Whether it's a review, an article or an opinion piece, I'm more inclined to seek out a writer's work if it's well written. Which is why I'll be looking out for more from you in future.

this is so weird. i get home. i read the paper. i read this review of the book The Death Of The Critic...and then i stumble on your article.

syncronicity...or something.

Mark, The Death of The Critic sounds like an excellent book. And Kanani, thanks for the thoughtful analysis on the state of blog reviewers. I also find bloggers to be a mixed bag in terms of content, not just in reviews, but in other forms of commentary. For my part, I try to put the book or album in a social context when I write my reviews, and let the analysis fall in place. In a few years, I think we're going to see a lot more social commentary & scholarly analysis on the role of the blogger, and I love to read articles like this that start to set the tone.

as i've said before, part of the reason i took up writing was because i was really sick of "the jaded reviewer", where the writer has seen and heard it all and never, ever...has anything good to say.

worse yet is the reviewer who has always disliked the "target" of the review and spends several paragraph coming up with clever ways to put the material down.

sure, there are some poorly written things out on the blogger side of the net, but the 'legit' writer world isn't immune either.

"The editor wrote me back... "your piece was a review." I responded, "No, it was a recommendation." Same cat, different breed. I guess I'll have to learn to meow better."

Kind of odd to end a good article with a rumination on a rather clear-cut Blogcritics house style.

Dear Everyone, Thank you for your comments.
Actually, I ended it with three links. Two are embedded in the article, the third is a reference to Christine Thomas of Literary Lotus blog, who writes excellent blurbs and reviews as well.

I think for a lot of people, reviewing books is a way of sharing --not necessarily showing how much they know. Sometimes they take info right off the book jacket! But by and large, they're very excited and want you to know. Publishers love this, especially since the amount of money for PR is negligible (especially with first time authors), and few can go to someone a firm like Goldberg McDuffie. So bloggers now fill that role.

I agree, there's a lot to be desired even in mainstream magazine and newspaper review sections. With the downsizing of newspapers and editorial departments are going some very good writers, and the sections just get smaller.

and do look at the National Book Critics blog, Critical Mass. There's a post about John Updike on the Safety of Criticism.