A Reader's Manifesto is a 2002 book by B. R. Myers expanded from his essay in the July/August 2001 issue of The Atlantic Monthly magazine. Myers criticized what he saw as the growing pretentiousness of contemporary American literary fiction, especially in contrast to genre fiction. Contents Myers described the original article as "a light-hearted polemic" about modern literature. Myers was particularly concerned with what he saw as the growing pretentiousness of American literary fiction. He was skeptical about the value showcased by elaborate, allusive prose works and argued that what was praised as good writing was in fact the epitome of bad writing. His critique concentrated on Annie Proulx, Cormac McCarthy, Paul Auster, David Guterson, and Don DeLillo, all of whom enjoyed substantial acclaim from the literary establishment. Myers directed many of his harshest charges at literary critics for prestigious publications such as The New York Times Book Review, whom he accused of lavishing praise upon bad writing either for political reasons, or because they did not understand it and therefore assumed it to have great artistic merit. Myers also focuses on what he calls "the cult of the sentence", criticizing critics for pulling single sentences out of novels in order to praise their brilliance, while ignoring shortcomings in the novel as a whole. Author critiques Myers explains and critiques several prose styles, each focused on a specific author. Annie Proulx Myers accuses Annie Proulx of using nonsensical images, mixed metaphors, and poor word choice. Myers claims Proulx writes to "startle or impress the reader", asserting that this sort of writing must be read quickly so the meaning of the sentences does not fall apart. "With good Mandarin prose the opposite is true," Myers says, comparing Proulx's writing unfavorably with that of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. Myers criticizes Proulx for being "too egocentric" to put herself in the place of her characters when deciding what is important and what is unnecessary. He also mentions that Proulx writes one thing but means something else, implying Proulx has a lack of polish. Myers writes, "Someone needs to tell her that half of good writing is knowing what to leave out". Don DeLillo Meyers accuses Don DeLillo of lacking in the "edginess" that critics praise him for, since DeLillo writes on themes of anti-consumerism, a topic that has been explored in literature since the 1950s. Myers asserts that DeLillo's characters serve primarily