For a while now, the
San Diego Union Tribune has been one of the few remaining newspapers with a free-standing book review section. The U-T has been among a small but prestigious group in this regard, standing tall with
The New York Times , The Washington Post , San Francisco Chronicle , and
This weekend, the Union Tribune will stop publishing their book review section. In its place, they'll publish two pages of book reviews in the Sunday arts section and one page reviews on a more regular basis throughout the week. The U-T's Web site will also add a book section.
A lot of newspapers have made similar decisions in the last year, most notably the Los Angeles Times and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . This has led to a nationwide conversation about the value of book criticism in newspapers versus the web, and about the challenges facing print newspapers in the digital age.
This Thursday, the Union Tribune's Chris Lavin, senior editor for special sections, will be on These Days to talk about the paper's decision to cut their book review section. Joining in the conversation will be John Freeman, the president of the National Book Critics Circle .
Here's my question for you : How valuable is a free-standing book review section? Do you read it? Will you miss it? How much attention do you pay to book reviews when you're buying books?
-- Angela Carone produces arts and culture programming for These Days and Culture Lust . Please read our guidelines before posting comments.
