Why I Review

Not to toot my own horn, but I’m feeling much better (after a week of having a cold for the second time in less than a month), and I had a realization that I’m going to share.

I wish more of my reviewing experiences could go like it did for Solstice. Here’s many of the things that went right:

• I was sent the book unexpectedly, and it was already published (so no pressure about asking for it or feeling guilty about not talking about it in a timely fashion).
• I was unfamiliar with it and I had no preconceptions about the work or its creators, so I could engage it on its own merits.
• It was good, which was a pleasant surprise and made me want to talk about it.
• I hadn’t seen anyone else talk about it, so I had no preconceptions about what I should think about it or anything I felt I had to respond to, directly or indirectly.
• It worked on multiple levels, which provided a variety of approaches.
• I thought I said insightful, or at least interesting, things about it; in other words, I was happy with my work.
• When I sent a link to the publisher, I got back a simple “thank you”.

I don’t think my work, or the book for that matter, is a remarkable classic to be remembered in decades to come, but it was very pleasant overall, the kind of experience that makes me think “that’s why I keep doing this”.