The Hype Machine

There are fewer and fewer places to write about new books as cultural journalism is depleted. Many (most) local newspapers have shuttered their book review sections. Cultural publications have closed down. I hate, hate, hate the “kids these days/in my day” type of lament, but here I am. The most common form of books coverage seems to be of the “highly anticipated” “buzz books coming soon” ilk. There are so many problems with this genre: 1.) often, the editors have not read the books they choose; instead, they are drafting off marketing materials and word of mouth and prestige of press, author, or editor; 2.) the books that can even be eligible to be chosen for these listings are a tiny, very rich subset of all that are to be published. For instance, if Vanity Fair runs a story of the “best books of 2021” in January, they can only choose from the presses that have sent them advance galleys months early. We have some great books coming out in 2021, but Vanity Fair doesn’t know about th…