I recently read an interesting
conversation that was floating around on a Facebook group I am a member
of. The question asked was…
Do you write negative book reviews? Do you give a book a bad review?
As writers we are in an interesting
spot. We understand the blood, sweat, and tears that are put into a novel. We
also understand how readers are bias depending on their own taste and
experiences. Because of this I think we all hesitate to write something
negative about someone else’s art.
Several members who participated in
this discussion mentioned that they never write a negative review. Most of
those said they did not review books they didn’t like.
Others who do write negative reviews, (I
found this interesting), said that a negative review gives validity to a book's
reviews. They are more likely to read a book with a few bad reviews than one
with only positive things to say. This shows the reader that people are reading
the book, not just family and friends. fascinating!
As I thought about this, I found it
true for myself. When I look at reviews and only see positive five stars, I naturally think that the reviews must not be authentic.
I do read the negative reviews first. Looking for things that stand out that are a turn off for me as a reader, but also to see if this book is one I would be interested in. I do find more out about the book by negative reviews than the positive because in my experience they seem to be a bit more specific. For this reason, a negative review doesn’t necessarily turn my interest away.
I do read the negative reviews first. Looking for things that stand out that are a turn off for me as a reader, but also to see if this book is one I would be interested in. I do find more out about the book by negative reviews than the positive because in my experience they seem to be a bit more specific. For this reason, a negative review doesn’t necessarily turn my interest away.
As for whether or not I leave reviews,
I usually don’t. My reasoning is a bit different. Writing is what I do. I spend
hours a day critiquing… picking apart my own work. Because of this, reading
another’s novel is not the same experience I had years ago. Now, more often
than not, I don’t get lost in a novel. I usually find myself thinking about
their word choice or their character’s development... or a hundred other
things. For this reason, I feel that I am not the best person to write a
review. I am not the average reader, and definitely not a non-bias one. So, I
am not sure if what I may write is really applicable.
Though, there are many times when I do
read something and think, Holy Moly this
is amazing! Then, I review away.
These are my thoughts. As I have said
many times on this blog, it is just my way of thinking, not right or wrong,
just mine.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Are
you a reviewer?
