"Let me put this bluntly," says Richard Schickel, "in
 language even a busy blogger can understand: Criticism — and 
its humble cousin, reviewing — is not a democratic activity. 
It is, or should be, an elite enterprise, ideally undertaken 
by individuals who bring something to the party beyond 
their hasty, instinctive opinions of a book (or

any other cultural object). So to all you dirty, 
stinkin' apes out there in Bloggerland: STAY THE HELL 
OFF MY PROPERTY!"