Review of Scratch

A review of Scratch, Edited by: Manjula Martin

Review written by me on Goodreads: (3/5)

I liked the book as it gave a unique look into the paths other authors had taken to become authors and have their works published. Like any collection there were some pieces that didn't keep my attention and some that honestly had me at the edge of my seat thinking, "WHAT HAPPENED NEXT I NEED TO KNOW!!! OH MY GOODNESS I CAN'T BELIEVE MY SUBWAY RIDE IS OVER AND I WON'T BE READING AGAIN FOR A FEW HOURS"

The reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 4 was because I thought that the interviews could have been held in a more engaging way. It seemed that for some interviews, it felt like authors wanted to talk about something else or were leading up to a point but then the questions given would stop them or cut up their train of thought. It didn't feel like a natural conversation. I don't think I could do better. Interviews are stressful but maybe Manjula could have more natural conversations with the interviewees and then have edited the pieces so it would still come to the point of the specific section of the collection.

Before I go on, as you can see in my books read list on Goodreads, I'm not very well versed in current writers. This collection gave me a nice little look into some current authors and I'm very grateful for having the opportunity to be exposed to them.

My favourite piece was Worth by Jennifer Weiner and my favourite interview was Work Hard Read Dead with Yiyun Li. I think however that interview would not be many people's favourites because she exclaims that she reads only dead authors. I didn't feel personally insulted or outraged because there's a reason--usually-- that dead author's works are still in circulation or conversation so many years into the future. Reading a dead author's work does several things:

It can teach you what an author did right (or wrong)

It can expose you to different styles of diction and prose

It can also expose you to different points in history or places.

It can expose you to different authors.

So all in all I'm glad I read this collection.