"Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation’s Top Advocates"
June 10, 2011
A law school classmate whose intelligence I'll vouch for, and an e-pal, each reviewed Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation’s Top Advocates. There's an irony in their reviews.
A writer who cares if he's read should first write for his readers. What do other people want to see? In reading each review, I noticed the use of I. A Ctrl+F search showed 28 I's in Keith's review, and 40 in Wendy's.
Did they write reviews of the book, or draft diary entries? "So I read this book..."
I like both of those people a lot, so I'm not picking on them. (Plus, while this blog is entertaining it not well-written, and also makes liberal use of I and me. Stone: Meet glass house.) What's interesting is how book reviewing has changed. It's not just Keith and Wendy: It's everyone.
You can see the collective ethos of writing change. The best writing is the most non-self-involved activity, since you make it about someone else rather than yourself. When people review a book, it should tell the reader why the reader should read or buy the book.
Even when reviewing a book, the review is ostensibly about the reviewer. Why should the reader buy it? Because you liked it probably isn't reason enough.