Welcome to Book Blogging 101, a weekly feature on Parajunkee’s View that answers your questions and strives to share great book blogging tips and some helpful hints to help you on your way.
Today’s discussion is not based on a question posed to me, but rather a question that came to mind as I was following the recent drama that ensued after a snarky review on Goodreads. If you aren’t aware of what is going on, it is really quite simple and happens every now and again — someone wrote a negative review and an author got upset. But, really it wasn’t even the author that the review focused on that got upset, it was other authors and it was brought to twitter and then there were blog posts written about it, people were insulted, tirades began, names were called — and then finally it went mainstream, with an article in The Guardian. That article also cites a blog post that narrates all the BS that went down – because you know, it’s not news unless it is dissected in graphic detail.
Now, I’m never one to get in a tizzy over these sort of things. I think the fact that we are not saying things to people’s faces makes us write dumb things on social media sites and it has to be taken with a grain of salt. It’s not like we are all politicians or anything. What authors sometimes forget is that they are a public figure and everything they do is being monitored and their words can affect the sales of their books. It may seem like they are just chatting back and forth with friends — but on twitter it is like they have a megaphone and are screaming it into a microphone that is blasted through a global satellite that goes into a searchable database. I digress though, because this post is not about proper social media behavior. It is really about what constitutes a a reviewer.
Because that Guardian article prompted this post, which was written by my favorite YA author, Maggie Stiefvater. In this posts she calls the review in question, a negative “review” and the Guardian article “fairly ridiculous” and then goes on to point out that what these authors are lashing out at aren’t “reviews” at all but nothing more than posts and that reviews are actually “little academic paper(s)” that “are hard to write”. She states that in a “real” review her opinion is secondary to her defining the strength and weaknesses of the book.
Okay. I can agree with that, somewhat.
But, what caught my attention was later in the post when she stated: “Let’s talk about the negative “reviews” that authors have been lashing out at. They often involve animated gifs, swearing, and snark. They’re often quite funny. But here’s the thing, though. When a blogger writes a biased, hilarious, snarky rundown of a book they despised, he/ she is not writing a review. They are writing a post about a book.”
She also says it’s not wrong but they shouldn’t be respected like “real reviews” are respected in the author community.
She then goes on to state that when you get personal in your “post” you are just being a jerk and even professional camps that push out mean negative thoughts cause a stir and I think she was implying that they weren’t reviews also.
Personally, I think she is mostly correct in her assessment — how many times do we have discussions on reviews and say DON’T GET PERSONAL. Personal jabs and mean spirited-comments are not something you want to include in your review. But, making it out that reviews are only these long winded, hard to write, literary dissections — well I don’t know if I agree with that. Because I think there is a middle ground somewhere, a little gray hopefully??
On first reading her statement, “I’m not saying that bloggers shouldn’t write biased, hilarious, snarky rundowns of books. I’m saying that those rundowns are not reviews. Bloggers who regularly write them cannot expect to garner the same respect and treatment from authors that pro reviewers or non-pro reviewers do.” I felt like I was being scoffed at, yes I’m being sensitive. Yes, yes, I know this. But, everyone wants respect right? And that was hard to read.
I think if a blogger handles themselves in a professional matter, just because they don’t follow some per-ordained academic guideline, can’t they keep the title of reviewer??
Maggie Stiefvater is still my favorite YA author, I’ve never written to her about her strange relationship with wolves — who does that??? But, I still feel like she made what I do here on Parajunkee’s View something not that important and trivial. Her post implied that my thoughts on books would only be considered “real” if I was published in a literary journal or followed certain guidelines. I thought I was a blogger / reviewer but according to Ms. Stiefvater, I’m nothing more than a woman that posts about books and should know my place. Did I read too much into that post? All stemming from the fact that I don’t do literary reviews — which frankly I wouldn’t want to, I did that in college and would get Ds on my paper if my opinion didn’t coincide with the professor. My reviews are a statement of my opinion and my negative responses are usually followed up by reasonable explanations.
I didn’t like this book because…
I loved this book because…
I thought that constituted a review?
Dictionary.com states a review:
1. a critical article or report, as in a periodical, on a book, play, recital, or the like; critique; evaluation.
If I’m dissecting that definition correctly, if I write a critical report about something it is a review, right? Therefor, I can still call myself a reviewer? I would hate to have to redefine myself. My current definition goes as such, I am a blogger that does book reviews and POSTS book info.
