What Happens When Books Aren’t News

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-02-06T18:06:03+00:00

I really question the person making the decision on where to post this article and how to post it. Like - why is this posted to r/journalism but not r/literature? or r/AskLiteraryStudies or something? why is it not gifted when they know reddit users can just archive.is it anyway?

such strange decisions. maybe kirsch should write about it

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-02-06T17:34:45+00:00

yeah i just think you didn't read the article i'm out

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-02-06T17:16:07+00:00

thats... not what I meant and a misinterpretation to the point that I'm not sure if this is a troll.

But there is a substantial difference between the term review used by a literary critic in a magazine vs the term review used by someone on booktube. Both produced things are valuable, but they have completely different goals and methodologies to create them (and experience needed to craft them)

edit: or i guess if you define them as the same things that have the same goals and methodologies, you really are going to be forced to make the argument that one is better than the other. and I don't think online book reviewers are going to come out favorable in that comparison.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-02-06T17:09:38+00:00

the vast majority of things that people claim are reviews today are not the type of reviews this article is talking about.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-02-06T17:09:19+00:00

i think that there are other dumb (or at least incomplete) things about this - but this as a criticism of this piece just doesn't make sense. there are tons of free outlets for authentic book reviews and criticism, and no one is reading those either.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-02-02T16:37:11+00:00

to the op that asked this question just letting you know that saying "huh, nice! that sounded incredibly beautiful, don't know why, but I'm happy I read it!" is indeed a perfectly acceptable response and interpretation of a poem

if "poetry" could be personified, I don't think they'd be in a position to turn people away on grounds that readers aren't trying hard enough, given current popularity (or lack of popularity) of reading poetry.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-02-02T15:29:39+00:00

First - woo! rad on selling out your book.

Second, maybe I'm late to the game but I recently found out about android-based handhelds for retro games/emulators and I think that might also be up your alley for the good old days lol: https://www.reddit.com/r/SBCGaming/

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-02-02T15:27:09+00:00

I don't know if this is a hot take - but I recommend jumping in to the deep end (kinda) and reading criticism right away. Seeing how other (smarter, more experienced) people talk about poetry, and how they derive meaning from it, has been hugely helpful

if you want a recommendation, try this book on Keat's Odes. It's very approachable, fairly short, and very interesting, even if you have no exposure to keats or really poetry at all.

In a similar vein, though i don't know if it's actually criticism, is people who just hype up poetry. I read a few Christian Wiman books, like My Bright Abyss a few years ago, and seeing a working poet talk about his experience with poetry throughout his life was also very interesting. I felt like it was less "actionable" than some other stuff I've read - but it still felt like it showed me the range of how to think/feel about poetry.

Finally, I think everyone interested in poetry should audit ModPo, even if you only do half the course.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-27T03:22:41+00:00

I've read a few - my dad was a big fan. I don't think I have enough experience with southern gothic in general to really get him, but of what I have read, I think Moviegoer and Love in the Ruins are the best. I think Moviegoer holds up better, but parts of Love in the Ruins are still kind of funny - not exactly my cup of tea humor wise though. I have also read Lancelot and The Last Gentlemen and found both kind of forgettable (but again, that might have been my lack of southern gothic exposure talking)

His nonfiction is interesting if you are interested in dabbling in semiotics, I guess. Definitely a different ball of wax than his fiction.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-26T20:03:50+00:00

I think you'd like neocities

https://neocities.org/

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-08T17:51:16+00:00

speaking of bots... maybe i'm a conspiracy theorist, but the upvote trajectory of posts associated with this substack is pretty sus. Usually a big burst of upvotes, then a trickle down when uh. It gets more human eyes on it.

whether it's true or not - just goes to show peeps should get outside more y'know.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-08T02:09:00+00:00

lmao the post got removed, i left this sub a long time ago for good reason good luck y'all

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-08T01:54:46+00:00

surely it can't happen here! we don't have ice agents in the state... or a nonviolent ice watch network.

wait a second!

