The New Republic

I took the survey, but you left out a significant source for books - the library.  That is where I get most of the books I read.

- rpnslg

July 21, 2009 at 12:53pm

How about surveying how we feel about the way this website is maintained? I am sure many of my fellow readers would like to express their opinions on that matter.

- rodvinge

July 21, 2009 at 12:56pm

Must admit that the survey didn't seem overly about reading habits, but whatever.

What is was missing was the following:

How much does it annoy you that the sidebar on tnr.com is inconsistent, doesn't always link to all of the blogs and sometimes links to obsolete ones (e.g. the Stump)?

1. I have stopped reading tnr.com as such a simple error casts a shadow over the entire site

2. Lots

3. A bit

4. Not at all.

- Nari224

July 21, 2009 at 1:03pm

rodvinge: hear hear!

- primwallflow

July 21, 2009 at 1:39pm

Ditto what rodvinge wrote.  How can you all not be  embarrassed enough by this site to improve it?

- sdemuth

July 21, 2009 at 3:06pm

Every so often the popular frustration with of the way the discussion boards are set up boils over, a few of us scream loudly, and some TNR staffer hurries onto a thread, and reassures everyone that they hate it too.  Then s/he promises that they are working on fixing it, and disappears back behind the scenery for the next few months.

In fact, it's kind of astonishing that they wouldn't realize that this survey thing is all the more insulting because they haven't fixed a damn thing on this site.  Until some mass boycott or subscription cancelling threat can be organized, I don't see what's going to change.

Hmmm . . . .

- ironyroad

July 21, 2009 at 3:09pm

this is an interesting post. I love to discuss reading habits and book choices. I wonder how this is related to our tnr blogging?

As for the formatting, I have sorta given up on bitching about it. Obviously, for whatever reasons, the tnr lords have decided that this is the format and if we don't like it, then F off. Considering how I post - which is always on the fly - I can live it.

- thejauntyboulevardier

July 21, 2009 at 4:22pm

"How is this [survey] related to our tnr blogging?" Good question, jaunty. Does the survey relate, rather, to a consideration on the part of TNR to cut back on book reviews? I notice in the on-line index for the hardcopy of the latest issue (July 15?!)--an issue I STILL haven't received in the mail--that there seem to be no book reviews, only two poems listed under Books. The day TNR cuts back on its Books section is the day I cancel my subscription...not that they're actually sending me the magazine I paid for.

- cvillekid

July 21, 2009 at 4:48pm

Not me, Jaunty. I thought this was just an aberration of the Canadian Ascendancy, but apparently not.

Really guys, no shame? No sense of decency?

- Robert Powell

July 21, 2009 at 4:49pm

Maybe they want to solicit online advertising from Barnes and Noble and Amazon...hence the online survey.

- lisap1999

July 21, 2009 at 5:08pm

Also, the "Age Group" thing had "under 30" and "31 and over".  It seems I am right in the sweet spot where my opinions don't count.

- boneill

July 21, 2009 at 5:44pm

speaking of boycotts, I was going to cancel my subscription but the bastards just auto-renewed it and I am tragically too lazy to call them and fix it.

- perkowitz

July 21, 2009 at 8:39pm

on the question about where I read book reviews, which is accompanied by a long list of boring east coast elitist media garbage I don't bother to read, I checked "other" and put HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE INTERNET

on the question about what I'd like to see more of in book reviewing, I wrote: "I would like Christopher Orr to review books. he is great at movies and I bet he would be pretty good at books. or if I can't have Orr, someone who displays his understanding that popular culture, even fun low culture, can be interesting and worth reviewing."

I can think of a number of questions TNR could ask me in a survey, the answer to which would be MORE CHRISTOPHER ORR. except for the ones for which the answer would be JUST PAY SOME GODDAMN KIDS TO REDESIGN IT ALREADY YOU BASTARDS.

- perkowitz

July 21, 2009 at 8:46pm

Something I noticed recently, which may be of interest to my fellow-travelers who believe the website has been a disgrace for going on two years now: if you want to know where all the web design team's attention has been for these past two years, check out the "TNR TV" tab.  A smooth, pretty, modern interface, no odd performance issues or gaps in the content.  In short, what you would expect from a professionally maintained website.

All that energy spent on one of the TNR features I care least about!  How about showing some love for us old-fashioned folks who prefer print to video on the Web?  While you're at it, do we really need a "TNR Slideshow" every day?  I come here for the text, ladies and gentlemen, and I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping that you'll leave the multi-media razzle-dazzle to outlets that are better-suited for it.

- austinexpat

July 22, 2009 at 12:15pm

agreed, I have basically no interest in TNR tv. taking a break from work to read a blog post or article is one thing; sitting through a video clip is a completely different kind of attention.

- perkowitz

July 22, 2009 at 1:35pm