Jerome Weeks wonders if top editors at the New York Times realize how important the Times Book Review is to readers. “While many newspapers are shrinking every story to the length and mental level of a movie blurb (‘best ever!’), the Saturday Times and the Boston Globe’s Ideas section take their small stands against our rampant anti-intellectualism. They print essays, intelligent ruminations on topics and trends often prompted by books. Yes, more of these would be welcome. And yes, the Book Review needs a jolt of provocative writing and fresh thinking. But its dullness has had less to do with the nature of the books being covered and more with the genteel backscratching that passes for book criticism these days.”