[applause] >> we have books up at the front counter. there will be a signing. thank you, all. booktv visited capitol hill to ask congress men what they are reading. sdwr >> what are you reading? >> the life and times of robert kennedy who was the new york senator and i am the representf from new york. he wrote a book about bobby kennedy's life, political life and history of his family. it is enjoyable. >> booktv wants to know what you are reading. send us your summer reading list via twitter at booktv or instagram or post it to our

facebook page. facebook.com/booktv. booktv on c-span. television for serious readers. >> pamela paul is here, "the new york times" reviewer, out with her book. who is bob? >> bob is my balk of -- book of books. he has been a companion i kept since 17. in one journal i have written down the title of every book i read. sgr >> what kind of condition is bob in? >> he is not in good shape. i keep getting asked to bring him along for appearance but it is an old fashion. not a fancy journal. i bought it at the corner stationary store and i spilled coffee on him. i feel like he is rotting from within and the binding is starting to fray as soon as i

started talking about him. i don't know if is resentiment on his part. >> do you still record? >> oh, yeah. absolutely. as soon as i finish a book. i just got back from australia and read about five or six books and it is like the first thing i do is get in there and write down the name of every book. >> and what made you begin that process? >> i was essentially a failed teenage irest. like every young girl with writer ambitions i recorded my thoughts in a journal, in a diary, and it turned out that those entries were awful. i would go back and read them and the comment about teenage angst like fights with family and friends and the writing was terrible. no sign of anne frank or judy bloom. they were awful to look back on.

also, i realized that all of the events i recorded in there were things i wanted to forget. where as bob, my first book, that reported what i wanted to remember which was what i was reading when all of that other stuff was going on. >> it is date, title, author? >> yes. >> review? >> there is no review. even though the entries are as brief as they could be just having that list and seeing what came before and after brings me back immediately to matt moment. i may not remember everything in the book. often i don't remember the name of the main character but i remember where i was when reading it, why i chose it, i can see the cover in my head and remember buying it and how i felt reading it. it has become this incredible diary that for me is more

complete than i think that other diary would have been. >> you have three children? >> i do. >> have they ever seen bob? >> no, very few people have full access to bob. even my husband. he has seen it but doesn't look through it. he teaches his big list of books that we call blob when he started once i met. >> from my life with bob, not all books are as fun as expected. i was board by zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, hated on the road and hated catcher and the rye even more. why? >> oh, you know, i already heard from many upset with me for hating ann rand the fountain head but i was a classic good girl and i did not like those protaganist who were rebelling. i was an obedient child in awe of authority.

i did like to read about characters who were going off the rails. i found that a safe way to explore those themes. but my problem with catcher and the rye was i felt like we was such a spoiled brat. he was living this life in manhattan where i longed to be going to a private school and thought he didn't appreciate it so i resented that. >> what is your day job and what does it entail? >> i am editor of "the new york times" book review and oversee book coverage at the new york times which extends from reviews in the sunday book review to our daily critics to reporting on the industry to profiles and features. we are trying to cover not only what the latest is in books but also to cover the way in which books intersect with the larger cultural and use in general. >> if somebody gets the sunday new york times or subscribes to the book review separately can

you read just one or do they come in a series? if you pick up one is that like a short story of its own? >> a book review? yes. i think a book review serves multiple purposes. ideally it is to tell you what is in the book and give you a sense of writing and offer some kind of judgment. but i also think a book review in and of itself is a kind of art form. there is a certain writing that takes place you would not get in the rest of the news report or feature about the book because criticism is an art form. my hope is that people around just looking for a book review to decide whether or not to review the book but also appreciating that piece of writing in its own right. i think frankly a lot of people read the book review so they don't have to read the book and can read around it and know what is in it. >> like all book review editors

