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Purpose : To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Optional Question: Book reviews are for the readers. When you leave a book reviews do you review for the Reader or the Author? Is it about what you liked and enjoyed about your reading experience, or do you critique the author?
Reading is such a subjective experience. When I review books, I do so as a reader and talk about how the book made me feel. I'm all about the feels!
But while I may absolutely love a book, my best friend is bored stupid with it.
Example 1: Mockingjay (the third in The Hunger Games series). Ugh. I loathed it! And many people did too. But just as many people loved it.
Example 2: Audiobook for my award-winning book Torn Canvas. The guy who did it was my dream narrator. When he reads the story, it sounds just like it did in my head as I wrote it.
One reviewer panned his performance because it was "melodramatic." Another reviewer dissed it because they said he was "monotone."
Melodramatic.
Monotone.
The same book but an opposite reader experience. Neither is invalid. Readers experience what they experience. But, because I understand this, if I cannot give a book at least three stars, I won't review it. This is simply my personal philosophy.
I recognize that I may have had a "melodramatic" or "monotone" experience with a particular book, but that doesn't mean the next person who reads or listens to it won't have a 5-star experience. But if I trash it, they may pass it up and miss out.
Author Beth Revis wrote a humorous blog post that puts it in perspective and helps wounded authors recover from hurtful reviews. And there are always bad reviews no matter who the author is as Beth cites in her post.
I know some authors don't review books. What's your personal preference?
Funny you got two opposing views. Books are so subjective!
ReplyDeleteAren't they! lol
DeleteYes, opinions about books are very subjective. And I'm like you on not posting a review if it's not mostly positive.
ReplyDeleteI know there are plenty who disagree, but oh well.
DeleteYou're absolutely right that it's all subjective. One man's trash is another man's treasure, I guess. I like reading reviews to see what people are saying but it won't necessarily deter me from reading a book. If anything, it might make me read the book to see for myself if I agree with those reviewers who like it or who don't! Especially when it seems really polarized.
ReplyDeleteThat's some of the challenge when a book really takes off. People who would not normally like that genre will read it out of curiosity--and then bash it because they don't like it.
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