"It’s possible that the myth of the lone genius on his crag is so romantic that readers, authors, and critics can’t help but subscribe to it, at least somewhat."

"I don’t care for it a bit myself, and subscribe instead to the Edward Lear view: 'You earnest Sage! aloud they cried, your book you’ve read enough in!/We wish to chop you into bits to mix you into Stuffin’!')"

From an essay by Maria Bustillos about whether book reviewers ought to be nice.