Does anyone read book reviews anymore?

I was a little surprised when I read this story by Anis Shivani in The Huffington Post recently, because I thought I was the only one who didn't. Yes, confession: I seldom read book reviews, and I haven't read one for a while. Why? Well, for one thing I'd rather judge a book by its cover (and its first page). Second, I receive good recommendations from friends. Third, I am sort of adventurous; I like to try out new stuff. And fourth, well-written reviews are a joy to read, but have become increasingly difficult to find.

Still, there are some people who come into Silverfish Books looking for titles, with cutouts of book reviews from the local dailies (many completely out of date).

Anis Shivani asked several American critics, "How can book reviewing be relevant to the new generation of readers?" Here are some responses (extracts only):

Jay Pirani, author: Today the newspapers print badly argued, often showy, and usually brief takes on a book. The quality of a reviewer's prose, and the quality of sympathy brought to the book itself, seems not to matter, to editors or readers.

Ron Charles, Washington Post: Get over it: They (the new generation) don't subscribe to newspapers, and they're not going to.

Steven G. Kellman, book critic: Accuracy and honesty remain urgent.

Kelly Cherry, author: The Internet is commodious but for that very reason tends to collapse into fiefdoms. How much do Internet reviews really affect readers' choices?

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The Huffington Post