Thoughtful Thursday – Bad Reviews – September 4, 2014

Reading Is Fun Again created Thoughtful Thursday. Each week, she posts a new bookish thought that she discusses.

Everyone is welcome to join. 

 

September 4: If you were planning to read a book, do bad reviews sway you to avoid the book?

 

Absolutely not.

I’d say the opposite is true, actually.  Something I’ve realized during my stint as a book reviewer is that there are several different ways to decide if a book is “good” or “bad,”  and there’s no way of knowing how a person decides that unless you know that person (or unless they post very specific criteria along with their review).  I’m reminded of the movie reviewers Siskel & Ebert . . . We didn’t take their reviews to heart because they were random strangers, but rather because we knew them well enough to understand what they were each looking for in a film and how they allowed that to shape their reviews.  We understood where they were coming from, so we could agree or disagree with their reviews because of that. Without knowing a book reviewer on more than a basic level, I’m likely to assume that she and I use drastically different measuring sticks, and I’m secure enough in my own judgement to believe mine to be superior.

Books are like lovers – you might detest mine and tell the world how awful he is, but I think he’s perfect.  Conversely, your boyfriend sucks.  *grin*

 

 

Be sure to check out the other posts on this topic at Reading Is Fun Again.