Today’s Blog Hop is about book reviewing and what makes a good one. I have two thoughts here and so I’ll do my normal and ramble while I talk about both of them. The first thought is ‘what do I know about a good review’ and the second is ‘how apt’.

What do I know about a good review?

I don’t feel I know much about it, I don’t talk about reviewing but more scribbling a few words. Let me tell you what I know from reading what other people have written and also rereading some of my own words over the years. I have been writing this blog for over five years I must have learned something in the interim.

You need to tell people about the book, you can do this by either typing out the description from the back of the book or summarising the plot but be careful of spoilers, many people won’t read a book once they’ve had too many spoilers. It’s challenging summarising the book giving just enough of the plot without any spoilers.

Some people examine the themes of the book. Themes? Sometimes there is a lesson in the text whether it be ‘wars are hell’ or ‘don’t hit people’ or something rather less simplistic. Some authors such as Lionel Shriver are very big on explaining challenging concepts and making us think about them, if you’re only going to see the surface stuff then there’s little point reviewing a book such as that. The themes are often what helps society to figure out what’s important and makes us discuss things.

If you point out anything negative try to do so in a constructive manner. Never forget that there is a person at the other end and I’m not necessarily thinking about the reader but the author. Authors must go through a special type of hell when putting their works out into the wilds of readership and if their reviewers are negative without writing anything constructive then it must hurt.

Don’t do what I’ve done on occasion and focus on the typos. They are the bane of my life and while I try not to mention them while talking about a book I find they do change how I feel about it. Typos are something an author can spend weeks ensuring they get rid of all of and then someone else will find more.

I try to talk about the writing and whether I find it good or not. This is rather subjective as what one person finds good another will think terrible. Also, more subjective stuff, I find romance kills a good book for me while others either wouldn’t notice or would feel it improves a book.

There is a whole heap more that could be said about reviewing but I’m going to move onto my second thought.

How apt?

This week the book world is reeling. We’re trying to understand how an author could have been so upset with a one-star review on Good Reads that she would feel the need to stalk a reviewer, find her home and her workplace and then brag about the whole experience on The Guardian.

I don’t think that writing a good review with constructive comments would have changed the author’s activities at all, the way I read this and previous articles by the same author indicates she is rather in need of therapy (and I have concerns even by voicing this so far away from the field of action).

So, I’m participating in a new book blackout in conjunction with many other book bloggers. I will not be reviewing or mentioning newly released books until Monday 27th October, if anyone even suggests a new release to me it will be rejected.

I haven’t read the book in question and I won’t, partly as it has romance and I don’t cope well with romance but also I don’t want to give the author the satisfaction. I’ve read an enormous amount about the situation from many people and thanks to BookThingo I’ve managed to read many of the original tweets and also part of the exchange on Good Reads that sparked it off. It makes me wonder if the author is the author of this book or if she outsourced it and then never bothered reading it. Apparently people liked her writing before this book but then they read this book (no, I’m not checking to find out which book it is) and didn’t like it at all. Also, the reviews mention a rape but the author constantly says it wasn’t rape – it was statutory rape as the person was under 18 and that’s the statutory age in that state.

This article is part of a Book Bloggers Australia Blog Hop. You can read the originating article on Debbish’s blog.