Thirty Years in the Press

My book journalism

This is the fourth in my five-part series on 2023 as my 30th year in the press—part one covers my first paid article in journalism, part two focuses on the interviews and part three reviews my news reporting—since the late 20th century.

An early part of my 30 years in journalism involves books. This was a consciously chosen part of my strategy. I was young. I knew I wanted to learn. I knew that reading books, especially books written by authors with whom I disagreed, could help. I also knew that writing about books could put me in the league of literary writing I wanted to master. I sought to meet and interview the world’s greatest authors, which could be afforded by book journalism. I could get to know an author, I figured, during an interview—at my initiation, request or insistence, most of my interviews were conducted in person as was (and is) my general reporting practice—and, as an author myself, I would have an opportunity to learn what writing, promoting and, above all, thinking about a book and its mass market publication means both in theory and in practice—within months of going to press.

Being the son of a reading scholar and English teacher, I was predisposed to reading books. I was and am not a voracious—or fast—reader. My first reading was poisoned by the dismal Look-Say method during my early education. I consider myself an impaired reader who’s been recovering from progressive (which is really regressive) education ever since. I remember at the age of six bringing a book (one of the Nancy Drew mysteries) on my first ride on a passenger jet—and, while I don’t think I finished the fiction writing, I remember discovering in that story my first higher concept word. I perked up when I read the word in its context. I recall being stimulated by what I thought it means. I asked my mother, who was studying to become a teacher—an endeavor which was and is its own type of poisoning—what the word means. When she told me, I was thrilled. The word is: enthusiastic. Enthusiasm became my favorite word and idea. I began to read, to write—to write and direct plays, to conceive and create dioramas, to dance, to compete and play sports, including games and gymnastics—and tell stories with enthusiasm. So begins my early childhood creativity, reporting and storytelling.