"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!"