First, is it a de facto “good thing” that book review sections be stand alone? I’m thinking maybe not. When I pick up my local Sunday paper (which has no book section anyway), there’s sections I have no interest in, like real estate, and buisness, and I quickly sort them and all the ad circulars into a pile and carry them to the recycling bin.

Now, given that we’ve heard all about how people don’t read, isn’t it possible that continuing to advocate for a segregated section is actually defeating to the cause. Couldn’t it be that too many people are saying, “books,” not for me, and shunting it aside without even cracking the cover? If a tree falls in the forest and is then made into newspaper that winds up as a book section and no one is around to read it, does it make a sound?

To me, it makes sense to put book reviews amongst other arts related news and information. I don’t generally listen to classical music, but I was intrigued enough by a review I read a couple of weeks ago (next to the Wilco review I wanted to read) to check out the music. Why not put the books information in with the other stuff where at least it stands a chance of grabbing the attention of a passerby?

Less column inches could, at least in theory, translate into more attention because of superior (if less exclusive) real estate.

But maybe I’m crazy with this stuff.

Am I crazy with this stuff?