Today's rambling was inspired by this whole Goodreads authors vs. bloggers fiasco which happened to take place last month. If you haven't heard about it, you can catch up with this whole craziness here. I tried to stay out of it but it made me think . . .
What should bloggers do if the book sucks? a.k.a Writing negative reviews without hurting anyone.That, judging by some people's reaction, is quite difficult nowadays. But still, what do we do if the book in question is terrible? Do we review it at all? Well, here's what I think.
1. Even if you hated the book, respect the author. At least take into consideration the fact that he/she spent a tremendous amount of time writing that book. Did this author do anything against you personally? No. Then show some respect. We understand that you didn't like the book but you don't need to diss the author.
2. Keep in mind that other people might have liked the book. What I hate the most is arrogant behaviour. People who act like their opinion is superior to anyone else's and there's no way anyone likes the book in question. Well, brace yourself m'dear, there are a bunch of people out there who happen to like it. You're entitled to your opinion but don't be rude towards other people who don't agree with you.
Having said that, I have nothing against negative reviews. I myself write negative reviews if I have to and I didn't really like the book. The most important thing -for me, at least- is not being arrogant and respecting other people's opinion. So what would I, or actually, what do I do if I don't like the book? If it's a book I purchased then I might consider not reviewing it. If it's a review copy then I do review it but without sounding like an arrogant little... brat, especially if I know the author. I keep in mind that they took the time to send me a review copy (which I didn't have to pay a single penny for) and everything I said before, but it doesn't mean that I won't state my opinion. I'm not going to lie just because I know you.
I usually start with what I liked about the book (because if there's nothing I liked about it then I probably won't review it at all). I tell a few things about what made me keep on reading despite the fact that I couldn't really connect to the story, etc. And then comes the not so good part. What the most important thing for me here is to be honest but fair. I state my opinion and let other people know what I thought or what didn't work for me but I don't start criticising the writer.Why should I? I have nothing against them and the fact that I didn't like their book doesn't mean I have a right to treat them like poop.
That's my humble opinion in a nutshell. What do you guys do when you don't like a book? :) Do you still review it?
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