Closing the book

It looks like another major newspaper's books column has gone to that big library in the sky. The Chicago Tribune had merged their books section into a "Books & Media" section earlier this year, and now even that has eaten it. Damn. The Washington Post merged their Book World into their Style section this year too. Though it looks like it may survive in this incarnation, at least for awhile. Even in the midst of the death of the city newspaper, the book sections are declining even faster. They seem to be seen as dead weight that can be cut the easiest.

I totally understand that with the internet boom, there are all sorts of critics available to me. Amazon.com reviews, bloggers, and dedicated sites. But here's the thing - a lot of people on the internet are idiots. And I say this with love in my heart, and knowing full well that I'm one of the idiots. I'll throw my two-cents down with the rest of them, knowing that I'm lucky not to get a full penny change back. But I know I'm just an average American. I really rely on not average Americans, people with knowledge, experience and taste who can clue me in on stuff that I never would have found on my own. There are over 100,000 books published every year. How the heck am I supposed to figure out which ones to read? Books can be expensive. If I'm going to lay out cash, I'd like at least an edge on making sure that I have a fighting chance of buying something that is worth my hard-earned dough.

I'm old fashioned that way. I like to build a trust in a reviewer, and yes, defer to the wiser head. Get to know their taste. Understand what their thought processes and criteria are. After all these years, if Michael Dirda says something is good, I know that I can rely pretty heavily on that opinion. In a rottentomatoes/blogosphere world, where anybody can be an expert, I find myself looking more and more for voices I can trust rather than listen to the howling crowd. And as the newspaper book sections disappear, those voices are going to be drowned out. Damn.