Saying this person is a reviewer and this person is not, I believe is just another way to judge one another. To be an author you don’t have to write in a particular way — there are plenty of academic ways to write, how our teachers told us we must always write in this fashion and do this certain thing. But, lucky for us, most authors don’t listen to what their teachers tell them. They break molds, they try new things, the profession morphs –
Not to mention, not all authors get published with big respectable publishing houses, like Scholastic or HarperCollins, does this make them less of an author, less deserving of respect? Does this make them…only a — *gasp* — writer??
I think that everyone’s opinions should be respected and tolerated, and if that opinion differs from your own you have the free will to ignore it. Even if the “reviewer” gets snarky and uses animated gifs — or *gasp* curse words — that is how they express their opinion. It might not be your way of doing it and maybe their methods might actually turn off more readers than it does turn them on — but once again it’s theirs and let them have it.
Yet, the funny thing about this whole thing is, I actually don’t agree with the “review” that started it off. Because in actuality the person didn’t even read the book, she read the excerpt and was already forming opinions. Does this constitute a review? And by calling into question her review, if it is a review, does this make me judgmental and snobby?
See, once again, I just want your opinions!
Should book bloggers change their names to something like “Book Opinionaters”? Or should we proudly wave our Reviewer Flags and stand up for defining ourselves? I personally would like to be a reviewer instead of just some “book post writer person”. But, I also don’t want people to think that I’m a total poser — pretending to be something I’m not. Miles away from the “cool people” respected club, nope don’t want to be that girl.
As always I await your verdict, dear readers.
Here are the links:
Maggie’s Post
The Guardian Article
The review that started it all.
The post that broke it down.
Update
The review mentioned later in comments from Amazon
The plot thickens with a PW article
I can’t get to all the questions, but please ask your BB101 Questions here…bring it on.
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I do not understand the acrimony here, but it is the internet so I guess these sorts of things are unavoidable.
This is not the first time I have seen a well known author disrespecting blogger/reviewers. I have even seen well known authors say that they do not care about ratings or reviews on Amazon.
Those attitudes boggle my mind.
There are many of us, call us writers, authors, or whatever you wish as long as you pay attention to our books, who live and die with reviews from bloggers and readers. The LA Times literary reviewer is not going to take our phone calls or read our books.
Blog and reader reviews are our lifeline to sales and exposure. Aggravating those people is the LAST thing we want to do. Every author I know uses Google Alerts. We know when you talk about us lol. Tick off the blogging community and word will spread.
I know reviewers need to be objective, but the truth is that reviewers and authors need one another. That doesn’t mean they cannot disagree, but it does mean that respect should abound.
And the authors who got involved on the wrong side of this issue just made things a bit tougher on the rest of us.
Splitter
They can be avoided though. People have to learn that social media is not to be used in this way … LOL Think before you tweet.
I love this — “call us writers, authors, or whatever you wish as long as you pay attention to our books”
oh, WOW, i had no idea this issue had gotten THAT big… let me just say that i very DEFINITELY consider myself a reviewer, I am a reviewer, and just because my site title isn’t Book Savvy Review JOURNAL, my reviews are no less than reviews. I know not every book reviewer maintains the same standards, but authors and publishers can choose which book reviewers to use, and of course on websites like amazon and goodreads, ANYONE can write ANYTHING, that does not make their thoughts reviews…Come on authors, get over it, some people just post wacky things… this is not new… stick with the reviewers who count…argh, I’m with you on this Rachel… I am also gonna
)
*WAVE MY REVIEWER FLAG* (we should totally have a cute graphic for that
Yeah! I’ll make an animated gif!
YES. Thank you. This needed to be said.
And I’m glad you included all of the links. Many keep steering away from them, but it’s nice to be able to visit them to be able to differentiate between the truths and rumors.
Some are including the twitter conversation – I can’t believe some of these people don’t realize that EVERYONE can see your tweets. Gah. PR classes.
‘ “Bloggers who regularly write them cannot expect to garner the same respect and treatment from authors that pro reviewers or non-pro reviewers do.” I felt like I was being scoffed at, yes I’m being sensitive. Yes, yes, I know this. But, everyone wants respect right? And that was hard to read.’
Ugh, I felt EXACTLY the same way. I’m a longtime Maggie fan, and I read the post yesterday. I put a lot of thought, time, and effort into my reviews–postive, negative, or somewhere in between… What Maggie wrote there? It kind of hurt.
“But, I still feel like she made what I do here on Parajunkee’s View something not that important and trivial.
^^^ this. exactly.