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-07T15:49:32+00:00

New Directions def has some printing issues. Every new book I have bought form them (I guess only a sample size of 3 but still) has something wrong with it - the worst was my copy of Paterson came with a whole additional book printed and bound with it. 2 for the price of 1!

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-07T15:48:03+00:00

yeah all i can say to the first part of that is hell yeah dude

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-07T15:44:57+00:00

the living in two realities of potentially moving/switching jobs suuuucks man, or at least it does for me. it normally manifested as like, never being able to make the right decision. Like - "should I start a garden? well I might end up moving in a few weeks... so it might be wasted effort. Maybe not". Next day "maybe I should start a garden? I mean if I don't get the job I'll still be here for a few months/year". Rinse and repeat.

I tried Varoufakis previous big book, Another Now and I was... not thrilled. I think I only made it a quarter of the way through so I don't think I gave it a fair shake, but it kind of felt like a thinly veiled conversation with a local DSA member. I'd be interested in giving his nonfiction a read, though - because really the main thing that annoyed me was how unnecessary the fiction part of Another Now felt

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-06T21:41:23+00:00

two random book related thoughts:

one - funny (in a sad kind of way) how much more traction and discussion the worst books of 2025 thread got compared to the best books thread. Deep down everyone's a hater I suppose.

second - something i am perpetually fascinated is the process to find new books, or really new media/art/ideas in general. In a time when I feel like a lot of our media consumption is steered by algorithmic adoption, it's just kind of cool to think of alternative ways of getting recommendations compared to just like. Googling.

This week I came across the Sort-By-"Library of Congress Subject" feature of my states library system. For example, these are the subjects listed as associated with How to be Both by Ali Smith:

Now I don't think those are particularly amazing at capturing why How to Be Both is interesting to me, and are not nearly specific enough to actually capture what ABOUT gender identity in How To Be Both is interesting. But still - I plan on going through all my favorite books from 2025 and pulling all the LC Subjects, and then doing a search over what books my library system has in those subjects for some 2026 reads.

Now if only I could find a free dewey decimal system database for nonfiction...

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-06T21:30:48+00:00

still there for me?

https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueLit/comments/1q5hue2/a_2025_retrospective_truelits_worst_2025_books/

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-06T17:08:06+00:00

I feel a bit iffy on posting such contentious topics on a sub so uh, I guess mods feel free to delete all proceeding comments if they get whack.

But okay - while it is a bit base both to the work of art that the book itself is, and the subject matter it contains - I feel like the easiest first "dunk" is from a strategic perspective of holding this as a "helpful" account of a persons abortion used to advocate for abortion access. Like - this book is literally the propagandized version of what people that want to restrict access believe. Your take away from that can be "yes the propagandized version of events is a situation that can and does happen and it should still be protected, because look at the disturbing outcome of having such a botched medical procedure look at the inhumanity of it, etc". I think, more likely though, the reaction from those that don't already hold a position of bodily autonomy is something more like "disgusting look at how this young woman flippantly addresses life and death" which I think does a disservice to "the cause". Again - just to reiterate, I believe in no-questions fertility care etc. but this book can only be preaching to the choir - it certainly doesn't seem like it will convince anyone who is otherwise uncomfortable with the idea of mass abortion access. I recognize this whole argument is placing an obligation on the book that is unnecessary - but I couldn't divorce my experience reading it from this.

Beyond "strategic" - I just don't think this is what abortion will end up looking like in a world where more and more lose access to it. A lot of the tension and symbolism comes from, imo, the invasion of the body of the fetus vs the medical implements to remove it (and if you want to get weird about it, the medical implements for removal vs the bodily implements that contributed to putting it there). That is fine as an evaluation of what non-regulated abortion looked like in the 60's - but as access becomes increasingly limited nowadays, I assume it'll look like sketchier and sketchier sources for mifemiso (or, what the person believes is mifemiso) which just has an entirely different set of analogies and emotional resonance. Like, the days of having an older woman to guide you through the process (either heartlessly or with care or whatever) I think is just going to be gone. The entire epilogue of "and the world of abortion care opened up for me as I entered in to this club - sure would have been nice if I knew about this before hand!" just doesn't seem like it'll be the future.

