But internet discussion groups and the blogosphere can take us only so far. We need to be able to read, ponder, and discuss in tranquility, bringing our best faculties to bear. Tranquility is one thing the internet cannot provide. (Its very names sound schoolyardish and jumpy... Twitter. Myspace. Flickr. Blog. Feed.) Deeper criticism is a healthy and necessary counterbalance to all the online hustle and bustle. It's like coming home to a quiet place after dashing through the city streets all day.

That's not to say serious criticism can't be found on the internet. Far from it. But it's the shorter, sharper forms that thrive online. Blogcritics is a perfect example of a web publication that lends itself to this middle ground. Reading a long article, though, is much better done in print. It's both relaxing and clarifying, something like what scientists theorize is the purpose of sleep - to impose some kind of calm sense upon the day's maelstrom of chaotic stimuli. If we stop reading (and, of course, writing) any nonfiction that's too long to comfortably fit in a blog entry, we will lose a crucial part of what makes us productive thinking beings. How can we absorb any nutrients if we don't digest our food?

Blogging and online socializing, whether casual or intense, probably won't, and probably can't, supplant or marginalize serious criticism. Books aren't going away - they're more numerous than ever - and print magazines that publish long articles are still churning out the issues. The web is a fount of information, but it can also be a big distraction, and sometimes we need to get away from it.