Friend of the blog Stephen Parrish passed along a PW link about Washington Post book reviewer Ron Charles and his popular (and funny) video reviews.
Here, for instance, is his review of Freedom by Jonathan Franzen:
It got Stephen (and me) to thinking… what is the future of the book review? Do you read reviews? And which kind?
Is Charles’ embrace of a non-print format a further sign this is the end of the road for the print review? Or is he breathing new life into them?
Argh, that first part should have read "published critics", not "public critics".
It takes me a lot less time to read a review than watch a video, so I'm still all for the written review. Quite honestly, I'm good with the 'word-of-mouth' style consumer reviews on Amazon, B&N, etc. Traditionally, pro reviewers, ie. 'critics' are generally trying to be amusing and famous. I prefer getting my recs from people without an agenda.