... or mere coincidence? John Freeman, president of the National Book Critics Circle, has a piece on this Sunday's Inquirer book page in which he talks with Nobel winner Seamus Heaney. On the same page is a review by M.A. Orthofer of Jane Gardam's Old Filth.
Here, Orthofer links to a post by Freeman at the NBCC's Critical Mass blog and, to some extent at least, demurs: Buzz marketing and conflicts of interest.
This is all very interesting. I'm happy to read this demurral, actually. When I followed your link yesterday to the Freeman post I was..a little disturbed, I guess. In the almost three years I've spent posting reviews on my book review site it had actually never crossed my mind that there was a conflict of interest in my reviewing a book and linking to Amazon for sales on that book. I can see the point now, of course. But I am pretty certain that the prospect of potential sales has never influenced my assessment or review of a book. I am also unwilling to give up the small amount of money I earn through Amazon commissions, though that's not necessarily a defensible position.
ReplyDeleteLinking to Amazon, though, also allows one to very easily and neatly post picture covers, and as the Complete Review post suggests, providing the link is a benefit to readers seeking information about a book.
What are your thoughts, Frank?
I think of the link as primarily a convenience for the reader, with whatever money comes the blogger's way as a kind of gratuity (we're not talking big bucks here). To be honest, I wouldn't even be that much concerned if it were a matter of publishers placing ads on blogs. They place ads in newspapers and magazines that publish reviews. Does that call into question the impartiality of the reviews? I don't think so. But I'm glad John raised the question, because best have the matter out in the open.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. It occurred to me that of course book reviewing isn't the only activity in this boat. All those gadget reviewers, if they link to Amazon, could be criticized.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, feeling better now about my reviewing situation.