Feedback: What the theater critic saw in the drama of the Australian Open

Tennis, anyone?

Regarding “Character Proves Victorious” [Feb. 1]: At breakfast this morning, my wife read aloud theater critic Charles McNulty’s wonderful piece about the recent Australian Open. It perfectly captured the impact of the victories of champions Rafael Nadal and Ashleigh Barty. His criticism of Novak Djokovic was well founded (it will be interesting to see where he goes from here).

As a side note, I was struck by the gracious comments of both Nadal and Daniil Medvedev following the match.

Tennis stands alone as being one of the most terrifying sports since there is no team to share a loss with. In this tournament we saw amazing courage and poise from both contestants.

Thanks so much for applauding this event at a time when we need to recognize true heroes.

Philip Reed
Long Beach

Book maven

I read with great interest all the reviews in today’s book section [“A Memoirist Escapes,” “Power and the Predator’s Wife,” “Freedom and Its Discontents” “Irreverent Turns in a Nobel Laureate‘s Holy Epic” and “Shooting Fast With L.A.’s Punks,” Feb. 6] and I am writing to compliment your book editor [Boris Kachka], who has done an outstanding job of covering the most interesting books being published today with insightful, learned reviews.

I don’t much care for The Times, but what I read today will keep me a subscriber. Congratulations on accepting the responsibility you have with such grace and intelligence.

Susan Lipman
Los Angeles

Don’t forget Cher

It’s refreshing to see some women included in the list of nominations for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year [“Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie Lead 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees” by Mikael Wood, Feb. 2], but where is Cher?

She’s as deserving as anyone on this list, going back to her work with Sonny Bono in the early ’60s and continuing for the next five decades with a solo career that is still going.

If she doesn’t qualify, who does?

George Gallucci
Los Angeles

Art in the time of Omicron

Regarding “Artful Reward for All That Effort” by Christopher Knight [Feb. 4]: Going to galleries is far safer than going to movies, and has been for the last several months. Art galleries generally observe masking and vaccination guidelines, and they’re also uncrowded. The L.A. Times needs to reinstate the weekly gallery reviews to reflect this fact.

Patrick Frank
Venice

Technological gaps

Carolina Miranda’s article on QR codes in museums [“The Curse of QR Codes in Museums,” Jan. 30] struck a bitter note. I have dry macular degeneration, so having a smartphone is worthless to me as the letters are too small to read or type.

One of my greatest pleasures has always been museums, here and in 114 countries I’ve visited or worked in as a teacher or archaeologist. Now you’re telling me I cannot get the information I heretofore gleaned from the wall descriptions without a QR code.

Apparently I shall have to discard my nine museum memberships, depriving them of both money and my attendance, and depriving me of what has always been a pleasurable experience. This is rank discrimination and beyond infuriating. Not everyone has 20-something-year-old eyes, but we are hardly obsolete and wish to continue to be educated and informed.

Meg Coulter
Los Angeles

Sports is not just entertainment

Considering the lack of coverage of female athletics by The Times, I was not surprised that the announcement of a new channel focusing on female athletes was in the Calendar section [“New Channel Features Female Athletes,” by Meg James, Feb. 1].

Conceiving of women as entertainers and artists is a lot less threatening than conceiving of them as athletes worthy of covering in the Sports section.

Jessica Abrams
Long Beach

A picture says ...

I watched and finished the Janet Jackson documentary before I saw this article [“Janet Jackson’s All-Too-Short Docuseries Captures Singer’s Greatness,” Feb. 1] and I have to say, while The Times’ writers Mikael Wood, Suzy Exposito and Julian Kimble agree it could have been longer — as Jackson is indeed American Royalty, music or otherwise — I can’t believe [the editors] chose the photos they did for the inside. One she specifically said she did not want for an album cover and the other was from the [Super Bowl halftime] incident that caused so much tumult.

I think that very thoughtless.

Francine Nellis
Woodland Hills