If I don't do the ironing in a minute I'll be going to work in my pyjamas tomorrow...

My final thought at the end of an interesting blogday.
In light of Rachel Cooke's mention of Nick Hornby, here's a link to my own thoughts on here about The Polysyllabic Spree posted back on October 8th.This was written as a direct result of reading a scathingly vitriolic crit of the book by Boyd Tonkin, Literary Editor of The Independent.
I doubt Rachel trawled this far back on here so she wouldn't have seen that we were in complete agreement about this book, it hit the blog world and impressed many of us months ago and we've had it by our side ever since.
But it would seem the Literary Editors are in disarray over this one.
Boyd Tonkin certainly doesn't see Nick Hornby as "a good critic and an experienced one" whose words are "measured rather than spewed out".Nor did he see them as "exceptional" qualities which must be paid for by buying the book.At the time I felt very strongly that this was an abuse of his position to score a below the belt punch.There was something personal going on here and I didn't like it.I have been reading Boyd Tonkin's writing since the first Ice Age but this one piece shot his credibility to smithereens in my eyes.
So without wishing to cast any aspersions, how can I be absolutely sure that Rachel Cooke is not a fellow Arsenal supporter, friend of Nick Hornby and is writing her piece to counter Boyd's?
How do I know there isn't some great newpaper feud going on? How do I know it's all squeaky clean?
Well the truth is I can't possibly know because I live down here in Devon, I'm an ordinary community nurse, I'm unlikely ever to meet any of them and nobody ever tells me anything.Boyd hasn't phoned for ages and Rachel didn't come for supper.
But I'm afraid the reality is, that is exactly how suspicious I ,as Mrs Joe Public, have become about press reviewing per se. Especially reviewing of the "doth protest too much" variety.
So just where does all that leave me as the reader? How does that assist my decision-making process in buying the book? On what basis can I make an informed decision? Where does that leave those of us who are paying for the books? 
It leaves us very confused.But the answer is I already had the book.
I went into a shop, browsed the book for myself to be absolutely certain because it was going to cost me £16.99 and I bought it, but not because I'd heard about it in the press.The blogs were onto it in a nano-second and word spread like a contagious rash.
In a way perhaps this offers evidence, were it ever needed, and demonstrates quite clearly for me just why the blogging community has as valid a place in the book world as anyone else.
Business as usual tomorrow, people out there dying, lives to be saved, must do the ironing:-)