Book Reviews as Autobiography
A recent comment on one of my past book reviews points out, somewhat critically, that in the review I talk about myself as much as I do the book. By way of explanation, I offer this essay, which appeared in one of my book-length collections of reviews; until now, though, I don’t think I’ve posted it on my blog. To clarify: I make no apologies, now or ever, for the autobiographical tone of my reviews. It is inevitable that my personality and background will affect whatever I write. My words, on whatever topic, erupt from the core of who I am.
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Preparing this volume of Reviews and Reflections on Books, Literature, and Writing has caused me to think about the role not only of reading books but also of writing book reviews in my life. Long ago, when I was raising my young family in Greece, I started my author website/blog: johnwalterswriter.com. Around that time I decided to write reviews of almost every book I read. That decision was not made solely to have material to put into the blog. I had already started to make a list of all the books I read, and it seemed a natural progression to then write something about how those books influenced me. I realized that in reading a book I was not only interacting with a person, the author of the book, but also choosing to spend some of the finite time I have on this planet undergoing an experience brought on by the words presented to me on the page.
To write about the thoughts and impressions brought about by a book is as valid as writing about a physical journey that I take to another location. The author of the book serves as my traveling companion. To undertake the reading of a book is a fascinating experience in that as a reader I have voluntarily stripped myself of my senses, except the vision that allows me to see the words on the page, and I have put myself at the mercy of someone, most often a stranger, who constructs a mental and emotional world out of words, places me in it, introduces me to its inhabitants, and then draws me into a story based on all the assembled parts. This is true for nonfiction as well as fiction.
How can someone not be changed by such an experience?
Because of the inevitably profound effect that books have on me, I have to be careful about what books I read. If you are what you eat, physically, then you are what you read, mentally. I try to select books that entertain me and also nourish and strengthen me mentally and emotionally. After all, as I mentioned above, we have a limited amount of time; it is important that we use well the years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds at our disposal. For this reason, I have become more liberal about tossing aside books I begin that I soon realize are not good, or at least not good for me at that specific time. Life is short; I want every moment I spend reading to be a quality experience. I also have an aversion to writing negative book reviews. I’m a writer; I know how I would feel if someone wrote and published negative comments about something I had written. Rather than subject a fellow author to such a discouraging experience, I’ll stop reading the book, or, if I’ve already finished it, I won’t write a review. My purpose in writing reviews is not to skewer my peers; it is to provide helpful insight.
My reaction to books is not the same as yours. How can it be? We are two different human persons with unique backgrounds, educations, environments, and methods of processing the input we receive. The thoughts I have and the conclusions I come to concerning the books I read say as much about me as they do about the books. Two travelers may enter the same country, go to the same places, and even meet some of the same people, and yet the memoirs they would write would be completely different. Each would be comprised of the individual personalities, proclivities, and decisions of its author; each would be profoundly diverse from the other. If we consider a book as a place that we explore and a book review as a travel memoir, the same principle applies. Every writer approaches their subject matter differently, and every book review says as much about the reviewer as about the book.
In my opinion, any reviewer who pontificates as if speaking en cathedra is laughingly pretentious. Reviewers are just people; they have their opinions and you have yours. Their opinions count little when you portion out the moments of your own life. These are your decisions, not theirs.
In conclusion, let me emphasize that I write book reviews because I enjoy writing them, and I hope you enjoy reading them as well. If they guide you to books you want to explore, fine. If you only read the reviews and yet never read the books they describe, that’s fine too. Decide for yourself. One of the glories of human existence is freedom to choose. I’m glad, at least, that you have chosen to be my companion as we take this journey together through some of the books in my life.
I’m a professional writer; I make my living by my words. I’m happy to share these essays with you, but at the same time, financial support makes the words possible. If you’d like to become a patron of the arts and support my work, buy a few of my available books or available stories. To send a one-time or recurring donation, click here. You can also donate via my Patreon account. Thanks!