And THANK YOU. You’re right. It’s like saying Stephen King is an author, but Stephenie Meyer is not. Oh yes, they both have very different opinions on what constitutes a worthwile work of fiction, but at the end of the day, they’re both authors, and they both sell millions and millions of books. Who’s to say what’s better (snarky comments aside)?
Who knows what we write, really. But at the end of the day, it’s these ‘Not’ reviews, by people like you, Smart Bitches, Dear Author, and my blogging friends and their ‘reviews’ that decide whether I buy and read a book or not. Their opinion? Worth more to me.
And that negative ‘review’ that started it all on Goodreads? She wasn’t even making a judgement on the whole book–just *ONE* thing that upset her, and hell, I can even kind of understand why, even if, on the other hand, I can understand a fictional character having an (unfortunately) very common outlook on a certain issue I don’t even want to get started on.
At the end of the day, the whole debacle just makes me tired and sad. I don’t agree with Maggie’s post, but at least she wrote it fairly professionaly, and level-headed..ly? It’s like a good review: a statement of her opinion without making it personal, not really. But, even so? My reaction was exactly the same as yours. Like I said… it kind of hurt. Especially coming from an author I love and respect, and actually prompted me to write one of my absolute very first book reviews ever, if not my first (too long ago).
Anyhow, I’m SO sorry for such a long ‘comment’, but thank you so much for this post. It makes me feel a little less alone, and it’s prompted a VERY worthwhile conversation xx
DOn’t apologize for long comments — I requested it, didn’t I??? Just me phishing for high comment turnarounds LMAO
I think it was worse because she’s my fave and I think she’s so smart and talented. But, what can you expect. Do you think Celebrities respect their fan clubs?? Nah. The only big name author that I ever heard praise her fan club was Jeannine Frost – she went on and on about hers. It was great.
Jeaniene is amazing, huh? She’s so fun and funny and gracious…
Ugh. I don’t think Maggie was trying to upset anyone or add fuel to the fire. I think she was trying to be calm and rational, but really, I guess, wasn’t thinking. Did you see the Twitter argument between her and @dearauthor last night? Just… Seriously. I’m so proud of the authors have stayed calm, professional and quiet throughout this whole drama.
And Mwaha! Phish away! If anyone deseves them it’s you, and I’m so glad someone managed to post about it without name calling and staying professional.you’re like a blogging rockstar XD
Wow.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/50268-should-authors-and-agents-weigh-in-on-citizen-reviews-.html
Mainstream baby… I said it up there – but congrats on being slightly mentioned by review.
I actually thought Maggie’s post was pretty condescending and I wasn’t terribly impressed with her argument. I don’t think people going out of their way to make someone else feel bad is good, but at the same time, when you put things out there for public consumption and expect people to pay you money for them, not everyone is going to think the product is great. They’re just not.
Dear Author skewered Ms. Stiefvater’s post pretty thoroughly but my bottom line is this: I will write what I please, about what I please, in the manner that pleases me. Thank you and have a nice day.
I saw that. They were a lot harsher than me. But, I doubt she has ever read any of her books. I think that was the nail in the coffin for me.
Love it: “I will write what I please, about what I please, in the manner that pleases me. Thank you and have a nice day.”
If I wanted to read reviews the book section of the Sunday Times would be dog eared, but who has the time to read comparisons of a book I probably won’t read to a book I probably haven’t read? Those articles are as long as the books they review. There are variables on which books can be reviewed, traditional comparisons that can be made, but what it all comes down to is opinion based on having read the book with some care. Styles of writing and review change, what is considered literature and what is considered genre fiction changes, what we call it changes.
PotAYto–PoTAHto, a rose by any other name, blah, blah, blah.
Here is what doesn’t change: writing a book, creating a work of visual art, a film or whatever, is like stripping nekkid and showing everyone your lumps, bumps and cellulite. It’s like having your mother tell your boss stories about your bed wetting as a child. It makes an artist open and vulnerable, and guess what that does? It makes her or him defensive, and reactive. It makes them behave in dumb ways.
Back in the day people fought duels over slights and minor insults (Burr-Hamilton?) now we sling softer arrows in the form of words. But it really doesn’t matter what the writers think, what matters, and the only people I am responsible to in my blog, besides my own self, are the people who read my blogs. If I gave good reviews because someone sent me a book I would be just another form of hooker. And, if I have read the book, think about it and tell you what I think and why in a professional manner then it is a review. Do I happen to have the creds necessary for an author who would want to make a big deal over it ? Why yes, yes, I do. So, as a professional respected and best selling author by the name of Charlaine Harris said at BEA [about someone who said her Southern Vampire Mysteries wouldn't sell or weren't any good], “Neener, neener, neener.”
