"The Reckless Art of Book Blurbing"

I didn't even know what a book blurb was or that authors worried about collecting them for their new books until some writers at Readerville mentioned it. Since then I've been paying attention. I have noticed that blurbs rarely have any connection with the contents of the book they're describing. More often than not, I read the book and wonder what the heck was wrong with the blurber. I've now taken to putting books with blurbs back on library and bookstore shelves--I don't read the blurbs or the books, either.

So I, of course, was very interested to read "This Book Will Change Your Life" at CBC.ca. The author finishes the article with this question: "But isn’t the point of a blurb to kindle interest in the book — and not the blurber?"

Personally, I wonder if the point of blurbs is to provide free advertising for blurbers. Their names are slapped on the cover of someone else's book, and it doesn't cost them a dime. The down side of this, of course, is that if they've blurbed a stinker, readers like me will remember for a long, long time.

Thanks to ArtsJournal.com for the link.