Over at Bookslut, Michael linked to an article in the Guardian where the issue of book reviewing is discussed. The question is whether or not reviewing matters so much, when it comes to sales. As someone who reads and reviews like crazy, I'm obviously biased, but I think that in the age of the internet and blogging, reviewing matters even more than it has before. People develop relationships (of a kind) with bloggers; we email and post comments on each other's sites and between lit bloggers we constantly give and take ideas for books. I have gotten ideas from both Jenny D and Gwenda and Bookslut (through the blog and monthly magazine) is a constant source of titles. Beyond that though, it was through reading Donna Seaman's interview collection Writers on the Air that I got the idea to embark on a quest for a ton of different books. Donna included interviews with a couple of dozen authors from her radio show in Chicago in her book. I was very intrigued by her discussion with Kate Moses in particular and that led me to ask for and receive a copy of her book Wintering for Christmas last year. After reading her novel of Sylvia Plath's final years, I bought a copy of The Bell Jar and loved that as well. Just today I picked up a biography of Plath also. So based on Donna's interview, three books were bought and that's just one interview in the book. Beyond Writers on the Air though, Donna is an associate editor with Booklist and every month I pay careful attention to the books she reviews. I have found that we have a lot in common book-wise and if Donna gives a book a stellar review then I know I will like it. I haven't kept track of how many books I've bought so far because of Donna Seaman, but I know there have been several and I'm sure there will be more in the future. So as someone who buys books, reviews clearly have an impact on what I look for.

The flip side is whether or not my reviews affect others. I have received many emails from readers telling me they are excited about a book after my review, or interested in an author because of something I mentioned. My goal is just to give authors and titles some added attention they might not receive otherwise. I do review popular books sometimes (King Dork will be in my column next month), but mostly I look for books that might not be blockbusters or get the attention they deserve. I think that is the best part of writing a book review - it's a chance to share with the world how much a certain book has mattered to you, and hopefully persuade others to pick it up. (Current loves: The Fat Man's Daughter, Shaman Pass and Angelmonster. On deck: A True and Faithful Narrative, Stories That Care Forgot and Havana Black.)

I can't imagine a literary world without reviews of some kind, in some form. I think the internet has given reviewers even more power than ever before. Of course, newspaper reviewers might not realize that yet, but they will. Give them a little more time and they will.