I mentioned last post about starting up some new features on YUTOPIA. While I’ve been too busy as of late to write up my thoughts on the parasha, I am just about ready to break in a new section for reviews.
While I’m open to reviewing most media, I will probably wind up doing more by way of books in whatever genre I happen to be reading at the time. Solicitations are more than welcome, and are in fact encouraged. I can guarentee that anyone who sends over a book for review will not only be bumped to the Top Of The Pile, but will also find me in a less ornery mood than usual. If you’d like your book (or anything else for that matter) reviewed on YUTOPIA, let me know via e-mail.
Obviously the nature of reviews will depend on what I’m reviewing; some will be more serious and academic than others. However, I’m well aware of the limits people have in terms of time, money, and bookshelf space so I will be instituting a completely arbitrary rating system. For books at least the numbers would mean something like this:

***** (5/5) – Excellent. Buy it in hardcover and memorize.
**** (4/5) – Really good. A strong recommendation to read and own.
*** (3/5) – Pretty good. Worth your time, and perhaps a spot on the bookshelf.
** (2/5) – Eh. Only if you’re holding in the topic/genre, otherwise get the gist from someone else.
* (1/5) – Bad. You can safely ignore this book without missing out on anything.
No Stars – Labotomy in print. Reading this book will actually lower your I.Q.

You get the idea. Also, I’ll probably give different ratings based on the genre of the book or how it would be used. For example, As a Driven Leaf would have to be rated differently than academic or halakhic books because the latter types presumably aren’t intended to be fiction.¹
You’ll see what I mean when we get started, hopefully some time this week.

1. Yes, it’s taking a lot of self-restraint not to name names.