Roughghosts is twelve years old today. I debated whether or not I would officially mark this day with a post as I typically do, but have decided as the day nears an end, to say a few words anyhow. My immediate thought was to comment on the ongoing gnashing of teeth about the death of book reviews which always seems to go hand in hand with blaming the decline on book blogging. It seems to me that there are still book reviews of literary releases, including those in translation, that appear regularly on the pay-walled sites of arts and culture publications. Of course, I can’t afford to read them. There are also reviews posted on online journals and, yes, book blogs maintained by dedicated readers with a range of idiosyncratic interests, but those, especially the latter, never seem to count. However, it turns out that I already wrote about my frustrations on this matter and my own commitment to writing reviews on this day last year. You can read that here if you wish.
Over the past year I have noticed that I have been pulling away from much of the literary discourse on social media, such as it is these days, but it seems that such discourse has become less productive, supportive, and inspiring than it once was, which I think is, more than anything, reflective of the general sharpening of edges that has come to dominate our social, cultural and political spaces in this angry, polarized new reality. My personal social media feed tends to veer into the political—terrifying international conflicts and unsettling conditions closer to home alike, because I just can’t look away. Now mid-way through my sixties I never thought I would live in a world where democratic norms, international law, and basic human decency would be under such threat. My parents have both been gone for ten years this July, and as much as I miss them, hardly a day goes by that I don’t think about how glad I am that they did not live to see this new “normal.”
I am still reading (and acquiring) books as if time is not finite, and I get a great deal of satisfaction from editing the essays of others, but I have not written an essay of my own in years. In fact I find myself marvelling that anyone has the ability to write or create at all anymore. I know that dark times have never stifled the creative spirit in the past, but it does feel sometimes like I am trying to keep a candle lit in a windstorm.
So I will seek a sheltered space and keep the company of good books in the meantime.
roughghosts 
Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear that note of discouragement (or should that be despair?) in your post but, if I stopped to think, I’d probably agree with every word and feel the same. I sometimes think I keep myself so busy so that I don’t have to think too profoundly.
The sharpening of edges that has led to instant name-calling and taking of sides is what exasperates me most. It’s as if we’ve lost the ability for nuanced, subtlety, complex thought or holding two contradictory ideas in our mind without exploding.
Congratulations on your anniversary, regardless! You are always appreciated here!
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Thanks, Marina. It’s definitely a different world, but I still believe in reading and writing about books. And I know people are reading even if the sense of community is more dispersed.
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Congratulations Joe! Twelve years is a great milestone. I’m not sure that people these days are interested in book reviews either, and the only reason I’m blogging is because I still enjoy it even if the engagement is not what it once was.
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Many thanks, Radhika. I also enjoy writing about books myself. What bothers me is to hear people saying that no one is reviewing books anymore which is not true. Your reviews are always so detailed and nicely presented but blogs get dismissed by those who never read them!
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Thank you Roughghosts and congrats for those 12 years of blogging.
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2026 at 4:01 AM
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Thank you!
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Congratulations on 12 years of beautiful reviews 🎊 Thank you so much for your dedication to books and highlighting so many literary gems.
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Many thanks, and thank you for reading. 🙂
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Congratulations on your milestone, and rest assured that there are still a few like-minded people out there 😉
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Keeping up the good fight, eh? Thanks!
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I wonder more and of late why I do this. I think, I think it’s for my own benefit: keeping the mind going, the words coming, responding to what we have no power over. Hmph.
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Yes, if nothing else it’s good exercise! Keep the words coming. 🙂
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Congratulations on 12 years, I do enjoy reading your reviews.
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Thank you, Cathy. Likewise I always find something interesting on your blog too!
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Your reviews are a little light in the darkness, Joe.
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Thank you, Teresa. It means a lot to hear you say that!
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First of all congratulations – I always enjoy reading whatever you have to say about literature. Hopefully there were always be a place for written reviews, but, as you say, nothing is certain anymore.
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I always enjoy your reviews too, Grant. Bloggers I trust tend to offer more valuable literary insights than most critics I find. Thank you!
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First of all, congrats Joe – 12 years is no mean feat. As for your thoughts on reviews and literary discourse, I know what you mean. The paywalls are irritating, leaving a lot of what is online about books to be the trivial and the instagrammable. I tend to keep to my own little corner of the blogosphere, searching for the idiosyncratic and the good!
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Thanks, Karen. And that is the value of blogging—we can read and write about what we want, new books, older books, obscure books alike.
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I share the same sentiments, Joseph. Congratulations on 12 years of consistency and excellent writing. You may not have written any essays lately, but your masterful command of writing and words is, as always, sublime.
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Thank you, Jay. Keeps me out of trouble I suppose.
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Congratulations on twelve years of blogging, Joe. Your reviews are always so thoughtful and beautifully written, so I hope you continue to share your thoughts on what you’ve been reading. I’ve also been blogging for twelve years and sometimes it feels like being in a treadmill, something of a chore rather than a pleasure. And yet, here I am…
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Thank you, Jacqui. I know what you mean, that blogging can feel like an obligation, but it has impacted the way I read and introduced me to so many people (and the books they read) that it would make no sense to walk away. I don’t plan to. 🙂
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12 years is quite the achievement, congratulations! We can despair, but we can also choose to write about books we love just for the fun and interest of it, and we have! Thank you for introducing me to so many books and writers from across the world!
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Thanks, Jane. It is fun to write about books, especially those that get little attention elsewhere, which is one of the reasons I get a little miffed when people complain that no one is reviewing books anymore—they’re just not looking in the right places.
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Fair enough, to have contemplated beginning your post by (as it turns out) repeating the same concerns you found that you’d expressed a year ago, as they are still valid. At least it feels as though bookish chatter is still on the decline, that fewer people are choosing to spend time with a printed page and are turning to other leisure activities instead (let alone writing about/sharing thoughts on their reading). But just this year, I’ve added a couple of new sites to my regular reading, and these are people who have also been reading and writing about books online for several years and I just didn’t notice them or find my way to them… and that could actually be evidence of the opposite trend. At least as it’s experienced by one solitary reader! We might be all about words, but maybe we can still play with the math to tell another story? Regardless, I’m so glad you’re still writing here, still recommending such interesting books/writers here (and sometimes elsewhere).
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Thanks, Marcie. I did not mean to imply that people are not reading and writing about books, but the snobbish comments about the lack of book reviews from some quarters does get tiresome. And then, there are just SO many books to read. I can hardly keep up with books I want to read and review let alone all those new books that keep finding their way into my home…
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That is hard to accept, I agree. And it does feel as though the sense of camaraderie in general has lost its shine (and it makes you wonder if you only imagined it in the first place, whether it was always thus). However ARE all those books making their way into your abode? Have you considered having an expert inspect for crannies and crevices in the foundation? /emojiwithhalo
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