Opinion, Books

The new combined Opinion and Book Review (April 15), married together in a forward/backward format, is clever and space-efficient but accomplishes nothing. I prefer distinct and physically separate sections. I also prefer the old format for Opinion. There’s something more aesthetic and satisfying about seeing a single page with a number of articles -- just like your everyday newspaper. It seems to work fine for your other sections.

GERALD S. RELLICK

Costa Mesa

*

I frequently find the points of view expressed in The Times’ editorial pages to be a bit bizarre, but they don’t begin to compare with the new format for the constantly renamed Opinion section and Book Review. Whatever genius conceived that abortive measure is a sure winner of this year’s Rube Goldberg award for industrial design. But one clear benefit to The Times is that, by adding a page or two, there’ll be ample room to publish ads for New Coke and the Edsel.

ALLEN E. KAHN

Playa del Rey

*

Re the combination of Opinion and Book Review: dumb and dumber.

LES GAPAY

Palm Springs

*

I was delighted to see your new merged Opinion/Book Review sections and to find the Business section nestled right in the middle of them. I’m a rather new reader of your paper and always faced Sunday mornings with a slight sense of dread knowing the long and invariably frustrating hunt I would encounter in order to locate the sections that interest me most.

CAROLE H. BROWNER

Los Angeles

*

How many people did it take to design the new Opinion and Book Review section?

BETTY L. COOPER

Torrance

*

Book Review on one side, editorial pages on the other, and a tab format -- perfect for the beach. Nice job.

DAVE ROSS

Orange

*

Cheap, cheap, cheap. If I knew how, I would write the third “cheap” upside down.

JACK COLLINS

Duarte