Kevin NenstielWhen Kevin Nenstiel requested a copy of Blinded by Progress to review, I quickly checked out his blog and discovered that he loved books and taught English at the University of Nebraska, Kearney, NE. I smiled, because I lived in the Cornhusker State for 16 years and visited Kearney several times. Not that I had any intention of not sending a review copy, but I did so with all the more interest when I learned of this connection.
This morning I learned that Nenstiel had posted his review, entitled “In the Land of Invisible Morals,” on Wordbasket, his blog. I’ve read the review a couple of times and am really glad for the many thoughts he adds to what I consider the greatest conversation of our time: the future inhabitability of our planet. I’m completely fascinated by what others see, feel, and hear in what I’ve written—much like visual artists tell me their intrigue by what others see in their art. Others often perceive, I believe, what are blind spots in my own consciousness. Reviewers may also press into clearer relief themes expressed by an author which are still weakly perceived in our culture or by the author him or herself.
This past Saturday, I heard Tom Kephart, Marketing Managaer and Author Outreach person at Createspace. Kephart spoke of books as vehicles for advancing important conversations. He encouraged the 200 authors and independent publishers in the room to involve people around them in the writing, naming, distributing, and reviewing of our books. “Books with more reviews,” he said, “get more readers, and so the conversation grows.”
By all means read Nenstiel’s review! Go to Wordbasket, feel Nenstiel’s love for books, and join in his worthy desire:
I want people to enjoy their favorite media and ideas even more deeply, by examining them and finding the hidden truths. If we can understand the mythology that binds us together, and can share our ideas in depth, I believe we can grow closer together, and demand more of what rewards us, uplifts us, and makes us strong.