tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post1553185086159069967..comments2024-03-27T17:34:52.560-05:00Comments on A Garden Carried in the Pocket: An Old Argumentjenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-42226230177752885952007-05-26T13:44:00.000-05:002007-05-26T13:44:00.000-05:00Exactly! There are many bloggers who have the abil...Exactly! There are many bloggers who have the ability to be professional reviewers, some even do those kind of reviews. I like what Danielle said, that our blogs are 'online reading journals', to share our impressions of our reading. I don't think we are attempting to provide academic literary criticism, just sharing our enjoyment of reading. I certainly read both, as I am sure lots of us do.Melwykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04885378201188978664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-48190481370837280792007-05-24T13:14:00.000-05:002007-05-24T13:14:00.000-05:00I always find this interesting. I guess in theory...I always find this interesting. I guess in theory I want there to be true literary criticism, but then I often cannot distance that title from book snobbery. I guess one of the hard things is determining what makes one a good critic. There are soooo many who may seem like good critics and then they make statements dismissing books while admitting that they 'don't like this genre', etc. Some of the things that are happening were brought on by the industry itself so I cannot entirely feel sorry for them. Although I still wish they would continue, despite some of the negative feelings I have surrounding paid critics.Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-45847455458034059082007-05-19T20:50:00.000-05:002007-05-19T20:50:00.000-05:00I agree with everyone else, too. The funny thing ...I agree with everyone else, too. The funny thing about bloggers is that there are plenty who have literary training, have journalistic backgrounds or have written professionally in some other capacity but choose to write about how a book makes them <I>feel</I> rather than sticking to a more formal review. I think that's wonderful and there is plenty of room for both professional critics and casual reviewers. Obviously, the people who read book reviews are readers; we're looking to read about what to read. :)Bookfoolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08247136634069540446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-84223705986899032412007-05-19T10:41:00.000-05:002007-05-19T10:41:00.000-05:00Feeling like a broken record here, I have to agree...Feeling like a broken record here, I have to agree with everyone else. When I started my blog, it was never supposed to take the place of professional reviews. It was FOR ME PERSONALLY. I didn't actually think anyone else would ever read it anyway!<BR/><BR/>I LIKE reading book blog reviews. I get a chance to see what someone that I like and can relate to thinks about a book that I might like to read. It doesn't take the place of anything!! It enhances my reading experience!Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05055676171075203563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-37881424742687088292007-05-18T23:10:00.000-05:002007-05-18T23:10:00.000-05:00Not much for me to add other than "me too!"Not much for me to add other than "me too!"SuziQoregonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15552565982732943323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-60046855748365199112007-05-18T20:03:00.000-05:002007-05-18T20:03:00.000-05:00Chiming to say here! here! and me too, what you an...Chiming to say here! here! and me too, what you and everyone else has said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-25059805423000580772007-05-18T08:38:00.000-05:002007-05-18T08:38:00.000-05:00I have never thought of my blog as bing any sort o...I have never thought of my blog as bing any sort of professional review or criticism of a book. For me is an online reading journal--more chatty for discussion perahps. I know where to go to look for professional criticism and reviews. I like to have a more scholarly or educated interpretation of the books I am reading, but I also like to know what others thought on a personal level. Sometimes this constant argument back and forth makes my head spin!<BR/><BR/>Also I will have to pick up the Gruen book (I didn't notice a place to leave a comment on your post). I have looked at it, but never felt compelled to buy or borrow it. I will have to look closer next time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-6720408179289210272007-05-18T08:32:00.000-05:002007-05-18T08:32:00.000-05:00I agree with you. I don't understand why both can'...I agree with you. I don't understand why both can't coexist happily. I miss the book reviews in my local newspaper. I still read book reviews from the "critics" but why does that mean I can't have a say about the book either. I love to read book bloggers reviews because they are usually on a more personal level, and with comments on blogs well that just opens up a dialogue between the readers. My book reviews are my diary of what I've read and how I felt about it. Simple as that :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-28102344651064970692007-05-18T07:31:00.000-05:002007-05-18T07:31:00.000-05:00Sam - I know things are changing, but a lot of pe...Sam - I know things are changing, but a lot of people still take the paper exactly for things like book reviews and cultural events, getting the news itself from television. They may lose more customers than they realize by cutting in this area.<BR/><BR/>There is a place for both and blogging raises interest in more formal criticism...to the benefit of newspapers.<BR/><BR/>Melanie - A community, yes! That is the fun of blogging, the sharing! <BR/><BR/>L.F. - I love the book sections, but that is usually once a week, and blogging is every day communication and sharing. As the article mentioned, there is a "healthy synergy"! And as Johnson said, book blogging is "vital," even if it isn't (and doesn't pretend to be) "true literary criticism."jenclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-8525123205489581802007-05-18T03:03:00.000-05:002007-05-18T03:03:00.000-05:00I third what Sam said! I am not a profession revi...I third what Sam said! I am not a profession reviewer in any sense of the word. My blog is simply a place where I can share my thoughts and impressions of the books I read and I don't pretend to be an expert or even very good at it. <BR/><BR/>I too have come to trust bloggers opinions more than the professional reviews though. I feel like I'm getting a "real person's" thoughts on the book, someone like me. <BR/><BR/>I have never really read newspaper reviews, but still I hate to see those sections cut because I know that many people do enjoy them.Literary Felinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13079276242303738719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-59927383065646320722007-05-17T20:28:00.000-05:002007-05-17T20:28:00.000-05:00A second everything Sam has said. Even if a blogge...A second everything Sam has said. Even if a blogger has the education and background to write professional reviews, that's not what she's doing in the blog, and that's not what others read her blog for. We bloggers are a community of booklovers, and we want to write/read what others of our tribe are enjoying (or not). I discover a lot more books through bloggers than through the professional book reviews, which have limited space, and have to appeal to (i.e., sell to ) a more specific audience.<BR/><BR/>(And I love reading your reviews!)teabirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789062795176641187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-77166994289344793482007-05-17T17:22:00.000-05:002007-05-17T17:22:00.000-05:00I agree with you. I hate what seems to be happeni...I agree with you. I hate what seems to be happening to the literary sections of this country's major newspapers because they are killing off one of my favorite Sunday pastimes. I love the way that the internet has made it possible for me to read so many different newspaper book sections every week. <BR/><BR/>Most book bloggers do not "review" books in the same sense or style that professional reviewers do the job. Bloggers are more about their personal reactions to books than they are about where a book fits into the literary world. We know what we like and why, and that's what we try to express in our own way. And I certainly think there's a place for that kind of thing because I have expanded my reading world by reading book bloggers in a way that the more literary newspaper reviews never did it for me. I read the newspaper and magazine reviews to learn which books I "should be" impressed with and why. Professional reviewers have the background and education that help them to see books in a way that most bloggers will seldom approach. But I'm more often mislead by professional reviewers than I am by book bloggers. I read for pleasure and for knowledge. The best books offer me both. I want to know what people like me are reading and enjoying...that's exactly what book bloggers tell me and I love them for it.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.com