The Book Review in quarantine
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, November 14, 2024


The Book Review in quarantine
In a photo provided by Pamela Paul, books mailed to The New York Times Book Review had accumulated in April. Work that revolves around rows of bookshelves adjusts to a remote setting. Pamela Paul via The New York Times.

by Adriana Balsamo



NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- There’s a corner of The New York Times newsroom unlike anywhere else in the building. Each desk is covered in piles of books, galleys and bound manuscripts. Boxes filled with pages waiting to be flipped through line the floors. Sliding bookshelves are closely guarded by day and locked up at night. And yes, at The New York Times Book Review, there is always a dumpster full of galleys waiting to be recycled.But that corner has been untouched for months. The shelves are now mostly empty and remain secured. Like most New York Times journalists, the editors who work on the Book Review have been working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. The transition to a completely remote production has been difficult in a way one might expect: Access to physical books is limited.

Before the coronavirus, the Book Review would receive hundreds of books and galleys (a printer’s uncorrected proof) in the mail every week. Books were entered into a database and divided between bins and shelves for preview editors, who look over galleys more thoroughly and decide if they warrant a review or some other form of coverage. Specific genres were set aside for columnists, like crime novels for Marilyn Stasio. The rest would head to a big blue dumpster.

Whether the galley was sent from one of the big five publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster) or a small press, every book passed through the hands of at least one editor for consideration.This is a point of pride on the desk. “It didn’t matter what publisher the galley came from, how big, how small, whether you’d heard of the author or hadn’t, the book was going to get a fair shake,” said Tina Jordan, deputy editor of the Book Review.

The Times closed its office to most employees in March. Now, editors work from home and don’t have the cues of the Book Review’s physical layout.

“In the first week that we left the office, 167 packages of books arrived on the desk that no one was there to open or look at,” said Pamela Paul, editor of the Book Review.

In the absence of shelves, desks and bins that are overflowing with galleys, preview editors now download the proofs from a handful of online platforms for the book industry.

“We comb through all the publishing catalogs, we go through our emails, and we scour news stories to try to create a list that replicates that physical bookshelf,” Jordan said.Despite the adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” there’s actually a lot that editors can pick up from a printed book. It often arrives with press materials that provide context, and its cover — whether finished or temporary — can convey a strong message from the publishers. Blurbs from other authors and notable people situate the book in a larger cultural conversation.




These days, all of those materials are delivered in separate digital files, which makes it harder to present as a package.

“I liked a physical galley because I liked to underline things, dog-ear the pages and put stickies in it,” Jordan said. “I’ll be really honest with you: I’ll be very glad when we’re back in the office.”

With a digital database, every book is just a cell block on a spreadsheet. Everything looks the same.

“There’s a constant worry, ‘Are things falling through the cracks in a way they wouldn’t if we had physical record of them?’ ” Paul said.

Editors remain vigilant in their efforts to ensure lesser-known books that deserve a review get their due. After all, shining a light on an unknown author or book is a favorite part of the job for most preview editors.

“It’s so gratifying when you know you’re doing a real service when you bring a book — that otherwise wouldn’t have gotten attention — into the spotlight,” said Lauren Christensen, an editor on the desk. “That’s why the Book Review exists.”

A return to the office is still uncertain, and not every journalist’s home is conducive to the work that is required. But Christensen said she had found her particular line of remote work productive.

“I just sit here with my books and read all the time,” she said.

© 2020 The New York Times Company










Today's News

August 18, 2020

Sculptures by Hans Van de Bovenkamp on view in socially-distanced exhibition

Guggenheim approves diversity plan after staff complaints of racism

New exhibition at Amon Carter Museum explores photographic origins of the snapshot

Christie's in aid of Lebanon's cultural community: We are all Beirut - a charity auction

RM Sotheby's dominates 'Monterey Week' online auctions with $30.4M in total sales

New York's Museum of Modern Art to reopen August 27

Powerful Medici family behind Italy's 'plague-free' wine windows

Vintage Posters at Swann August 27: War posters, Sutro Baths memorabilia, Art Deco & Art Nouveau designs, & more

Three centuries of European furniture and works of art from historic Scottish country house to be offered at auction

Paul Holberton Publishing announces 'Elijah Pierce's America'

Exhibition at CHOI&LAGER Gallery looks at Korea's history of industrialization and modernization

Re-scheduled auction: 5 historic Islamic coins estimated to fetch US$1million

1,2,3,4: Dance in contemporary artists' films at the Glucksman, Cork, Ireland

The sun sets on another successful Darwin Festival

Newly released by SALT: "Cengiz Çekil: 21.08.1945-10.11.2015"

The spirit of carnival culture celebrated on film by Notting Hill's Coronet

Michael Jordan game-worn sneakers and unopened 1986 Fleer basketball cards up for auction

Nubya Garcia, tapping into the past to make jazz for a new generation

Ballroom Marfa names Daisy Nam as new Curator

Steidl publishes 'Toshiaki Mori: MBT - B, drawings of abstract forms'

The Book Review in quarantine

Michaan's announces highlights included in its August 22 Gallery Auction

Leading artists join calls for dedicated emergency funding for visual arts in Scotland

Can you keep your car in a bankruptcy?

Healthy Ways To Gain Mass




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful