At the outset of our extended summer break, we invited you to come back in September to see what’s new.
The big news is that I’m putting Dilettante’s Diary into a state of suspended animation.
As of September 4th, the website has been functioning for nine years. I have very much enjoyed sharing my enthusiasm
for the arts. Readers from as far away as Melbourne and Buenos Aires have discovered the website and communicated with me.
In recent years, the typical daily readership has hovered somewhere around 500. There have been several days, though, when
readership topped 1,000. The total number of visits, as of now, is 583,602.
The printed copy of the compiled pages, when it’s completed, will come to approximately ten inches thick. Postings
have included (counting roughly):
- 450 movie reviews
- 443 book reviews
- 136 art reviews
- 110 music reviews
- 97 theatre reviews
- 53 restaurant reviews
That’s 1,289 reviews – not to mention various miscellaneous items and short essays.
As you might suspect, my brain is a little tired from all this critical writing. And I’m beginning to think it’s
time to lay aside this persona of the know-it-all who has the definitive opinion on every work of art.
More importantly, other writing requires more of my attention now. However, Dilettante’s Diary will remain
online for quite some time as – hopefully – a valuable archive for your pleasurable perusal. During that time,
you can still reach me through the link at the bottom of each page.
On the page following this one, you'll find a list of my favourite works from the past nine years.
On the two new pages after that are my tributes to some exceptional writing:
- two novels by Barbara Pym, who is surely one of the most notable but least appreciated novelists in English;
- Sabbath's Theater, an astounding book by Philip Roth