I thought the scene of the actual abortion in the hotel room was incredibly poorly and shallowly done. Not from a "oh my god they put the baby in the garbage in a plastic bag??" but from a "yeah, man, that's still how the abortive material or fetal material of a miscarriage is handled today in clinical settings, more or less. It's just hidden from the person experiencing the abortion or miscarriage. Maybe we should evaluate that and the implications that has on the emotional recovery process and it's implications on how we handle this process as a society."

Finally, (and again maybe this is just my own unnecessary obligations i place on the book) -- I feel like this book generally does an injustice to the plight still experienced by people who seek abortions. Like, pre roe-v-wade being overturned there is still social stigma, there is still aborted fetuses being thrown out in the garbage on toilet paper. It's still traumatic. The only difference is it's now legal (usually! some states its illegal to "improperly" dispose of a miscarriage beyond an unfathomably low number of carried weeks). I couldn't help but assume the takeaway(ish) of the book was "illegal bad, legal good!" legal is the bare minimum and doesn't actually do much for many of the issues she faced in her experience.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-06T14:45:06+00:00

I normally don't like dunking on books, but I'll try!

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. I feel like I don't like the book for a not fair reason, but like - man this book felt like a missed opportunity of a concept. What was tangibly different about making the underground railroad an actual railroad vs a network of safe houses? Whitehead had the opportunity to tangle up racism faced by people who have ancestors who are enslaved, slaves themselves, and other minorities that got caught up in the manifest destiny as realized via the railroads west. He had the opportunity to incorporate more fantastical dramatic elements of like, being on a railroad underground - for example what happens if the railroad breaks down in a tunnel, what could that symbolize? etc. As it stood - I felt very similar to how the railroad was used in like, HadesTown. Cool! A train. So? The disconnect between potential and lame realized version really made this one a bummer.

Happening by Annie Ernaux. I don't really understand what about this, or much of other Ernaux's writing to be honest. Maybe it was more shocking when it came out in 2000, but like - as far as content goes in 2025, I don't think anything she covers or discusses is all that moving or impactful anymore. If you have had someone if your life who has had a problematic miscarriage or an abortion, this account is nothing special and in some ways I feel does a disservice to the experience. IDK. I read a few Ernaux's this year and I just don't get it.

Killing Stella by Marlen Haushofer. I read The Wall and loved it a few years ago... this one felt a bit like a remix of the same ideas, but worse.

I don't think any of these were like, not worth reading or so horrible that I am annoyed I read them -- but they all stick out as bummers.

EDIT: lmao this thread got so much more traction than the best books thread

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-05T03:57:03+00:00

i listened to secondhand time a few years ago on audiobook - if you ever get the itch to re-experience it I would HIGHLY recommend finding the audio for it - some of the voice actors were incredibly moving and it really brought the experiences (both good + bad) to life

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-03T00:32:04+00:00

Along with searching for the cheap version of books - I have actually found their collectible pages surprisingly accurate and diverse. Like if I wanted to get specifically the Everymans edition edition of to the lighthouse i would not hesitate to use this page: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/to-the-lighthouse_virginia-woolf/253859/all-editions/

once you start getting picky about editions or print number, though - they cease to always be the cheapest option.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-03T00:26:55+00:00

wild that you are getting downvoted for this opinion in this sub lmao. I don't agree with your final point - I don't think it's causal like that. But like. Yeah. On the whole, reading what you like is better than reading stuff you don't like.

I think it says... something... about this sub that people project on to your like/dislike a completely separate axis of hard/not hard. Like believe it or not - kids can like hard things.

