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annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
B-Side Books is an anthology of essays edited by Dr. John Plotz, curated from bookish erudite authors and others on their favorite "forgotten" books which they feel don't deserve to lie on the literary scrap-heap of history. Due out 1st June 2021 from the Columbia University Press, it's 280 pages and will be available in ebook format (other formats currently available also). This is an entry in the Public Books series devoted to scholarly essays and commentary on contemporary culture, politics, and society.
I always enjoy essays on literature and writing. They provide a wealth of inspiration for hunting down new authors, finding previously overlooked gems, and reaching outside comfort zones to choose cross-genre books which would otherwise get away. There are 40 essays included here ranging from the very popular and well known authors and essayists to those scholars who are perhaps less well known outside their academic niches. The "hidden gems" they've chosen were mostly previously unknown to me. In fact, of the 40 included books, only 4 of them were previously familiar to me.
I'm glad to have found this book and will utilize the suggestions here to at least sample some new works and authors. I found some few of the essays stilted and very dryly academic, but the points were salient and the language precise and worth the effort.
Three and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
B-Side Books is an anthology of essays edited by Dr. John Plotz, curated from bookish erudite authors and others on their favorite "forgotten" books which they feel don't deserve to lie on the literary scrap-heap of history. Due out 1st June 2021 from the Columbia University Press, it's 280 pages and will be available in ebook format (other formats currently available also). This is an entry in the Public Books series devoted to scholarly essays and commentary on contemporary culture, politics, and society.
I always enjoy essays on literature and writing. They provide a wealth of inspiration for hunting down new authors, finding previously overlooked gems, and reaching outside comfort zones to choose cross-genre books which would otherwise get away. There are 40 essays included here ranging from the very popular and well known authors and essayists to those scholars who are perhaps less well known outside their academic niches. The "hidden gems" they've chosen were mostly previously unknown to me. In fact, of the 40 included books, only 4 of them were previously familiar to me.
I'm glad to have found this book and will utilize the suggestions here to at least sample some new works and authors. I found some few of the essays stilted and very dryly academic, but the points were salient and the language precise and worth the effort.
Three and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
juliana_aldous's review against another edition
4.0
This is a collection of essays, reviews, and recommendations for books you most definitely missed. The writers of the various reviews are often academics—and sometimes that shows in the use of $2 words. But there is something for the true bibliophile in this book, or those looking for that undiscovered novel or story, particularly ones by underrepresented groups in literature. There a few that enticed me enough to add them to my future reads list. I added Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall which was the debut novel by Paule Marshall about Barbadian immigrants living in Brooklyn. And a review by Ursula K. Le Guin for the book Annals of the Parish by John Galt which compared him to some of my other favorite authors, Elizabeth Gaskell, Jane Austen, and Thomas Hardy, gives this book a place on my TBR pile. And then there is a review of Kay Boyle’s Author of Herself. I had recently learned a bit about Kay Boyle’s incredible life in another book, and here is a biography I need to read. And lastly, who knew Shirley Jackson, whose classic horror novels have been undergoing a revival, also wrote about her domestic life in two memoirs, Life Among the Savages, and Raising Demons.
I have to say, if you are looking for other good books of book recommendations, I would suggest The Writer’s Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager, any of Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust series, and Boxall’s 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.
I have to say, if you are looking for other good books of book recommendations, I would suggest The Writer’s Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager, any of Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust series, and Boxall’s 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.
rachelb36's review against another edition
1.0
This collection of 40 essays is literary criticism, lacking the personal connections and anecdotes I was hoping for.
At the least, I wanted to find inspiration to read these "B-Side" books, but only two writers managed to even slightly pique my interest in the books they wrote about (Adrienne Brown on Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall; and Sharon Marcus on Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons, both by Shirley Jackson).
Spoilers for various books are shared, and not just for the books named in the chapter titles. Only one essayist was thoughtful enough to include a warning of said spoilers.
Also present is the glorification of sex (deviant sex, in particular), complete with horrifying details; the occult; and liberal politics.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
At the least, I wanted to find inspiration to read these "B-Side" books, but only two writers managed to even slightly pique my interest in the books they wrote about (Adrienne Brown on Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall; and Sharon Marcus on Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons, both by Shirley Jackson).
Spoilers for various books are shared, and not just for the books named in the chapter titles. Only one essayist was thoughtful enough to include a warning of said spoilers.
Also present is the glorification of sex (deviant sex, in particular), complete with horrifying details; the occult; and liberal politics.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
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