Interview with Kevin Eagan of Blogcritics Magazine and There There Kid - Page 2

For our Books section, we are interested in reviewers who write more than just bland plot summary or tip-of-the-iceberg analysis. The best reviews are the ones that dig deep and take on new approaches, and even though every review should give the reader a sense of what the book is like, it should also reveal new and profound insights into how the book influenced the reviewer. In my opinion, most people who read book reviews want to know more than just what happens in the book; they want to know how it all connects personally and culturally.

You also keep a blog, There There Kid. Tell us about it.

There There Kid is a new experiment of mine that I've enjoyed putting together over the past few months. I call it a "weblog of mixed media plus cultural criticism with a literary bent" because I believe that book reviewing (and art in general) doesn't happen within a bubble - it is one way in which we try to connect the seemingly random and absurd aspects of human nature into some form of coherence. There There Kid's essays try to find connections between works of art, such as a book and a CD, that have similarities in theme. It's basically a blog that takes the cultural studies approach to literary criticism and doesn't try to partition art into different categories, which is how I've always approached my own book reviewing.

At the same time, we do regular features and reviews each month, and I have a couple of writers who help out in this way. Since I started the site a couple months ago, I've had a decent response from outside readers and am looking to expand the number of articles on the site because I realized I can't do it all on my own. So I'm still looking for new writers and have posted submission guidelines on the site.

Do you think there's a lot of "facile praise" among online review sites?

I often find book reviewing sites that read more like some type of fanboy forum than a respectable form of literary criticism. While I don't expect every review I read to be a well-informed scholarly exposé, I do expect the reviews to read better than a press release. The Internet is a great place to find some excellent review sites, but it's also rife with gushy fan forums that hold no weight.

I feel that "facile praise," as you put it, happens when a reviewer has not done their research - and yes, researching the author, book, and topics expanded upon in the review is incredibly important. Book reviews that hold weight have to go beyond the personal opinion of the reviewer (although personal opinion is very valid in a review, there should be plenty of evidence to back it up). Using examples from the book or taking a particular critical viewpoint can help avoid the cliched praise of books found in some reviews.

Article Author: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani is the National Latino Books Examiner for Examiner.com.

Visit Mayra Calvani's author page — Mayra Calvani's Blog