Writing A Review

I am nearly finished writing a book review. Every time I agree to write one, I say to myself, Never again. Fortunately, I liked the book, When I Was Young & In My Prime. I understood and appreciated what she was trying to do. Next I have to write a review of a book I didn’t like. I never agree to write reviews of books I don’t like – what’s the point, I think – but somehow I got myself into this. What is more, it is about a subject I knew very little about and so have had to do a lot of reading to bone up. That part is good. Once I was in a writing group that was open to anyone, and as a consequence there was a lot of awfully bad writing. One of our group, an accomplished poet, editor, teacher, could always find something good to say about any poem. What he would say would be true, too, and helpful. I have tried to do the same, but it is difficult to do, requiring much concentration.