It’s getting to the point where, when I hear the word “crisis,” I reach for my delete button, but tonight’s NBCC-sponsored evening of lamentations for the American book review sounds like it might be an improvement, given its planned emphasis on how independent publishers rely on the media to call attention to their offerings. Tim Brown, an executive committee member of the co-sponsoring New York Center for Indepedent Publishing, passed along the remarks he prepared for the evening, and he’s going to tell the audience that “between the cracks in the mainstream media edifice are a number of outlets where books are thoughtfully, really thoughtfully, reviewed as literature rather than commodities to be sold or ‘news’ to be peddled.” And, furthermore, “it’s this passion for books, rather than a 9-to-5 job as a book critic, that will be the savior of book criticism.”
It’s heartening to see somebody directly challenge “the herd mentality of mainstream book journalism,” driving home a point that Adam Kirsch was on the verge of making before he got distracted by the shiny blogs. Will Brown’s exhortations make a difference? If you’re inclined to find out, the panel’s at the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen Library (20 W. 44th) at 6:30.