changes can (and do) occur in them, evident in the final publication.
I now have a Kirkus Routine to which I adhere with a near-religious ferocity: When the ARCs arrive (I usually get 3-4 at a time), I take each one, look at the page count, divide by a hundred, and ...
Let me explain. I write each review on Friday, and I read approximately 100 pp/day, first thing in the morning, over at the coffee shop (thus the name of this blog site: DawnReader). So ... if the ARC is, oh, 300 pages, I'll start reading it on Wednesday morning. If it's 400 (like #1501 I'm reading right now), then Tuesday is the first day.
I take about a dozen pages of notes on each book, so by the time I've finished it, I know pretty much what I want to say about it.
I write the review, paste it into the Kirkus website, then get ready for the next one.
I've saved them all, of course, Pack-Ratter that I am. Notes, review, printed copy--each review in a folder in an ever-swelling pile of plastic storage boxes in the basement.
Have I ever made a mistake? Of course. I'm human, fallible, you know ... But I don't get defensive; I just apologize. Try to make sure it doesn't happen again.
The great thing is--many of the books (most?) are ones I probably never would have read otherwise. But I am almost always glad I did--with a few exceptions.
I'll end with a weird story--well, not too weird. Some years ago I got an ARC about American presidents, and I saw that one of the co-authors was my younger brother, Dave. Oops. I notified my editor of the situation, and he swiftly assigned it to someone else. And thus I missed an opportunity to ...
Anyway, I've passed the 1500 mark and am now moving on toward 2000. I love the job, love the routine, and I hope I can keep doing it until ... well ... you know ...
No comments:
Post a Comment