“Worse, they’re allowed to review books that haven’t even been written. “It can be incredibly hurtful, and it’s frustrating that people are allowed to review books this way if they haven’t read them,” said Roxane Gay, an author and editor who also posts reviews on Goodreads. Reviews can be weaponised, in some cases derailing a book’s publication long before its release. As a cross between a social media platform and a review site like Yelp, the site has been a boon for publishers hoping to generate excitement for books.īut the same features that get users talking about books and authors can also backfire. In an era when reaching readers online has become a near-existential problem for publishers, Goodreads has become an essential avenue for building an audience. “People were very keen not just to attack the work, but to attack me as well.” “It may look like a bunch of one-star reviews on Goodreads, but these are broader campaigns of harassment,” Rabess said. Some of the comments were left by users who said they had never read the book, but objected to its premise. In January, after a Goodreads user who had received an advance copy posted a plot summary that went viral on Twitter, the review site was flooded with negative comments and one-star reviews, with many calling the book anti-Black and racist. But she didn’t expect a backlash to strike six months before the book was published. But a body is found under the floor of a building site.Cecilia Rabess figured her debut novel, “Everything’s Fine,” would spark criticism: The story centers on a young Black woman working at Goldman Sachs who falls in love with a conservative white co-worker with bigoted views. This novel is set in the 1970s in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, a Jewish and African-American community. “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride And to think that he’s sort of saying farewell to this character whose life has followed his own through the seasons of his own life is really touching. bringing his Frank Bascombe novels to a close. These are three sisters who isolate at a family cherry orchard during the pandemic. I’m looking forward to… Ann Patchett’s “Tom Lake,” in which she kind of plays with Chekhov’s three sisters. It’s spooky and it’s scary, but it’s also set in Mexico City. It stars a sound editor, her best friend who is a soap opera actor, and this cult horror director that they come across who believes he’s been cursed by a piece of film that a Nazi occultist handled. This one is set in the 1990s Mexico City film scene. The other story she’s telling is very up to the minute about a young man who’s lost his lover. So, anybody who’s read George Saunders‘ “Lincoln in the Bardo,” this kind of has that feel to it…. One is a story set in the 19th century and it has something to do with Abraham Lincoln. Lorrie Moore, there’s nobody like her the way she plays with language, her kind of warm but absurdist view of life. “I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home” by Lorrie Moore So we’re getting a Herman Wouk-type big history, but also with a lot of twists and turns and very affecting. … His mother followed Patton’s army behind the lines in Battle of the Bulge. She and another woman rode around in a truck delivering coffee and donuts to servicemen. She was a volunteer with the Red Cross, she was a so-called Donut Dolly. Usually is writing about issues of the U.S.-Mexican border, but here he’s drawing on a story that derives from his mother’s experiences during World War II. “Good Night, Irene” by Luis Alberto Urrea And if you know anything about New York in the 1970s, it was a grimy place, a dangerous place, but it was also a very exciting place. That novel was set in 1960s Harlem, and this one is set in 1970s Harlem. He’s won for very serious books about the Black experience in America, “Underground Railroad” and “The Nickel Boys.” But he’s worked across many genres, and he has written a heist novel, and this is a sequel to that heist novel, “Harlem Shuffle,” which came out a couple of years ago. This one involves a recently widowed food blogger who brings a bunch of friends together on Nantucket to sort of help her heal. This is an author who has written almost 30 books, most of which are set on Nantucket Island. “The Five-Star Weekend” by Elin Hilderbrand These answers have been lightly edited for brevity. Here’s a roundup of some of their favorites. Friday on the PBS NewsHour, NPR book critic Maureen Corrigan and New York Times books editor Gilbert Cruz join Jeffrey Brown to reveal their summer reading picks. For many, the longer, slower days of summer mean a little more time to get lost in an absorbing book.
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