The backlist: Of cancer journals and checklist manifestos
While it might seem odd to say that Lorde and Gawande are in conversation with each other, Lorde‘s and Gawande’s approaches to the system they critique offer parallel and sometimes intersecting perspectives. Furthermore, Lorde has something to offer Gawande. Whereas Lorde’s focus is more on the emotional journey of a patient in treatment, Gawande’s approach is far more focused on the technical aspects. I would’ve liked to have seen a little bit more emotion penetrate the clinical nature of his approach.
Backlists, baby!
I love a good backlist book. And I am not alone! In We need to talk about the backlist, Thad McIlroy reported that backlist books represent about 2/3 of what readers buy. Since 2020, some publishers have reported increased backlist sales. Although McIllroy doesn’t get into the reason for that increase, I would argue that financial uncertainty and a need for comfort drove readers not just to the backlist books, but to the library backlists specifically. That’s where I get most of my backlist reading.