One of the many threads that linger in the vapor has to do with book reviews by bloggers. Most of us here on Collected Miscellany review books; maybe Phil doesn’t, but I sense that if moved to do so, he would. Dan Green of the Reading Experience has written some insightful posts about literary criticism. Sarah Weinman provoked a good discussion about who should review; Sarah reviews for the Baltimore Sun and that makes her a professional. Phil’s recent post about Harriet Klausner made me realize that I am Harriet Klausner.
This confession or epiphany is very disconcerting. I’d always assumed that Harriet was a mythical person, a disembodied montage created by the Internet’s Special Effects People. Not only is she real, or as real as it gets in this context, she has become a Top Gun, maneuvering high above the Amazon faster than Newt, more powerful than Jack and Coke.
To confirm my suspicions about myself as a reviewer, I need look no further than my incessant babbling about Elizabeth Crane’s All This Heavenly Glory. I can’t review it because all I really want is for all of you to buy the book and read the damned thing. Stop what you’re doing and go buy it; no, don’t take it out of the library because your overdue fines will mount and you’ll find yourself in a sea of nine year olds who’ve lost their library cards.
This begs the question if I’m Harriet Klausner, who is Harriet?
This is precisely why the French recently booted Sartre off their Top 100 Philosophers list. Maybe Dick Clarke could host something similar here; we could have a countdown. Coming in at number 100…you guessed it…Harriet Klausner.
