Critics

I often wonder what it's like to be a critic. Book critic, film critic, food critic...etc, etc. What exactly are the prerequisites for being a critic? I'm thinking about this because prior to leaving for the holidays, I was checking out book reviews so that I would have plenty to read on the plane. In my rush to get an interesting book (at the airport), I failed to acknowledge the fact that nobody in their right mind would put a bad review on the books website, or on the front cover for that matter. Shame on me.

I chose the book "Prep" by Curtis Sittenfeld because I went to a private boarding school, and was interested to see if I could relate to any of the experiences in the novel, but also because it was on the New York Times Bestseller list. I haven't been all that dissapointed with the NYT list, so I decided to go with this one.

A book critic from the Boston globe is qouted on the front cover of the book saying "Prep may be as addictive as M&M's, but it's also a tart and complex tale of social class, race, and gender politics." What the hell is that?! "Addictive as M&M's??" No offense, but after an intense bout of flu; M&M's make me want to hurl, and so does all this critic shit. I've been noticing it more and more recently. Look, if a band has an incredible debut album, and then shits the bed on their second release - don't candy coat it by telling us that the band is "maturing" just tell us that the album sucks...sheesh

I guess a career of pulling euphemistic shit out of my ass wouldn't be all that bad, and in that respect - i'm a little envious of critics. If I ever do get around to writing a novel and the cover is graced with some pathetic critic bullshit, you have my permission to smack me directly in the face.

Other than that, the book was pretty good. End rant.