Lately I’ve been wrestling with a dilemma which can be summed up in one simple question. What is the point of a book review?
Questions for book reviewers. 1) Why do you write book reviews in general? 2) Why do you write negative reviews?
Please share with other book reviewers you know. I want as many viewpoints as possible. @ScifiandScary @SciFi_Romance @SadieHartmann @gowsy33— S.C. Barrus (@SCBarrus) July 26, 2018
This question grabbed hold of me after I finished writing a particularly negative book review. Should I publish it? Why would I publish a review of something I hated? What’s to gain out of it? This brought me around to the original question: what is the point of a book review in the first place?
I write reviews because I love talking about my reading experience good or bad. We all do reviews either informally or formally when we recommend books, movies or TV shows to people. I’m passionate about stories in any format and can’t shut up about them
— MotherHorror (@SadieHartmann) July 26, 2018
On the surface level, the answer seems obvious. We write and read book reviews to discover new books and share the books we love. We didn’t start writing reviews because we hated something. We started because we loved it and needed a forum to talk about it.
So that means most of my reviews are positive, and I write those because a) I really enjoy something and want to spread the joy I felt, or b) I really believe in the writer or creator and hope my small endorsement might help them in some way, either financially or emotionally.
— Vance Kotrla (@SciFi_Romance) July 26, 2018
It wasn’t until later that we were faced with the dilemma. What do we do with books we dislike?
For a long time, I would keep quiet about these books. My thought process was, I don’t want to hamper the career of a fellow writer. I got in it to share the love, not to bring people down.
I liked, or at least could acknowledge was well done. As long as a review isn’t written maliciously, it isn’t necessarily a hugely bad thing. 1. Its exposure 2. Someone else with different tastes than me may read the review and decide to check it out based on our differences 2/
— Lilyn G | Sci-Fi & Scary (@ScifiandScary) July 26, 2018
But now I realize that there is more to book reviews than simply sharing the love. As a writer, when reviewers are critical of my work, I learn something from it. I understand my weaknesses which gives me a chance to grow. Without feedback, both good and bad, how will I ever fulfill my goals? I don’t think it’s possible.
I do not enjoy writing negative reviews, but I feel like the whole point of reviewing a book is to be honest. I try not to be a jerk about it, but if something doesn’t work for me, or if the writing is bad I put it in my review. And I absolutely champion books I love.
— Mindi Snyder (@gowsy33) July 26, 2018
Beyond this, a negative review isn’t necessarily going to send all readers to the hills. Some of my favorite novels are controversial. People love it or hate it, and they leave reviews accordingly. Furthermore, if all readers thought like I did, then bad books would skew high because those who didn’t enjoy it were silent.
Before I started interacting with authors my reviews were not as positive. I think talking with people who write has taught me how personal a book is to a writer, and how even if you didn’t love it, you need to express your opinion in a way that honors how much it means to them.
— Mindi Snyder (@gowsy33) July 26, 2018
The top review on Goodreads on Blood Meridian—perhaps my favorite book ever—is 2 stars. The top review of the book I recently finished and was so disappointed in was 4 stars. They average about the same rating.
Maybe keep in mind that negative does not mean malicious? Give a balanced, fair review, and if it falls more on the negative side, so be it, but you talked about the good too.
— Lilyn G | Sci-Fi & Scary (@ScifiandScary) July 26, 2018
Due to these factors, I’ve decided to change how I operate when it comes to critical reviews. If I dislike a book, I’ll now tell you about it, explain why, and dive into what I might change to make it better. On this note, I’ll be sharing my final review of The First Law Trilogy next week.
That is a good point too. If all you see is positive reviews because people dont post the negative ones, then it can give a very skewed look at the book.
There’s been a few times where I saw tons of good reviews, few neg, grabbed the book and it was horrible!
— Lilyn G | Sci-Fi & Scary (@ScifiandScary) July 26, 2018
Thank you to everyone who discussed this topic with me on Twitter, effectively changing my mind. You all rock!
