New York Times book reporter Motoko Rich reports on the Times‘ arts blog that sources are telling her the Washington Post “has decided to shutter the print version of Book World, its Sunday stand-alone book review section, and shift reviews to space inside two other sections of the paper. According to reports from Book World employees, the last issue of Book World will appear in its tabloid print version on Feb. 15 but will continue to be published online as a distinct entity. In the printed newspaper, Sunday book content will be split between Outlook, the opinion and commentary section, and Style & Arts.” Why? Rich falls back on the old canard: Because of lack of advertising from publishers, reports Rich, which of course would also explain why the Times covers sports news about teams that, um, don’t buy advertising, and news about politicians who — oh, fuck it. Anyway Rich goes on to say that “The Washington Post’s move comes as the company, like most other newspaper businesses across the country, has been hobbled by a protracted downturn in advertising,” and, then, in the next sentence, “As it happens, Book World never garnered much advertising from publishers, who generally spend very little on newspaper ads.” Er, yes. In the end, then, it seems the reason that newspapers, which are dying for lack of readers, shouldn’t have sections that appeal to people who, you know, like to read, is a complete and utter mystery … to them.