It’s not typical that I should put up two “Revue of Reviewers” posts within a single week’s time. But this is not your typical week. In fact, today marks five years—and 144 installments—since I launched the “Revue of Reviewers” series in The Rap Sheet.
Back in July 2016, I explained that this new, irregular feature would bring book reviews—which I had previously and deliberately de-emphasized (not wishing to poach on territory already claimed by our sister publication, January Magazine)—to The Rap Sheet’s traditional amalgam of news and features, even though those critiques would be coming from outside sources. I noted as well my plan to highlight three to six new releases at a time, both fiction and crime-related non-fiction. What I didn’t say was that part of my motivation in establishing this series was to push more artwork (in the form of book covers) onto The Rap Sheet, something I thought it needed.
Half a decade on, I can declare with confidence that “Revue of Reviewers” has proved its value. The posts have also grown. Rather than boasting three to six book appraisals every time, they may now offer 18 to 30. And while the series has certainly served to alert readers to published works they might not have otherwise encountered, its secondary benefit is that it has introduced Rap Sheet followers—and me—to myriad other blogs and Web sites covering the world of mystery, crime, and thriller fiction. Were it not for my scouting around for write-ups to use in “Revue of Reviewers,” I might never have heard, for instance, of For Winter Nights, Crime by the Book, Kittling: Books, NB magazine, Grab This Book, Doyleockian, Kingdom Books, or Live and Deadly.
After such success, “Revue of Reviewers” looks here to stay.
2 comments:
As always, thanks for including my reviews, Jeff. I always pass the news on to the authors.
A Happy 5th Birthday to your Revue of Reviewers - always worth a visit.
Post a Comment