There’s an interesting post by Harvey Freedenberg over at Beyond the Margins asking about whether book critics and authors can be friends. He eventually decides that they can be, but the part that drew my interest was when he discussed John Updike’s rules for reviewers:
- Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.
- Give him enough direct quotation—at least one extended passage—of the book’s prose so the review’s reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.
- Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.
- Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.
- If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author’s ouevre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it’s his and not yours?
These strike me as excellent suggestions. Not just for the reviewer either but, especially 1 and 5, for the active reader as well.
And active reading is important. We already know that reading regularly has powerful effects on the way the brain works, especially early in life or as we grow older. But in order to really keep your brain healthy you need to actively use it. You need to work it, pushing outside of your comfort zone and challenging yourself. Reading is great, but active reading is better.
What is active reading? It’s engaging the piece in an interactive fashion, thinking critically about what’s going on in the story and what the author is trying to accomplish. It can involve taking notes, looking up words, and discussing it with others (among many many other possible things). It’s the kind of process book clubs and classes across the country engage in, and is something you can do on your own.
Now, I’m not saying that you should be writing full-length reviews of everything you read, but how many times have you had someone ask you, “so what’s that book about?” and only been able to give a vague, uninspired description? Trying to figure out what the author was trying to accomplish as well as, if you dislike anything, figuring out why you disliked it will make you much more able to discuss the books that you’re reading. It will also likely help you remember it better.
Getting off my high horse, though, I don’t actively read as often as I should. Some of that is on purpose, I like the escape of books and leaving the real world of notes and paper behind me is part of the fun. But one of the best ways of getting stronger as a writer is to pay attention to the words on the page and figure out the tools the authors are using to get their story across.
So I’ll be taking these rules for reviewers to heart for now, until I decide to escape on flights of fancy once again.