But the only things that matter is that I make information about the book available to my readers. I think the publishers who keep sending me books for what they call review (including Ms. Stiefvater’s) agree.
By the way, at the Book Blogger’s conference it was confirmed that publishers don’t care if a review is bad or good. They care if it is professional, read “not a personal attack,” and that it gets the book’s name out there.
I would keep writing on this, but I think I will use this and some more on Wingedeffigy.blogspot.com tomorrow.
Rachel, what you do is very professional and well done. What one person says isn’t worth getting up about. You do a good job on a lot of fronts and Maggie should bow before you. You have probably done more to sell her books than the “professional reviewers” at the Times or whatever.
I’ll run and check out the post — send me the link when it is up. Or I’ll just stalk you.
Her blog post actually kind of makes me mad. It’s like a back-handed compliment: “you guys aren’t real reviewers, your opinions don’t REALLY count, but I still love you anyway, and please, nobody else piss them off otherwise you’ll start another sh*t storm.” As if we need to have a literary degree and post our reviews in a publication or literary journal for it to be considered legitimate. GIVE ME A BREAK!
I’m actually a little offended by her post. I’d been looking forward to reading her work because I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but now I think I won’t even bother.
Jennifer @ The Bawdy Book Blog
Yes, I get that. I’m sorry that you will not be reading her books. I really do think they are a work of art.
I have absolutely no desire to write a “literary” review, nor do I think my subscribers want to try to plow through one… or fall asleep to one, take your pick. When a blogger (or any reader) “reviews” a book, they’re giving an overview of their thoughts as they read it. In no way does that constitute any kind of structural requirement about what EXACTLY makes up a review. Para, your comment about the different styles of “authors” is spot-on. Why should reviewers be treated in any different light than the authors we write about… because reviewers are writers too, just a different breed. It takes a lot of skill to write a review that both gives an idea of the plot, characters, and atmosphere of a book AND avoids spoiling the content and surprises of the story. That is a lot tougher than it sounds!
Reviews are primarily for other readers. Critiques are for authors. What’s the difference? A writer generally asks for a critique and it’s usually private or in some other non-general-public locale. Does that mean we can’t include critique elements (“hey author, this is what I think would have made it better!”) in a review? Of course not! So reviews can still be for authors as well as readers, to a lesser degree. When I write reviews, I intend them for the people who enjoy my commentary and generally agree with my choice of genre/author/writing style. People who don’t agree with those things are obviously probably not going to agree with my review opinions either, and are not my target audience. In that vein of thought, authors just looking for a “positive” review should know better than to ask me to review it for them, and generally, I think they do.
Now, snarky is a whole other issue. That’s part personality and part I-can-hide-behind-my-avatar. Some people are just snarky in general, and to those people I say “go for it! Post snarky reviews!” because that’s your style and that’s what your subscribers want. But some reviewers are snarky because its “cool” or because there’s no backlash other than a few digital QQs. So that’s a fine line there and you need to know the reviewer to have an idea what you’re dealing with. In either case, as long as the person read the book and made comments about it and what they thought of it, it’s a review. If their tone offends me, I should just move on and find another reviewer to follow, and not do my own QQing about their negativity.
So yes, bloggers who “post” about books are reviewers, if they a) have actually read the book and b) comment on elements of the book from their individual perspective, even if they’ll never grace some fancy literary digest.
Well… I wasn’t up on the whole scoop, so I’ve been reading many (most?) of the links you posted and my Opinion grew. Rather. So I posted my whole opinion…
http://burgandyice.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-in-ya-world.html
And, in a nutshell, who could possibly be a better Reviewer than people who like to read the books? And all that mess is just that, a MESS. And… I’m hosting my first Author Tour tomorrow.
So there.
I saw this mentioned on Goodreads. Personally, I don’t think anyone gets to define what is or isn’t a review. I agree that reviews shouldn’t include personal insults toward the author, but these are still reviews. No one gets to say what is or isn’t a review. If you’re talking about what you thought about something then to me that is a review. Whether you’re a professional critic or not. Personally, I love reading informal reviews with gifs and all, positive or negative! We’re not getting paid to review things so why should we have to adhere to any particular structure?
I’m really inspired by all of the bloggers who have rallied here on Parajunkee to defend and support what we do. We put in SO much time and energy into our blogs in support of the literary community, and we do it for FREE. Where else does this happen? Book Review Bloggers are awesome.
