So, the two big pre-publication reviews that a book is likely to get are those from Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. I’ve just received a review from the latter, for my book about manners that will come out in January. The funny thing about\u00a0Kirkus reviews is that they always close with a single sentence, pulled out from the preceding paragraph, that is what I call the blammo sentence. Meaning that, if the preceding 300 word-long review is marked by simmering disappointment, then the blammo sentence will be\u00a0an outright dismissal, a cannon volley, a thunderclap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you can imagine my relief when, after a couple of hundred words bearing phrases\u00a0like “highly idiosyncratic” and “highly subjective”, the blammo sentence below was actually a nice<\/em> blammo—a dollop of whipped cream, a bit of tongue. If you’re looking for more books to read online, you may visit the website https:\/\/app.my-passion.com\/book\/alpha-crees-weakness<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KIRKUS REVIEW: Alford (How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth)<\/em> , 2009, etc.) embarks on an idiosyncratic excursion into the land of civility. Manners became of interest to the author when he came across a comment by Edmund Burke that manners were more important than laws, and realized how true that was for him. Each day, his life had \u201cbeen far more affected by the small indignities, or the tiny acts of grace, than by any piece of governmental legislation.\u201d A book project was born: \u201cI decided to study these tiny-but-huge things: to read about them, and travel in their name\u2026to hold up a magnifying glass to unattractive habits that I stumble upon, be they my own or others\u2019.\u201d In his highly subjective, modestly twisted, rudeness-barely-checked way, Alford engages random aspects of manners. He commiserates with readers over choosing the right greeting\u2014hug, kiss, handshake, fist bump, shoulder grab\u2014and tuning into the error of excessive self-deprecation or the slippery slope of formal, hierarchical protocols: \u201chighly arbitrary, difficult to parse, and subject to change without notice.\u201d His focus can be broad, as suggesting that tone trumps action (or, paraphrasing Noel Coward, \u201cit\u2019s all a matter of lighting\u201d), but often as not he screws down tight on small example from his life\u2014as a tour guide or online manners coach for instance, when he shows himself to be a discreet, keen observer rippling with bad-boy humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alford is a razory-wicked, fun guy to be around, and each of his stories are like those \u201ctiny acts of grace\u201d brightening your day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n