Melville House Books

While noting that most librarians are raging against Section 215 of the Patriot Act, in his “Bad Librarian” column Erik Wennermark wonders what there is for Federal investigators to secretly learn in the average readers reading habits. “Let’s face it, the library records are just not that interesting,” he writes. “I spend half my days finding audio books of Dan Brown‘s The Da Vinci Code and digging through 50 copies of Michael Crichton‘s new ‘environmental thriller’ for one decent book. The only reason to look at what the average American is reading (if they are reading at all) is to make fun of them.” Wennermark admits “just the thought of some loathsome G-man poking through my files kinda gets me down, regardless of what it is he’s poking through.” Still, “Opponents of Section 215 . . . mention the possible ‘chilling-effect’ on intellectual inquiry; I just don’t see much to chill. One must first engage one’s intellect to have it stifled.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.