My two-cents on the topics at hand can be found here on my blog: http://parajunkee.com/2012/01/book-blogging-101-what-is-a-review.html
Thanks for starting the parade! I’m waving my flag!
Ooops, added the wrong link
http://www.pedanticphooka.com/2012/01/blog-topic-negative-reviews-and-the-credibility-of-bloggers-as-book-reviewers/
Personally, I don’t think a person has a right to review a book that they haven’t at least attempted to read… That’s misleading, disrespectful, and irresponsible on the “reviewer’s” part.
I don’t believe that anyone has a right to say that an opinion is or isn’t a review! Reviews are meant to critique – they aren’t always going to be unicorns and rainbows. I really love reading snarky reviews, but I don’t feel that insults to authors are necessary. You are reviewing the body of work, not the person who wrote them. Who cares if you aren’t a professional reviewer? Doesn’t your opinion still matter? I think that there is less distance between the general population and book bloggers than there is between the general population and professional reviewers.
Great post, with some really good points! I enjoyed this read.
*Waves Reviewer Flag*
Hmmm… I didn’t think MS was belittling book bloggers the first time I read it, but I can see why others would think that. The posts with the GIFs and such, I don’t really take with the same seriousness as the rational, well-written reviews.
As for myself, I post book reviews containing my opinion.
Thanks again for another great discussion post! I hope I’m not repeating stuff that’s already been said, but I felt looked down on as a book blogger a little bit because of that article. I think she skipped over the middle ground of book bloggers who take the time to be polite and constructive. She made two camps of reviewers: professional reviews and the animated gif reviews. There’s so much in between! And to be honest, the animated gif reviewers have a right to their opinion whether you like it or not.
Well, regardless of how we authors feel about it, bloggers are the new reviewers. I swear more people read book blogs than read the NYT book reviews.
You all have a lot of power. And here’s the thing – you aren’t writing a review for me, you’re writing a review or discussing a book for your blog readers. Go for it.
Nobody wants to be made fun of, but it’s a fact that there are some snarky book bloggers out there whose fans love those hilarious, insulting reviews. I have to admit even I’ve read some reviews and laughed my ass off. And the truth is, often times a snarky review sells more books for an author than a simple – I enjoyed this book – review does.
In my mind, a review is for readers, a critique is for authors. And hopefully we get most of our critiques before we publish. However, I do learn from a well-written review. Does actually help me as a writer.
Thank you Julia for giving an authors perspective. It’s true, while I cringe when reading a really snarky review, the only time I get offended is when it hits personal. Like when they say things like, “you must be an idiot to like this book” — but if it is just generally snarky, most of the time its very funny. Depending on the source of the dislike I think you can learn a lot from any sort of criticism. But, if it is a matter of taste — well you can’t please everyone.
This is silly! Novels are written for the average person to read, not for academic discussion. Therefore the average person sharing their opinion is the most valuable, because guess what, that is the audience!
I haven’t heard of Stiefvater post until now. Great super post!
I actually agree with her here- But I think “review” is just a term; I never considered my “reviews” reviews. My German teacher should be blamed here. I loved her, because she was sarcastic and snarky and witty and one of the most intelligent and educated people I’ve ever met. So I listened to the stuff she said and she explained what a review was, although differently than Stiefvater. Anyway – Review or not, the point I disagree with is the respect part. (And the personal level Stiefvater’s talking about)
I think reviewers deserve respect. But on a different level than pro reviewers. We speak to other readers, because we ARE readers. We probably haven’t studied literature – we are people, we read. THIS deserves respect. We take the time to explain why we liked or didn’t like a book and we make it entertaining with gifs or jokes or whatever.
So, yeah, maybe I’ll call our “reviews” .. I don’t know. “Morklach” from now on. It doesn’t change a thing. Because these pro reviews? I don’t think your neighbour will read them and then decide to read a book.
As a person who loves accademic discussions, though, I see what Stiefvater is getting at, so I’ll accept her opinion, and keep saying: I don’t care if it’s called a review or not. The point of people who said that authors had to deal with reviews was that authors had to be able to deal with other people’s OPINIONS. And that’s what we’re doing, when we review. We share our opinion. *sigh*
Morklacher… hmmm has a ring to it.
Anything written about a book is a review and personally speaking I have no desire to read literary reviews. I don’t need a “technical break this book down” kind of review, I want a “this is how I feel” kind of review. That is how I determine if the book is for me. I find even negitive reviews are helpful because what you didn’t like about the book could be something that I do like.
