Traditional Book Reviews are Gone

Our popular culture is a strange place to inhabit. Not exactly a mind blowing observation.

An example. I was telling a friend the other day about Dua Lipa, the pop star, emerging as a book and reading advocate. She has created the Service95 Book Club and now is opening a physical library for banned/censored books.

This can all be done as a performative exercise of course, but Lipa also happens to be one of the best interviewers going right now. I've watched a number of her interviews with authors such as Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale, Cat's Cradle, Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun. She's so good at it that the authors begin to ask her questions instead of the other way around. They have found someone who actually cares about the work.

I've also watched similar interviews and discussion by Kristen Stewart, who is often portrayed as a one dimensional actor with nothing to say. It's not true. She's extremely articulate when discussing literature.

The traditional book review, with its dedicated space in major news publications is dead.

I'm grateful that there are popular influencers willing to take up the task with some real depth.

Dua Lipa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUEdoHJbj7o

Kristen Stewart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvlrzZOMLcY

Emma Waton: https://youtu.be/LqdU0AsS3iQ?si=0G24WY1f-bUAfw8w