This is a really, really good comment. Book reviews are sometimes so deep and thoughtful that they are themselves worth reacting to, but they're never equivalen

This is a really, really good comment. Book reviews are sometimes so deep and thoughtful that they are themselves worth reacting to, but they're never equivalent to the work reviewed. The presence of a positive-and-stupid book review does not invalidate the actual book (and conversely, a positive review does not guarantee a thoughtful book).