I have followed Emily Nussbaum for years, reading her criticism in the New Yorker and her witty and on-point comments on twitter. This book was an extension of that. Fun, smart, relevant. I will recommend this to our library patrons interested in TV criticism.

MUST read for anyone who loves to watch TV. Emily is an incredible writer: a fan first and foremost, her essays on some of the biggest shows of the 21st century are so well-written and interesting. She incorporates history and anecdotes and I could not put this book down. Also enjoyed the in-depth interviews with some of the biggest showrunners working today, including Kenya Barris, Jenji Kohan and Ryan Murphy. For sure one of the best books I've read this year. Thanks for the advanced copy!

I loved this book. As an avid TV watcher, I've been familiar with Emily Nussbaum's work for quite a while and it was wonderful to read so many pieces collected into one place. Some of her essays made me think about what I like to watch on TV in a new, more critical way which I appreciated. I'd highly recommend this to any TV fan out there!

Great articles that were very thought provoking. Nussbaum proves why she is an award winning critic with her carefully though out arguments and opinions. I loved her story about why she became interested in television. What I enjoyed is that she is not snobby about her tv watching and provides great arguments for what prestige television is. Very interesting read for any interested in television or great criticism.

A great book of television criticism, analysis and profiles. I have read many of these pieces in the original sites and magazines where they were published and it was interesting to revisit them. The articles vary in length but all show that a great deal of thought has been put behind them whether it is reevaluating the impact of Sex and the City through the lens of what gets codified as "important" work or looking at creator reactions to fan criticism in her essay on the finale of Lost (though I thoroughly disagree with her take on that shows ending). Her profiles are well researched and insightful on not just what the showrunners tell her about themselves but the observed psyche underneath.

Overall a great addition to any collection for a person who values television and believes it is a medium for more than just storytelling.

This is a fantastic collection of essays from Emily Nussbaum. Analyzing and articulating much of what's occurring in television over the past 20 or so years with amazing clarity and an understanding of society, it's easy to see why Nussbaum has won a Pulitzer for her work as a critic. Her analysis is fantastic and leaves you plenty to think about. Most of the pieces in this book have been previously published, but that doesn't take away from a need for this collection to exist. As someone new to Nussbaum's work, this book is such a treasure.

Emily Nussbaum’s  witty new book, "I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution," is great fun even if you don’t watch much TV. Nussbaum, the Pulitzer Prize-winning TV critic for "The New Yorker," turns her analysis of TV into a quirky, irreverent romp through pop culture. 

I always read The New Yorker back to front, so TV criticism comes well before the long, serious articles and profiles for which the magazine is famous.  Nussbaum has introduced me to many TV shows over the years. I do not always agree with her opinion, of course. “How could she not like 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?'" 'I wondered.  She even hated "Gilmore Girls. " Shocking. Does this make me think less of her essays?  No.

Nussbaum always enjoyed TV but never intended to write about it.  In 1997 she was a doctoral student in English at New York University, poring every day over a new 900-page Victorian novel.  One night she saw her first episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and it made her want to be a TV critic. I do remember Buffy was the subject of academic and theological seminars. And Nussbaum found depths in this paranormal teen action show.

Perhaps the most compelling essay in this collection is “The Great Divide: Norman Lear, Archie Bunker, and the Rise of the Bad Fan.” Norman Lear, the creator of the hit comedy, "All in the Family,"  was one of TV’s icons in the ’70s. Nussbaum points out that "All in the Family" was “designed to explode the medium’s taboos, using an incendiary device named Archie Bunker.” But apparently some liberals believed the show promoted racism, because the majority of fans identified with the character Archie Bunker, a right-wing, working-class  bigot. Nussbaum points out there are always bad fans, among them fans who watched Breaking Bad for the violence.  It would never have occurred to me as a fan of "All in the Family" that anyone could have identified with the verbally abusive Archie Bunker.

Nussbaum regards "Sex and the City" as one of the most important HBO shows, right up there with ""The Sopranos."  She thinks the show is underrated because it’s about women. I, too, was a fan of Carrie Bradshaw and her friends, though you would think the high heels and $1,000-handbags would have put me off.  It was one of the most charming, intelligent shows of the early 21st century.

Her  essay on the #MeToo movement reflects her ambivalence and anxiety about her complex relationship to the brilliant comedy of Woody Allen and Louis C. K..  Apparently Louis C. K. has been a huge influence on women’s comedy, but since I neither know his work nor that of the female comedians he influenced, this was lost on me.

I once would have thought TV criticism frivolous, but the medium does seem to have caught up with, or perhaps even surpassed, most movies. It’s a fascinating book: I’m saving some of the essays until I’ve seen the TV shows she’s criticized.

I'm a big fan of Nussbaum's writing, so it stands to reason that I'd enjoy her book. There are two (very longform, very insightful) new essays, but most of the book is comprised of previously published essays. I don't know if this is something that will draw new readers in; on the other hand, if you're an enthusiast who's read a lot of Nussbaum, you'll likely be disappointed.
At any rate, I liked it a lot. It also convinced me to start watching The Good Wife.

I must admit the first thing that attracted me is the clever title! Emily Nussbaum's writings are so much more than a clever title however. Her essays are thoughtful, witty, precise and conversational. I had not read her writings, however I am happy to have "discovered" this Pulitzer Prize winning writer. I may not always agree with her points, but I can not fail to see her logic and respect her conclusions. I believe that I most appreciated her essay written about viewing TV in the MetToo millennium. I will be talking about her self discoveries and it will be a discussion and debate topic for quite awhile for me. I think that essay alone could be the basis of a book discussion selection!
I appreciate Ms Mussbaum's conversational style, her attention to detail, and her knowledge that is beyond compare. i just might have to subscribe to the New Yorker!
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the text, and will be publishing a review on thebrazenbull.com soon. Feel free to contact me at editor@thebrazenbull.com.

