Is Book Reviewing a Public Service or an Art? - NYTimes.com

Oh, a public service, definitely. Like keeping the drains clear. Book reviewing is an act of cultural hygiene, and in a republic more symbolically tuned-in than ours the book reviewers would all be wearing boiler suits and big rubber gloves. Think about what they do: From the great porridgey swell of incoming print, its level always rising, they pluck out the good stuff and kind of sluice the rest away. Hard work, dirty work, underappreciated and not well paid. And do they get it right all the time? Certainly not. Gems are overlooked, mediocrities are exalted; it happens every day. But somebody's got to process this stuff, as it bellies up against the levee - offer an analysis, pass a judgment, make a call. Somebody's got to read the book before you do.