A Bit of Lit Debate for a Lazy Sunday

Looking for a little literary debate to liven up this lazy Sunday afternoon? Why not check out Are All Opinions Equal? by Shelf Love asking what it is that makes one person’s literary opinion worth more than another’s. Or not, as the case maybe. To quote from her post:

Not all bookish disagreements take the form of differences in preference, however. Sometimes people disagree on what constitutes good plotting or three-dimensional characterization. One person’s purple prose is another person’s lush use of language. The two readers might in theory look for the same kinds of things in their books, but they disagree on whether particular books meet their standards. Is one reader wrong and another right? Or is this something that is purely subjective?

…Do some opinions have more merit than others? Can an opinion be wrong? Is there such a thing as objectivity when writing about books?

Check it out for a thought-provoking post and the lively ensuing debate in the comments – continuing a theme we have explored in different guises on VL in posts such as Fox in the City, What Makes a Good Review and Blog’s Rule!.

Have a great weekend! (What’s left of it.)

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Crocheted fox courtesey of Penguin & Fish on Flickr, reproduced under the Creative Commons License.

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