I Like to Watch gathers some of Nussbaum's best writing for the New Yorker and New York magazine. Better yet, it focuses that body of writing to build a philosophy of what television is for and why it's worth watching.

This is a must read for any pop culture aficionado! So many insightful, hilarious, and overall brilliant essays about TV and the effect it has had on our culture.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this book.

Reading through this collection of (mostly previously-published) essays from Emily Nussbaum, I realized that her writing (along with that of a few others, all of whom have books coming out this year, oddly enough) has turned me into a New Yorker reader. The pieces in the book are great, and push past recapping shows into analyze why they accomplish (or, in a few cases, don't accomplish...looking at you, Lost) what they're trying to do for the audience.

The two original essays, one at the start, and one smack-dab in the middle of the collection, are some of the best work here, taking on both the notion of "guilty pleasures" and looking the whole Harvey Weinstein/Woody Allen/Louis CK situation with a sharp, critical eye with plenty of personal reflection. It's clear from this collection why Nussbaum won the Pulitzer for criticism in 2016.

I LIKE TO WATCH, Emily Nussbaum's collection of essays on television, is a revelation. I worked through the book much faster than anticipated. I thought I would go to each essay individually, and would take my time, but her amazing writing, insights, and interesting stories about some of my favorite television shows made the book a page-turner for me.

Each essay is about a certain television show, yes, but it usually delves into so much more - politics, relationships, how we consume culture, and so much more. Her critiques are both rich and nuanced, and she makes the best argument for television as art. The collection is also extremely timely. However, I think it will also endure and find myself wanting to get the hard cover copy of the book to have forever (something I rarely think to do with NetGalley books!) Five stars for sure.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for a copy of I Like To Watch by Emily Nussbaum for review. Available June 25/19.

Emily Nussbaum’s essay collection is on my second favourite subject, tv and how amazing it is, especially in the last decade or so. As much as I like to talk about books, you should get me on the subject of television and what shows we should all be watching!

Emily Nussbaum is an award winning culture writer and I Like to Watch is a collection of new and previously published essays on a variety of subjects and different tv shows. As with all essay collections, some interested me greatly while others did not connect with me, mostly because they were written about shows I did not watch or did not enjoy. I really think there is something in this collection for every television fan. If you read television critiques, these ones are some of the most intellectual and fun that I have read. May not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you enjoy the art of television. I would recommend this collection!

A handy guide to the era of prestige TV, starting with The Sopranos. That was the show that prompted Nussbaum’s jump into TV criticism, albeit without her knowing that would develop into a full-fledged career. A through-line of I Like to Watch is the writer’s reckoning with the way that career has seen significant changes to some of the things she loved about television: its collaborative nature, its episodic structure, the way it unfolds over weeks and months of time.

Nearly every essay makes a compelling argument about a show or show-runner, and while I was reading it I had to bite my tongue every time a show came up in conversation and I wanted to insert, “You know, Emily Nussbaum says…” I’ll admit to skimming a few sections that got into the weeds regarding shows I didn’t see, but by and large if you don’t mind spoilers, you can save yourself a lot of time by letting Nussbaum explain why Vanderpump rules or how Jessica Jones breaks the superhero mold.

Nussbaum tackles both the production end — going deep with mavericks like Jenji Kohan and Kenya Barris — and reception, grappling with “the rise of the bad fan” in a 2014 essay that takes Archie Bunker as the prototypical fictional figure read the wrong way. “There’s a lot to be said,” writes Nussbaum, “for a show that is potent without being perfect, or maybe simply perfect for its moment, part of a conversation instead of the permanent record: storytelling that alters the audience by demanding that viewers do more than just watch.”

This is a great work that displays the history and development of Nussbaum's work, as well as her sharp wit, humor, and intelligence. As an avid tv watcher myself, I was delighted to read about shows that I had never watched, but can now enjoy with Nussbaum's nuanced take as tv as more than just entertainment, but as an art for.

Collecting many of Emily Nussbaum's television recaps, essays, profiles and commentaries, including a good chunk of the pieces which won her the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2016, I Like to Watch is one critic's assessment of where the medium stands, as well as how it got there and where it's heading. The opener cites Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the show that first consumed Nussbaum, but The Sopranos is the one that looms over the entire book. She assures readers that that HBO show is also a favorite of hers, but as the collection pushes on, her praise for it feels more customary and less heartfelt. Her heart lies with comedies; In one piece from 2008, she proclaims 30 Rock the best show on network television. In the introductory note to another, she heaps similar praise on Jane the Virgin. Nussbaum reliably backs up each stance she takes and, like any great critic, has the power to change your mind almost on the spot. (After reading "Cool Story, Bro," a merciless takedown of True Detective, I had to ask myself, "... Am I sure I actually like this show?") As someone hopelessly out of the television loop, I ended this collection excited for all the unseen material that lies ahead of me and motivated to get watching.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the complimentary ARC in exchange for this review and forthcoming blog coverage. (The post will appear on June 25 on Book Riot.)

I'm a big fan of Emily Nussbaum's, following her on Twitter and eagerly reading her New Yorker pieces whenever they're published, so it's no surprise that I liked I Like to Watch. I hadn't initially realized that the bulk of essays would be previously published pieces, but they are so well written, and intelligently chosen to illustrate the points she makes in the new essays. Heartily recommended for anyone who enjoys reading a smart commentator.

Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

A terrific collection of Nussbaum’s writing on television, this book is personal, witty, and thought-provoking. Critic Nussbaum explores tv writing, fans, commercialism, product placement, dealing with the legacies of predatory actors and directors, and other crucial topics in the medium. Highly recommended for tv and film consumers.