RSS Feed (xml)
Does it ever seem there aren't enough hours in the day for all the things you want to do? That has been the last few weeks. And accordingly, my reading has slowed down (or maybe it just hasn't ever been very fast.) Accordingly, I'll post my answers to the negativity meme by Dewey. Thanks to Chris for tagging me.
1. When you dislike a book, do you say so in your blog? Why or why not?
I'll usually say that the book wasn't really my thing. I don't believe in decieving the readers of my blog by stating that I liked a book when I really didn't, but there's room for restraint. One of the things I like about book bloggers is that they don't tend to be mean and nasty the way some parts of blogworld can be.
2. Do you temper your feelings about books you didn't like, so as not to completely slam them? Why or why not?
Yes I temper my words, because no one likes constant negativity. My friends can tell you that I have a tendency towards snarkiness when I don't like a movie or book. Yes, I'm the one in the movie theater making the comments about The Notebook or Armageddon and other such classics. So I tone down my sarcasm on my blog, because, hey even though I might not have liked a book, I know other people may love the book, so I don't want discourage anyone from reading it. The book might be a great read, and I'm just not in the right mood for it. Besides, usually my sarcastic comments probably aren't as funny as I think they are. And there's nothing worse than unfunny sarcasm.
3. What do you think is the best way to respond when you see a negative review about a book you enjoyed?
Everyone's entitled to their opinions, and I don't mind when they aren't the same as mine. If everyone thought the same as me, the world would be a scary place. Really scary.
Depending on the post, I might leave a comment, if there was something I felt was important worth saying.
4. What is your own most common reaction when you see a negative review of a book you loved or a positive review of a book you hated?
If it's a blogger I read on a regular basis, I might make a comment based on what they said in their review. I guess I'm likely to just say I'm sorry to hear they didn't like the book or if I did like the book, I might say what I liked about it.
5. What is your own most common reaction when you get a comment that disagrees with your opinion of a book?
Hmmm... well if they left me enough to go off, I might leave a response to their comment. I'm all about diversity of opinion towards books.
6. What if you don't like a book that was a free review copy? What then?
If I get a review copy, I'm not the only person who is getting an early review copy, and I sure would hope that the author wouldn't expect everyone that reads the book is going to love it. So I'll put my honest opinion.
On the other hand, I don't want to completely slam an author, especially if they are up and coming. So I try to keep my comments friendly, and not disrespectful.
7. What do you do if you don't finish a book? Do you review it or not? If you review it, do you mention that you didn't finish it?
I wouldn't put a post about the book if I didn't finish it. If I haven't finished it, there's a chance it could have gotten better at some point. I might post in passing that I started the book but just couldn't get into it. Now that would be deception.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Great answers, Kim! I enjoyed reading them.
I absolutely agree with most of the things you said; and also that it's good courtesy to write our reviews in a more tactful and positive ways than slamming the authors. They have their feelings too.
Great answers! It's looking like we all sort of feel the same way about our negative reviews...we're honest without completely slamming the books. I love your reviews personally. You do a great job of giving a balanced opinion of a book and pointing out what was done well and what didn't work so well.
Cool, I agree with you on a lot of points. I don't see the point in reviewing something I haven't finished except to say I didn't finish it.
Really enjoyed reading your answers, Kim! It is nice how respectful and just plain nice book bloggers seem to be, isn't it?
As everyone else said, great answers :) I absolutely agree that book bloggers are very much unlike the kind of people you see on some dark (and not so dark) corners of the web. I am very glad to have met all of you :)
I think there's nothing wrong with being sarcastic sometimes, but I tend to think that sarcasm works better in person than online. When you're face to face it's not hard for people to see that you are just joking around and don't mean any disrespect, but online those things can come across the wrong way. Which is why I also avoid sarcasm in my blog.
melody-thanks. I agree with being tactful, writers have feelings too. With the shrinking of the world due to the internet, they could always run across my blog.
chris-well thank you, I do try to give balanced reviews, even though lately it seems like I haven't been reviewing much, huh?
rhinoa-exactly... why waste time when it obviously didn't capture your attention?
debi-exactly! Really I haven't had any really negative interactions with book bloggers.
nymeth-Thats a great point. In person someone can tell a lot more easily the difference between sarcasm and just plain meanness. On the internet, it all sounds the same. And I'm glad I've met you and all of the other bloggers I read. I learn so much about books!
Post a Comment