It Seems the More They Gave, the Less She Got

Ruth Franklin is quite unhappy with The Believer.

There's nothing new about appreciative criticism--the phrase calls to mind the oldest tomes of the Lit Crit 101 syllabus, dust motes swept under the rug with the advent of deconstruction, poststructuralism, and all the other sexy innovations of the end of the twentieth century. But The Believer's criticism appreciates the reader at the expense of the writer. Like the Levenger's catalog, which markets "tools for serious readers" such as expensive paper clips and fancy notebooks, The Believer is based on a fantasy of reading--of "the reader at work," as Sven Birkerts calls it--that has limited relevance to most people's lives.

I can see where she's coming from, but there's usually at least one piece in every issue that keeps me coming back for more, though they could do a better job of putting some of that stuff online so I could steer you towards it...