As I’ve remarked before, I have been out of the loop. Luckily, Scott at Conversational Reading posted about this article by Allen M. West of New West the ‘Voice of the Rocky Mountains’. He responds to Sarah Boxer’s article on bloggers from last week where yours truly was mentioned along with many other fine writers. Some have bristled at West’s article. It’s sort of a mixed article. On the one hand, he says that “the notion of a fresh community, a network of discussion that adds just a little note of vibrancy to a staid and stale industry.” But on the other hand, he thinks none of us has any credentials. What kind of credentials does one need to review books? I am not some crackpot throwing opinions around (okay, a bit of a crackpot). Not only do I read a lot, but I also work in the buying office of one of the best bookstores in New England (in my opinion). Those are my credentials. Do I need a degree or something? And some of the other bloggers mentioned are real writers!
And I am not sure if I like this part: “The left margin is chock full of literary journals, blogs, and the nice little expected idiosyncratic links of a creative mind left to its own devices (IE: “bitchiness”; “the world according to me”; etc.).” Yes, my categories have dumb names, I am the first to admit it. He also seems a little too snide in places. But I do love the last 2 lines: “Give it a few years, let the less legitimate drop away for lack of attention, wait for the cream to rise, and we’ll soon be noticing how the careers of various reviewers are built or leveled based on a few well chosen words from Beatrix or Bookdwarf. Won’t that be the day.”
Hahahahah, as if one word from me could ever accomplish so much. I can’t even get my cat to stay off the fucking counter.