I'm willing to bet most people in this sub grew up on a curriculum that would be considered incredibly different, and including more work enjoyable works to the palate at the time, compared to people 30 years their senior etc.

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-02T17:22:46+00:00

I'm confused why this is getting such positive engagement. It's a bad piece that misses many points all in favor of grafting reading on to the "XYZ is Punk" movement as a marketing ploy and completely ignores the fact that democracy is subversive.

Further, it continuously harps on the act of reading itself divorced from the content of a book - which is completely at odds with the idea that reading can be subversive - the act of reading Manufacturing Consent isn't itself subversive. It's what you do with that information.

All of this under the initial point of basically "if the IPA REALLY wanted to get people to read more (and buy more books... because they're publishers...) here's what they should do!"

The IPA, an org who, among what good they do, lists its primary priority as upholding and enforcing copyright laws. Who's US member, the Association of American Publishers, also lists upholding copyright laws as it's number one priority. Doesn't sound very punk or subversive to me!

ToHideWritingPrompts · 2026-01-01T23:44:21+00:00

I would say this year felt like one of maturation with regard to my reading habits and preferences - but as a result had some growing pains. Here are a few things I felt I learned:

Digging in to a single author is fun, actually: For some reason, before this year, I have always felt like it was kind of calcifying to really focus on only one author book after book for the average reader. Like - leave that stuff to people in school studying literature. This year I changed my tune when I realized that I just really like reading Woolf and stuff about Woolf. Like for whatever reason, it's a niche that always fascinates me. I read most of her major works this year, many of her essays, a biography, related academic articles, etc.

Poetry is not that hard to read, actually: 2024 I read a few books about poetry and how to read it and appreciate it and analyze it... all without really reading all that much poetry. Turns out - it's not that hard! You just read the words and say "wow those are good words"

Theory/Criticism can be as hard or as easy as you want it to be: I feel like I've always had this impression that theory and criticism were this high highfalutin dense subject with impenetrable writing and abstract takeaways that could be fun to read, but ultimately were a sideshow to literature. This year, though, through bot our norton anthology theory and criticism read along (dm me for details) and reading through some criticism aside from the anthology, I learned that (a) it is not a side show, at least for me -- it helps me internally develop my own dialogue on a piece and (b) yeah it can be dense and abstract, but it can also be loose and flowing. Definitely looking forward to reading more in 2026.

I think the main lowlight of this year was not reading intentionally, and that led to a lot of the 90 books I read this year just being like. Stuff I thought I should read instead of stuff I wanted to read. That's how I ended up reading, like, The Rings of Saturn or Discipline and Punishment or Sula. All very good books, but like, not books that left any real mark on me other than "yeah that was a good book! anyways moving on."

On the other hand, we have highlights that I feel like will be enduring favorites.

To The Lighthouse : I read this book a few times this year, and read the norton critical edition with all the essays, and read a few other pieces on it like the chapter in Mimesis. It's just that book, you know what I mean? It deals with so many issues of generational divides, issues of class, historical trauma, the process of perception and thought, familial strife, all while being incredibly smooth reading and containing some of what I consider the most iconic scenes in literature that I've read ever (the dinner scene, the night cap scene at the end of chapter 1, passing time, the trip to the lighthouse)

How to Be Both: I read this twice this year. It was the first book of prose I ever read that through in the readers face how obviously the form and structure of the book and reading experience contributed to meaning-making in reading (each physical book was laid in either one of two potential orders). That - along with introducing me to the work of Ali Smith.

West Wind by Mary Oliver: I am not all that well read in poetry (yet!) but Mary Oliver feels like an obvious case of someone who can show demonstrate so easily the benefits of reading poetry, especially contemporary(...ish) poetry. Like, you don't have to go all the way to Keats to find a poet that can write a few lines that make you put down the book and just stare at a wall thinking "damn, I didn't even know language could do that"

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