Pool 1
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If book reviewing in America has declined, it is hard to say from what glorious pinnacle it has descended.
I agree with the central idea that it is difficult to understand a distinction between a “rise” or “decline” in book reviewing. Having opinions and looking at something as either a good piece of work or a poor piece of work is something that has been in society forever. Distinguishing good from bad has been apart of society and will continue to be. So like Pool says “From what glorious pinnacle it has descended” highlights this idea. The decline of newspapers could be a better idea in terms of describing a peak and descent.
I believe Pool was being sarcastic, he was suggesting that there was never a pinnacle.
The Statement " from what a glorious pinnacle it has descended" means that book reviewing was once at the top. Now it has declined because of technology and its now hard to picture it when it was on top.
Book reviewing as a whole isn’t as popular as it once was. It may be hard to pick an angle as to what really influenced this decline simply because in this day and age not many people are reading anymore. there are a lot of people who’d rather read reviews made by other people make and make their own assumptions off someone else’s experience, rather than to read the book and make their own connections. along with the overdrawn idea of “ill just wait for the movie”. once people see that the book is actually a success 9/10 they already know it’ll be picked up for placement on the big screen. I totally agree with the idea that the media and the mass overgrowth in technology over time has made this generation entirely too lazy, no one wants to read anymore, and if they do its a rather small population of book lovers that continues to dwindle.
It is hard to say because maybe there was no glorious pinnacle- book reviewing is a very methodic art, and one that has been a standard of American culture for decades. I think the idea that it has declined speaks more to the quality of American literature being put out today.
“Cultural guidance” in this context implies that the reviewer is filtering through what are works of culture or a reflection of the times. The consumer is looking for relevancy and importance. Consumer advice deals with what you should or should not buy or how you should use something to reap the best possible benefits.
Consumer advice helps us decide where to spend our monetary capital and cultural guidance shows us what we are valuing on an ideological, moral, entertain level. Consumer advice helps place the intrinsic value on the book while cultural guidance determines the extrinsic value.
Consumer advice focuses more on giving factual evidence showing consumers why they should buy it and how it will benefit them. This is a need.
Consumer advice is pointers on wheat we should or should not buy u=in the moment. Culture guidance is when ant shift the direction of the consumers purchase for long term.
Our cultural identities are constantly changing with the times and our wants are based on those cultural changes.
. . . essentially we want consumer advice and cultural guidance.
How can I know what the book says when reviewers don't bother to attribute the information they're relating . . .
I believe Pool is also suggesting that reviewers based their reviews more so on opinions rather than, like you said, “direct examples or text.”
. . . many reviewers practice the Rorshach method of criticism, and find what they're looking for.
The Rorschach method of criticism could work in two ways: the reviewer only passes over the book and gets a general impression or the reviewer sees a general theme and then finds only the relevant items to support their initial impression.
Yes essentially that is the Rorschach method of criticism where the reviewer finds what catches their attention and uses that in the review. They do not capture the full essence of the book or essay. The only way to distinguish whether a description of work is good is to to read many reviews on a book to get more perspectives.
I’m reminded of a review I recently read where one reviewer couldn’t get over the fact that the item was now made in China when it wasn’t in the past. This one fact seemed to distract them from giving a fair, thorough review, while most other reviewers couldn’t be bothered to mention it.
I need an assessment
Assessments involve pooling together reliable information as a process of evaluating and forming a conclusion. It requires extensive research and at times, trials. In terms of a review, it would require that the subject matter be studied inside-out in order to bring to light every intricacy of the matter being reviewed.
An assessment by definition is the evaluation or estimation of the quality or ability of someone or something.
. . . a good review is more than a verdict
for those insights and observations, while a review which proves to be “right” in its verdict can be right for foolish reasons" (Pool 11). I think this idea is that reviews can give insight into how society thinks in a given time period.
If a " good review is more than a verdict" in my opinion I feel as if there not much needed. There can be more opinions or reviews written to help or disclaim the verdict.
Aside from the reviewer’s own personal verdict, a good review should also leave the reader with a sense of the reading experience of the book (is it a joyful experience, thoughtful experience, melancholy experience, etc.) Part of a good review is outlining what the reader can expect in terms of mood and tone.
Like any other piece of writing, a book review requires some semblance of a supportable thesis. I am suddenly reminded of all those times in elementary school that my classes were assigned book reports. My childhood friends would try to recommend to our peers the books that they chose to review. Even then, I was incredulous that so many of my classmates felt that it was sufficient to say “read it because it is good and funny.”
An 8-year-old can pass a verdict, but you won’t see many of his opinions published in the book pages.
What separates good and bad reviews is how the author arrives to their verdict. Did the author thoroughly test and learn the material they are reviewing, or are they ignorant to certain features or facts? Does the review contain misinformation or an unreasonable amount of bias? Is it made clear who the intended audience is for the item being reviewed? These are important questions to ask regarding the content of the review. Stylistically, a good review is well-written, concise, and engaging.
Anybody can say something is good or bad, it’s how they validate their opinion that matters.
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