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Synopsis
From a New York Times bestselling author comes an argument against snark---the nasty combination of snide and sarcasm---with lessons on how to live without it by thinking and debating with true wit and intelligence.
The Barnes & Noble Review
As a partially reformed practitioner of snark -- a snippy, quippy manner of writing that has become a preferred style in Web journalism -- I approached David Denby's Snark: It's Mean, It's Personal, and It's Ruining Our Conversation with high hopes. Having penned a popular daily online gossip column for years -- back when the Web was still young and finding its voice -- I had mastered the snappy turn of phrase, the knowing wink, the gentle elbow poke directed my readers' way. Yet as the tone spread wide, to sites like Gawker, TMZ, Perez Hilton (shudder), and beyond, its cadences, once so comforting, began to feel repetitive and tired, and I more or less moved on.