Read This!

The LitBlog Co-op announced the pick for ‘ReadThis!’ yesterday. It was a book I raved about when I read it, Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Some people are claiming that since Atkinson won a Whitbread several years ago and has a larger audience in the UK, we haven’t fulfilled our mission. This controversy even made it into today’s Publisher’s Lunch. I did not vote in this selection, but I still stand behind what I percieve the purpose of the LitBlog Co-op to be, mainly to draw more attention to books. A healthy discussion on books is great, but I do bristle at the mention of being a sell-out. I loved Case Histories. That I know. Should another book have been our first selection? We’ll never know. We’re an evolving group with many voices. Each voice gets heard, there too. So expect to read about the other nominees and those that dissent with our pick. We invite everyone’s opinion of course. After all, you don’t like the book, you don’t have to read it. This was still a democracy last time I checked. Just quit with the sell-out crap.

4 thoughts on “Read This!”

  1. david

    I think that any choice would have engendered criticism, but Case Histories was a good selection (even though I have read it).

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  2. bookdwarf

    Thanks for the vote of confidence David. I know some are disappointed with the pick. Maybe they expected some obscure novel, but they’ll be pleasantly surprise I bet when they hear the other contenders. I don’t like some of the vitriol, but at least it’s sparked a good discussion on books, which is what the LBC is for.

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  3. Malcolm

    I saw the pick on LBC and agree that, whatever it had been, there would have been an argument. And, while a good discussion about books is worth its weight in reams, it often comes down to family feuds on the level of GM makes better cars than Ford. Rather than saying “ABC” by Joe Doaks is better than the long-forgotten “XYZ” by Amanda Inanna, perhaps these discussions will evolve toward describing “ABC” and “XYZ” somewhat objectively so the rest of us can step outside the dueling books ambiance of the comments into some actual information about the books themselves.

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  4. bookdwarf

    I agree. The sooner we get back to talking about books the better. I know the editor, agent, and author are all scheduled to appear on the LBC website in the near future, so that will be exciting. Plus there will be discussion of the other nominees—there’s some good books in there. It’s our first time out, so we might be figuring things out as we go along. Thanks for everyone’s patience.

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