Bill Eichenberger, friend and book critic of the Columbus Dispatch, has started a new blog and we are proud to introduce it to you here on the Planet of the Blind. According to Bill, his goal for The Book Blog
"is for the blog to be, in a modest way, all things to all book lovers.
And I hope the comment threads can give people in central Ohio (and farther
afield) a place to converse."
Visit his blog and the first thing you will learn is that
"Bill Eichenberger joined The Dispatch in
1985 and became the pop music critic in 1989, a position he held for
nine years until he replaced George Myers, Jr. (the original Dispatch
blogger) as the book critic in 1997.
Eichenberger contends that he added 50 points to his IQ the day he became book critic and insists
that “my worst interview with an author was still better than my best
interview with a musician.”
Eichenberger will blog about books — at least until Americans forsake the written word and give themselves over entirely to American Idol."
In one of his very first posts this month Bill asks the question "The future of book reviews?" and links to an article in which there is a quote by Maud Newton, who has been writing a literary blog since 2002. Our readers know that Lance Mannion, besides being a literary blogger (among other things), is our friend and mentor and he says that Maud Newton is "To Be Read First Thing in the Morning". Check his blogroll. You’ll see.
Bill Eichenberger has done Steve the honor of reviewing both his books, in print – in the Columbus Dispatch – and we are pleased to find this little way to "pay it forward".
Gosh, and while I’m thinking of it, I’ve got to find a way to introduce Bill to ohdave of Into My Own. Ohdave (yet another friend/literary blogger) has a weekly feature he calls "Sunday Reading" and he too was kind enough to review Steve’s book and to post some of his poetry.
So Bill, meet Lance and ohdave. Lance, meet Bill and ohdave. ohdave, meet Bill and Lance.
There. I think my work here is done for the day.
~ Connie
Planet of the Blind 