Are Brilliant Book Blurbs out? A Personal Meditation

Is the prestige of "famous celebrity author" recommendations become nonsense all in one day?

In the Smithsonian titled “Are Book Blurbs on the way out” describes the idea that readers don’t want to be told what they can and can not like. For me, it’s a twofold experience. The article itself doesn’t really give the perspective behind what a reader, as I am, but also what a writer wants. And I can express that in a succinct way.

For many who have perused a bookstore, it’s not only the cover that catches our eye, but many readers, in their own mind, want a recommendation from their favorite popular or cult artists. Many who give book blurbs are ultimately their own friends in the industry or in real life who want to help their friends succeed.

(Note: YouTuber Denis Drepling gives kind of a dated but very funny perspective on comparative book recommendations.)

Many who have access to this are semi-popular. When I see a recommendation from Thomas Ligotti, cult sci-fi horror writer, I think, “I have to buy this.” What makes me not want to buy a book, 9 times out of 10, is a recommendation from Stephen King. Yes, he’s ubiquitous on so many book blurbs that it almost makes me want to put the book back.

I can’t pretend that any one brand of author makes me want to buy a book or not. It’s usually a happy accident that I find a book and then like it.

When, I, as a writer, see so many blurbs on it, I say, “How much did these reviews cost” if they are little indie review sites, and if it’s a famous person giving it their stamp of approval remark, “So, how much did they pay them?” Because everything costs money. While I did use some indie reviewers, much of their criticism did help, and if I fucked up in the book, they gave me a chance to redo the book, and then give them another copy in order to change for a favorable review.