i have to view books as something to be sifted through and sorted. weak separated and un-reviewed books. how do you decide what to review and what makes the bob list? >> that is the meanest question to ask anyone like this at the books expo. new books out with excitement and expectation. but the fact is what we are doing at the new york times is performing triage. nobody has time to read all these books so our role as editors and critics is to sift through everything and to find the books that are truly worth people's time and the ones we think people are looking to "the new york times" to have a seasoned critic weigh in on and offer perspective. ultimately, that really comes down to the book itself. so, you know, you can send us a copy, you know, wrapped in a birthday cake covered with candy

kisses and we can have all of the publicity in the world and much fanfare surrounding titles but in the end what we are doing as editors is lifting up the book and seeing if it is worth it. for me, for my book of books, i tend to make my own book choices based on the gut instinct in the moment. it is about what i need intellectually, emotionally at that time. you know, whether it is to state a certain kind of curiosity if there is information i am after or something more of a gut level emotional tug like the need for a sad story or need to get deeply involved in something that feels very much apart from this time and place. i tend to make my own decisions as soon as i close the book on the covers of the book i am reading and i usually have a short stack of books i am choosing from and say what am i in the mood for and that is how

i pick. >> any books every get reread? >> very rarely because so many are still out there i am dieing to read. probably 70% of the books on my shelves i haven't read. but there are books i think it is interesting to turn back to because so much about a book isn't really about what is in the book itself and that is what this is about. it is what the reader bring do is the book. defe depending on where you are you might bring something different. the classic example is anna cor n. if you are reading it as a young idealist you read it thinking this is so romantic. she had to leave her husband for her true love. it sad, and tragic but she

needed to do that. if you read it as a newly wed you think this is terrible. that is adultery. if you read it later in life i think you are a little bit more understanding and you have seen a number of things happen whether in our own lives our lives of friends and you are more compassionate and forgiving. >> do your books get overseen by "the new york times"? >> there is no i could do it without having a massive conflict of interest. my previous books were reviewed in the times and i have to say i goit got my most negative review. it was helpful because i know what it is like to be on the other side now and i try to be respect full of writers and the

effort to takes to write a book and understand even if critics didn't appreciate the book to make sure we give it a do and wrote about it. i always made a point of even in the most critical negative reviews of poining out what the author did right and well. you can't go after someone like that. it is people's life passion so you have to be aware of that. new york times best seller is on the top of that book when you go to a bookstore how do you com pile the list? is that a point of pride to see

as many as people as possible getting on the list? >> the actual mechanics of that is the top secret formula because we have our own method to take into account. sales across the country and to do it independently we have a team of editors that compile those. it is to avoid conflict of interest. we are weighing in and making judgments on the books. what they are doing is independently assessing the sales and looking at the data. i love the fact that a new york times best seller is such a point of pride that it remains the standard for what makes a book a significant keller in this country.

that is a reflection of people and there are many books that are review-proof as it were. you can say the worse things possible and people still want to read them. >> what are books you are looking forward to reading this summer? what is on your list? >> well, i just open ad book by robert gotly, the former editor and chief of simon and shuster and editor of the new yorker. it is about charley dickens and his children. he had ten children possibly an 11th and it is a book about what their life was like and dickens as a father. it is not a new book. i cannot tell you about the new books because i don't want to

show our cards in terms of our planned review coverage but there are lot of great big books coming aout. i think it will be an exciting book season. i think last year there was a lot of hesitation around the fall book season because of the election. i think people are hoping that this year there won't be that kind of distraction. i think the news cycle is incredibly absorbing but i think at the same time readers are looking for counter programming and to get away from that. especially when so many people are so obsessively watching tv and looking at social media. i think a really good book, whether it is history or novel, can provide the state from that rapid news cycle. >> pam ela paul is the editor of "the new york times" book review. her most recent book "my life

with bob" booktv visited "the new york times" a couple years back and did a profile piece on the book review. go to booktv.org and type in pamela paul and you will be able to watch that whole thing. >> you have watching booktv. television for serious readers. you can watch any program you see online at booktv.org. >> hello, everybody, and welcome to the 33rd annual "chicago tribune" printers row lit fest. want to thank our sponsors.