Reading is BelievingCommissioner Climbs Amazon Reviewer’s List

Liberty County Commissioner Melvin Hunt is becoming known for more than paving the roads around Cleveland.
“I always considered reading to be a gift,” Hunt said. An avid reader since childhood, Hunt is now ranked 466 among book reviewers on Amazon.com.
For the past seven years, Hunt has read and reviewed more than 500 books for the Internet site. When he began posting reviews, he was ranked somewhere around number 55,000. Since then, the number of reviewers on Amazon has grown to more than 70,000.
Now, Hunt is among the top 500 reviewers in the world. In fact, he has become so respected that two authors have sent him advance copies of their books after reading some of his reviews.
“The first book I received was from a local Texas author, David Marion Wilkinson,” said Hunt. He considers the unexpected contact a tremendous honor, since the Alpine resident almost instantly became one of the most respected living Western authors. Wilkinson has personally presented Gov. Rick Perry with a copy of the same book he sent Hunt. That gift now occupies a special place on a shelf in the governor’s office.
Hunt reads each night before going to sleep and begins each day with time set aside for reading. As a child in Anahuac, he faithfully read Dick Tracy and Batman in the Beaumont Enterprise. Today, his favorite authors are Grant Blackwood, R.J. Pineiro and Marcus Winn.
Hunt said he is unable to narrow his favorite book down to one, but his three all-time favorite are: “The End of Enemies” by Grant Blackwood, “No Other Options” by Marcus Winn, and “Conspiracy.com” by R.J. Pineiro, another Texas author. When asked if he has received an advanced copy of a book from any of these authors, Hunt said he has not. However, his eyes lit up at the mere thought as he added, “It’s my goal in life to receive a book from one of these three.”
Hunt said that one of the more interesting books he’s read is Steven Sellers’ “Terror on Highway 59,” a story about the old sheriff’s regime of James “Humpy” Parker in San Jacinto County.
“In 1984, I purchased the book for $14,” Hunt said. “I recently checked, and the book is now worth $129.50.” He said Sellars’ book had the biggest impact on him of all of the locally written books he has read, not only because it is part of Texas history, but also because he knew a number of the people involved.
Hunt has no use or respect for the modern day electronic book industry. He said he has never tried an electronic book and furthermore stated, “I believe it will ruin the art of reading.”
As for writing a book himself, the commissioner said if he ever does, it would be about county government and his experience in local politics.
“I’ve seen a little bit of everything in my years of office,” he said.
Hunt would certainly have insight of his own to offer, having spent the last 30 years in public office. He is proud to hold the distinction of having been the youngest city councilman in the state of Texas, first taking office at the tender age of 21. The former Cleveland High School civics and history teacher was on the city council for eight years prior to the last 20, which he has spent as a county commissioner.
Hunt may have influence far beyond that of his office as county commissioner since people all over the world read his book reviews to gain perspective, or perhaps to aid in choosing their next book.
Having read so many books over such a span of years, a second home would be required to house Hunt’s library. However, he is not hoarding the thousands of books he has read. Instead he passes most of them along to others. Some were donated to libraries, and some have been passed along to friends such as current county auditor Harold Seay, also an avid reader, and Sheriff Greg Arthur, a “reading fanatic.”
Among the books Hunt has kept are “Plain Speaking” by Harry Truman, which he said gave him insight into the presidency that he would never have had otherwise.
“What made it interesting,” he said, “is that Truman was president during one of the most critical times of our history.”
Hunt is honored by the attention his reviews have received, particularly from the authors themselves. He is extremely proud of his position among the top 500 reviewers worldwide on Amazon.com and has set a goal for himself of becoming one of the top 100 within the next three years. Hunt works toward this on a daily basis, and if history is any indicator, he will achieve his goal.
Note: This article was originally published last fall. Hunt has now written around 600 reviews for Amazon. His reviews can be found weekly in the Eastex Advocate and sometimes the Cleveland Advocate as well. He has received a tremendous amount of positive feedback on his reviews and has probably picked up a number of votes at the same time. When it comes to public relations, you might say Commissioner Melvin Hunt wrote the book.
By Jamie Nash, HCN Cleveland Advocate