“Nothing new here.”

Three little words. I often come across them in book reviews and when I do, I always stop reading and move on. Because with those three little words, the writer has declared that their focus doesn’t extend beyond themselves. What they mean is, “nothing new here to me.”

Assuming that your reading audience has the same level of prior knowledge as you is both arrogant and ignorant. Acquiring knowledge and wisdom and the ability to marry the two is a lifelong continuum upon which every single person occupies a unique and ever-changing spot. We can’t know what we haven’t yet been exposed to. It’s why we get up every day with hearts and minds open to new awareness and experiences—even within the familiar.

The writer who declares “nothing new here” has either forgotten or disregarded that they came from a position of not knowing what they’re now dissing.

An author’s never-ending mission is to reach new readers, and with seven billion people on the planet, the potential for new readers is vast. Even with well-worn subjects, there’s always a new reader to reach from a fresh perspective. Libraries and bookstores overflow with countless books on World War II, religion, child-rearing, and health, and countless novels with themes of love, death, good vs evil, coming of age. Yet each year we see new books published on these subjects, and those books find audiences.

“Nothing new here” marks the writer as narrow-minded. A more useful and empathetic rewording: “Although readers with some background in this subject may not find anything new, this book offers strong basic information, engagingly presented, to those new to the subject.”

 

 

© 2021 Ellen Notbohm