Bill Keller is doling out more contentious opinions!
We already found out what he thought about twitter— its consequences on our cognitive abilities and its potentially deleterious effect on the well-being of his thirteen year-old daughter. But now he is taking a break from insulting ephemeral communication to critique good, old-fashioned books. Why critique those Times writers interested in getting their books published, and go as far to say that book-writing should be on the decline? Because, he would get his staff back, if they would stick to their journalistic careers.
“But that does not explain why writers write them. Writers write them for reasons that usually have a little to do with money and not as much to do with masochism as you might think. There is real satisfaction in a story deeply told, a case richly argued, a puzzle meticulously untangled…Sigh. It will never end.”
