While maddeningly all over the place at times, one of the best books I've ever read about why critics do what they do and the function they serve, and how criticism is a process we all engage in all the time. A.O. Scott's argument is far from a straight line and you'll wonder who the hell he is talking to at times or if he's pasted together four other books he was working on to make this one. But overall, I tried writing without a pen and after two chapters, I was already mentally underlining every 5 seconds anyway. Worthy of multiple re-reads, 10% to straighten out the crooked lines, 90% to savor and think about them.