Granted, the site is in its infancy, but it’s hard to tell what’s happening over at the Huffington Post’s new books page. Editor Amy Hertz ruffled a few feathers in an open letter to publicists, which emphasized that the site is not a “review”: “[T]here’s a reason [review] sections in newspapers are dropping like flies. Book reviews tend to be conversation enders, and when you’re living in the age of engagement, a time when people are looking for conversation starters, that stance gets you nowhere.”

That’s a bit dispiriting, but not the most surprising sentiment these days. Until you remember that the site’s primary partner is the brainy New York Review of Books. The oddity I noticed on my first visit to the HP books page was a series of adjectives at the top of each post. By clicking on one or more of these buttons, readers can vote for what they think of the piece. The options are: Amazing, Inspiring, Funny, Scary, Hot, Crazy, Important, Weird. Basically, all the adjectives that Paris Hilton could name. They keep these buttons up top even on the essays they reprint from the NYRB. (I don’t know about you, but I find Norman Rush’s take on James Ellroy “Inspiring” and “Hot”!)

If the print NYRB is going to keep up with the times, I think the least it should do is provide a page of perforated adjectives in the back of each issue, which readers can choose from, tear out and mail back to the journal. Engagement!