Book Reviews on Substack
Hi, y’all. This is the first post in a new venture. I’m branching out, kind of. I’ll be posting book reviews on Substack. I’ve done so many reviews on my blog and will do so many more. I want folks to have another avenue to read them.
Mine will be very particular reviews. First, I’ll only review books I love. That’s the way I’ve always done it, but now I’m making it official. There are simply too many wonderful books out there to waste time talking about books I don’t like. I’d rather just move on.
I’ll also only be talking about books with a Southern connection. Some are current Southern writers. Some have Southern content. Others have a surprising connection to the South, which I hope I’ll remember to point out when it’s not obvious.
Finally, the reviews will be short. If you go on sites-that-will-not-be-named, so many of the reviews go on and on. Eventually, they come to feel as if they’re more about what the reviewer is writing than the book being reviewed. I’m thinking that’s a thing, where someone identifies with being a book reviewer. I’m also thinking it might be a needed a service as newspapers scrap book reviews. If so, I’m glad someone is offering it. Mine will be short.
The Substack account is THAT’s a Southern Book? Here’s the link if you want to follow.
Marie A Bailey
Excellent, Ellen! I’ll definitely subscribe. I also want to use my Substack to write book reviews … and I have … but lately I’ve felt compelled to share letters I’ve sent to my members of Congress. Probably not what subscribers to my newsletter really want to see, but, hey, I make no apologies 😉
And I agree with you about keeping book reviews short. They don’t have to be long to help a reader decide whether she wants to give the book a try.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
The letters you’ve been publishing are so important. The more I learn about this latest killing, the worse it gets. I’m trying to decide whether to send a letter to my reps or if that’s like enabling an abusive relationship–I’ve gotten so many ugly, condescending replies to prior letters.
Marie A Bailey
Oh, my, maybe I’m lucky that my reps often don’t reply and when they do, it’s usually to some long-ago letter that I forgot I wrote. It’s like they can’t even keep up.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
Yes, mine come out of the blue, too, long delayed. Another characteristic that makes them like an abusive relationship. I’ve thought to write Cassidy about continuing health care subsidies, but he would write back about his brilliant idea to use HSAs to shop around for more affordable open heart surgery. (insert sarcasm emoji here)
Marie A Bailey
Oh, that whole “shopping around” crap. I want to hear more journalists ask them about whether they’d exchange their full-service health care for vouchers and paltry checks from the government.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
Exactly!
Joanne Corey
Congratulations on this new platform and series, Ellen! If I ever write a Southern-themed book, I’ll send it to you to review. 😉 I can’t imagine pulling that off, as being a Northeasterner is so baked into my brain.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
Oh, yay! I can’t wait! As Malcom X said, “Everything south of Canada is the South.” 🙂