As tantalizing as the image above must seem, I offer all that follows not to whet your appetite but for others reasons. So, here it goes.

Apparently, according to the widely spread anecdotal assertion, if you drop a live frog into boiling water, the frog reacts rather violently.

It occured to me recently (again) that God must certainly have a wicked sense of humor. (Those offended by me attributing wickedness to God should feel free to rebut the explicit implication.) At any rate, here is what I mean:

You read one specific edisode from the several Garden of Eden episodes in Genesis (yes, there are several to choose from), and you notice that God made garments out of animal skins for Adam and Eve to wear after they had each eaten from that forbidden tree.

The always helpful Frank Wilson at Books, Inq. provides a link to the interesting video from National Book Critics Circle’s panel discussion (March 20, 1996) that focuses on the differences between book reviews and criticism:

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/73470-1

Note that Wilson makes a very important observation in response to the video, which is worth quoting (repeating) here: “I always thought the difference between reviewing and criticism was that the critic can presume that his reader is familiar with the text or texts he is writing about, whereas the reviewer must presume the opposite.”

I very much agree with Wilson’s assertion, but I would add another distinction between reviewing and criticism: Much of what is published as literary criticism is often inaccessible to the average reader because it tends to be written often by academics for academics, and thus it is written in a special language (jargon) common to academics but unfamiliar to the general reader; on the other hand, book reviewing—when it is done properly—is written clearly in accessible prose by careful and observant readers solely for the use of other readers who wish to be similarly careful and observant in their reading choices and habits.

Muses, Madmen, and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and Meaning of Auditory Hallucinations by Daniel B. Smith

The Penguin Press

ISBN 978-1-59420-110-3

Hardcover

Let’s begin with Socrates, Muhammad, William Blake, and Teresa of Ávila, just to name a few significant people from a potential list of millions.