>> you will be signing books now. we will be going row by row from right to left. do you guys have time? are you in a hurry? [inaudible conversations]

>> host: you're watching booktv on c-span2. joining us now from chicago and publishes convention is ron charles who is the editor of "washington post" book world. mr. charles what do you do for living? >> guest: i assigned most of the daily reviews to the "washington post" and every wednesday i write my own review. >> host: how many books a week where. >> guest: we reviewed 20 books a week. and we get about 150 so must go into the dash let's go so about

20 books a week are reviewed reviewed. weiss reviewed. wise why isn't their book section, stand-alone book section? >> guest: there's a stand-alone book section on line but we decided four years ago to spread the reviews out to find more readers. seemed like a disaster the time to me but i have to admit we do in fact have more readers for book reviews now. we just put them in places that people. more. the old book world the supplement was much beloved but tended to be the section that everyone put aside to read later when they had time and that time never came. now we are in style and weekend arts section. people see our reviews more. >> host: what kind of books the review? >> guest: i tend to review only fiction but we have reviewed a lot of political books, a lot of history, science, biography and we do a lot of arts coverage on sundays books about the history of film and theater and that sort of thing. >> host: why do you stick to

fiction mostly? >> guest: because i don't have to know anything. >> host: is at the end of your answer? >> guest: pretty much. if you were to do a nonfiction book you'd have to be an expert in five days on the subject a critique of history as such and such were fiction i can sit back and say whatever i want. >> host: do the publishers want to have their books reviewed? >> guest: they say they do. i think they do. there are fewer book reviews around the country so i think it's one of the important venues >> host: jonathan yarbrough. guest:we lost jonathan, colleague for many many years. every week sometimes twice a week before it got to the post but we still have michael dearden though on every thursday another one of our pulitzer prize-winning book reviewers. >> host: ron charles how did you get into this business?

>> guest: i was an english teacher for many years. still my favorite job but that paper grading was just wearing me down. i thought if i graded one more paper i would kill someone and a student's mother suggested i review books instead so i went to a bookstore, bought a book off the new fiction table wrote up a review and send it to the "christian science monitor" and they bought it and asked for more. >> host: how long were you at the monitor? >> guest: seven years. i was their book critic in the book editor there. >> host: can a good review or a bad review cell the book? >> guest: that's the question we all want the answer to. there's some academic research i've. this as a review as same marginal positive effect on sales but it doesn't apparently matter whether the review is positive or negative. it's just getting the cover in and the name out there. helps a little bit. i know there are cases where

positive reviews have pushed books onto the bestseller's list of when she get there is sort of sticky and you tend to stay there or you. >> host: will the posts continue to conduct book reviews? >> guest: yes, i know we will because for the first time in many years added -- to the book section. >> host: what are some of the books that are coming out that you are looking forward to? >> guest: the big one this fall will be about the underground railroad. imagine the underground railroad before the civil war was an actual railroad underground and everybody thinks it's fantastic. and he threw has a huge novel coming out that people are excited about. robert owen butler the pulitzer prize winner has a book coming out that apparently reaches back to his vietnam war days and is supposed to be wonderful too. >> host: who are some of your go to others'? >> guest: patches always

fantastic. i love jonathan franzen. edna o'brien's novels are as wonderful. the last book a few weeks ago is just fantastic or they couldn't believe it. i am amazed by the number of fine authors we have in this country and the number we keep producing every year. i hate to say it's better writing part rams are really good at producing fine fiction writers. >> host: there are many more books produced that need to review. more and more i think people need direction. they go to the bookstore is just overwhelming. there are so many books so they want to know basically what should i read and it's getting harder and harder to justify using a limited space to tell people here's a book you've

never heard of, don't read it through those no danger of them finding that book anyhow so i tend to, i feel like it can save people's time. i want to point people to books that they will enjoy and that they want to read. >> host: being in washington is it important a lot of faith political books? disco people do turn to us for that. i think with a lot of expertise in the area. my colleague is a nonfiction editor and a lot of books with the election coming up with all the time. any books that would impinge on the work government i think we specialize in those books. >> host: how do you develop your bestsellers list? >> guest: the bestsellers list is generated but from maryland virginia and that information is given to us and then we filter

out some things like textbooks and other things that might show up at certain times of the year. as everyone else does on their bestseller lists to make a coherent event editorial judgment. >> host: what are some of the best-selling books on washington right now? >> guest: it doesn't tend to differ that much from the nationalists. once in that while there'll be an event that pushes books up on the list are someone will visit. some will will come to politics and prose and they will move three will move three and a copy that week and that will move a person up unless but in general the list tracks pretty much the nationalists. so they keep looking at that singapore should switch. it isn't that different. >> host: ron charles you are here at the publishers convention in chicago. what's the importance of this? >> guest: i get to meet a lot of publicist that i talked to by e-mail. they give me good recommendations. trusted friends even tell me

what to look for it. i also get to meet authors which is fun. i can set up future interviews with them. sometimes i am just a fan and i can get another graph or embarrass myself that kind of thing. >> host: do you do anything electronic with the book reviews? >> guest: we tweak them, we facebook them. i tried to do an experiment with mind videos. i have this comic series about books i do once while at the post wants me to start up again. >> hello i'm ron charles you may know me the book critic for the american -- in response to her previous episode but received dozens of kind messages from all over my grandparents or retirement home. clearly we are meeting a need. in these hectic times you need book criticism that is fast, fun and incredibly hip.

people often ask me how long can you keep this up despite the workload? it's a good question. i mean here we are i don't know how many episodes have been so far but still the show seems just as challenging as it was way back in the beginning. this week's book is a blockbuster by jonathan franzen. you may have heard about this novel because they chat started long before anyone could buy a per "the new york times" ran their version of jonathan franzen's freedom in 1834. >> they say it's a masterpiece. what is the main? >> i don't know. i don't reckon anybody knows. franzen has been on the cover of "time" magazine. you realize what a big deal that is? we are talking the cover of "time" magazine here. before the book came out president obama was fighting for freedom so was it at all about? the previous bestseller in 2 million when you will feel like you are in familiar territory for the whole story follows the rise and fall of

walter and patty berg linda troubled married couple with two children in st. paul minnesota to its classic franzen a smart take on suburban life. >> we are trying to figure out where readers are coming to kind of the platform and reach them with book criticism or book news. like everybody else. >> host: or you finding success? >> guest: the book people that see them enjoy them i don't know what the numbers are. on twitter i meet people, readers all over the country and that's fun and facebook too. ..

>> >> the l.a. book review. that has the grace said that it isn't anymore i am very impressed by their quality of interviews because i'm trying to figure out