tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post4637099658048521747..comments2023-04-26T04:15:25.976-07:00Comments on One Writer's World: To review or not to reviewSusan Oleksiwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-44994874496008789662013-12-22T09:48:46.485-08:002013-12-22T09:48:46.485-08:00Thank you for your comment, Nancy. I've found ...Thank you for your comment, Nancy. I've found the responses to this post very encouraging. I guess the more we write and publish, the more sensitive we become to other writers and try to be fair to their efforts. I too look for something positive to say in whatever I'm reviewing.Susan Oleksiwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-25120503835652245792013-12-22T09:48:32.092-08:002013-12-22T09:48:32.092-08:00Thank you for your comment, Nancy. I've found ...Thank you for your comment, Nancy. I've found the responses to this post very encouraging. I guess the more we write and publish, the more sensitive we become to other writers and try to be fair to their efforts. I too look for something positive to say in whatever I'm reviewing.Susan Oleksiwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-64238267644379832802013-12-21T19:24:40.028-08:002013-12-21T19:24:40.028-08:00Thanks for this thoughtful essay, Susan, and I, to...Thanks for this thoughtful essay, Susan, and I, too, would/will never consider reviewing a book that I don't like or feel is poorly written. Sometimes this is hard when it's, say, a book written by a close friend. Now and that has happened, and I've looked for good, clear writing, richness of language, in-depth characters, et al,--and if I find enough of that, I'll review it. Nancy Means Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08092441250826231395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-86470573270089656262013-12-21T12:32:01.212-08:002013-12-21T12:32:01.212-08:00Hi, Terry, Thank you for commenting. Yes, it's...Hi, Terry, Thank you for commenting. Yes, it's a conundrum for many of us who want to write responsible reviews and have been reviewing for years. I also try to convey the nature of the book without my judgment coloring the entire review, and I hope I've learned a lot about how to be fair to the writer as well as fair to the prospective buyer/reader.<br /><br />I haven't heard of Examiner.com, but am glad to learn about it. I have a book coming out in May 2014, the third in the Anita Ray mystery series from FiveStar/Gale Cengage, and I'm just now putting together my reviewer list.Susan Oleksiwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-20591593537682565652013-12-21T11:29:56.612-08:002013-12-21T11:29:56.612-08:00Hi Susan, found your post in DorothyL and thought ...Hi Susan, found your post in DorothyL and thought this looked like an interesting topic. Indeed, it is a tough call. I do reviews for Examiner.com. Sometimes I'll post those to GR, sometimes not. There have been books I didn't particularly like, but can usually find something positive. If it's not character, maybe it's setting. If not plot, maybe something else. I try to make the review as objective as possible, pointing out the good things and bad about a book. After all, what I may find tedious, someone else would find fascinating. My hope is not to convey my "judgement" on a book, but an analysis so others can decide for themselves if the book is for them or not. The more I like a book, the easier this is to do. Sometimes, I have to dig deep. And there have been a few I didn't review because I was having to dig too deep!Terry Ambrosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14859532145979982213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-18860128439573132392013-12-21T06:30:46.715-08:002013-12-21T06:30:46.715-08:00I haven't posted books on GR without reviews, ...I haven't posted books on GR without reviews, but I may start, with the same purpose as you describe. Thanks for commenting, and you've given me an idea for my next post--revising.Susan Oleksiwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-57168766624052268822013-12-21T06:21:20.489-08:002013-12-21T06:21:20.489-08:00Reading, reviewing, and writing are all subjective...Reading, reviewing, and writing are all subjective. I've listed books on Goodreads without any stars at all, and some with stars but no comments - mostly just to keep my log of books read. And we do change as readers and writers and reviewers. My husband and I are now revising two books that long ago were with a small press. Part of the revision process involves removing much of the profanity. There wasn't a ton of it, but there's more than I'm comfortable with now because I think it isn't truly relevant to characterization or plot.Carolyn J. Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02499059171631792224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-1759165584966958442013-12-20T16:08:45.768-08:002013-12-20T16:08:45.768-08:00It's interesting how we evolve as reviewers. I...It's interesting how we evolve as reviewers. I too started out thinking I had to be honest about everything (I must have been very annoying), and now I find I want my review to be responsible. And I won't try to define that now. Thanks for your comment.Susan Oleksiwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-38463406904014328412013-12-20T16:06:39.268-08:002013-12-20T16:06:39.268-08:00Jan, I think you've encapsulated much of what ...Jan, I think you've encapsulated much of what I was thinking about different kinds of books and my feelings about them. I'm just glad I wasn't reviewing the book for a magazine, which expected something no matter how I felt. Then I would have been in a bind. Thanks for your comment. Susan Oleksiwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-26859220139157326842013-12-20T16:05:07.171-08:002013-12-20T16:05:07.171-08:00Thank you for this comment, Jacquie. For a while I...Thank you for this comment, Jacquie. For a while I wondered if I should ignore my feelings and just post whatever I had to say, but I'm glad to see so many comments that agree with my instinct. It's not an easy question.Susan Oleksiwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-75528608578133679062013-12-20T15:49:40.629-08:002013-12-20T15:49:40.629-08:00When I first jumped into the world of Goodreads, I...When I first jumped into the world of Goodreads, I was eager to give "honest" reviews of everything I read. I hope I have matured a little, and take the approach that if I haven't got anything nice to say, to keep my opinion to myself - except as Jan said when the author won't be damaged by my review. Catherine Diltshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05772088568954159017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-79254282634684068642013-12-20T14:41:37.145-08:002013-12-20T14:41:37.145-08:00Hi, Susan. I found this an interesting post. I rev...Hi, Susan. I found this an interesting post. I review a few books every year, and on Goodreads I put up stars for the books I've read, but not always a review. I only post an unfavorable review of books that are way up there near or at the top of the bestseller lists so I can tell future potential readers what I didn't like about the book. One recent one was full of coincidences, and near the end had such a huge one with most of the main characters involved that it just became too much for me. If the writer is not well-known, though, I don't post a review at all if I can't give it at least three stars. And for those I like, as you do, I don't bother posting reviews for books that already have hundreds, but will gladly post a good review for authors who haven't had many as yet.Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2642483803813231715.post-67349771590471028812013-12-20T14:40:40.518-08:002013-12-20T14:40:40.518-08:00I don't review every book I read either. Somet...I don't review every book I read either. Sometimes it's because as you observe, a book is simply one that we don't like. But as a writer myself, I am sensitive to the feelings of other authors.Jacqueline Seewaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09177500620940251009noreply@blogger.com