I just recently started blogging when this whole thing blew up and I found it to be discouraging that this whole thing happened.
We all have freedom of speech… you have the right to write and publish a book about whatever you want just like I have the right to say whatever I want about the book, good and bad.
I’m starting to suspect that I might be living under a rock. I haven’t even heard a whisper of all this drama before reading your post, Rachel
My initial reaction from reading your posts and several of the comments above is feeling a bit insulted. I, like most book bloggers, spend a lot of time writing, what at least I like to call, book reviews. I have to set my mind in English mode and try my best to get my opinion about a book across to my readers.
I hate to say it, but I think I just lost a lot of respect for Maggie. While I agree with the difference between writing a review and being a jerk, she seems to be confusing a book review for a literary essay. I’d wager the majority of readers don’t typically form their opinions based on scholarly essays, so when Maggie wrote, “they’re prized and respected in the publishing world,” she’s forgetting that there is a massive gap between the publishing world and the world of the reader.
On the issue of bias, even “scholarly literary journals” have them. Hello, prejudice against fantasy, horror, and scifi from the New York Times bestseller list, anyone?
Honestly, I only ever learned about Maggie’s books from the bloggers I follow. I’d think she’d want to show more respect to the community that *actually* got the word out about her books, not literary publications that legitimately no one I know even reads.
Smiles!
Lori
Lori – I learned about Maggie’s book from a poll on a book bloggers site. I would have never heard of her, or picked up her book if I wasn’t a book blogger. ACTUALLY — I wouldn’t read any of this YA stuff if I wasn’t a book blogger. I only started reading it because of the book blogger trending with all the YA. My YA experience was limited to Harry Potter and Twilight and that was about as much as I had plans on reading in that genre….
here here! well said that woman!
Great post and interesting question. When considering what constitutes a review, I look at who the review is for. Is the review for readers? For the author? My opinion is that reviews are for the readers, and readers are extremely varied so it makes sense that reviews can be quite varied too. As an author, I love reading detailed, well-crafted reviews that pick apart more professional topics like characterization, pacing, and style, but reviews are not for authors. They’re for readers, and I think readers deserve an easily followed, sometimes snarky, often personal review to see if the book is for them. It’s good advice not to get personal but let’s face it, how we react to books is deeply personal. We can’t help it.
I’m snarky. I’m snarky in real life, I don’t hide behind my avatar. Here’s the thing, I write my opinions on books I read. I state up front, I’m an honest, snarky reviewer. I even link author requests for reviews to my post “Indie/Self-Pub authors Discussion” http://badassbookreviews.com/discussion-indieself-pub-authors-help-me-help-you/
If they don’t like my style, its cool. There are a million other bloggers out there. I’ve toed the line on acceptable ranting/reviews before. Once or twice… I also state I’m an emotional or mood reviewer. My opinion fluctuates. I state how I feel. I try to write what moved me or what I hated. I write what bothers me (Love triangles? Cliffhangers, no effin thank you) I swear. I swear in real life. My poor kids… My reviews are my opinions. If all book bloggers wrote reviews/opinions in the same format, book blogging would be so boring.
I also write. Will I get upset when I have negative reviews of my book? Nah. Will I cry? Probably once or twice. I did tell my dh that I should write the first negative review, to get it over and done with (Not that I’m gonna do that mind you, its all kinds of wrong, I’m just sayin’) I have no doubt I’ll get negative reviews, everyone does. Writing is subjective. No two people will read the same book and come away with the same opinion. However, shouting out to twitter and writing posts about it on my author blog? No. I’ll call my best friend and vent. Then I’ll get over it, because in the end, reviews are opinions and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and who am I to say someones opinion is wrong?
Great post Rachel.
Great post! It made me laugh, and it also made me a little bit mad. Post about blogs v reviews? Seriously? Of course they are reviews. A review is only ever the reader’s opinion and that goes for pro reviewers as well as the blogging community. I for one am far more likely to take note of a “normal person’s” review than I ever am of a review someone got paid for. Authors would do well to remember that it’s people like us that buy the bloody books so our opinions on whether something is any good or not should be taken seriously. As the for the original offending review. Really? I don’t agree with the review, but then again, it is someone else’s opinion. I definitely don’t agree with posting a “review” of a book based on 2 excerpts rather than having read the whole book, but that’s just me. I
‘m a blogging reviewer and proud of it. I read reviews from my peers to check out my TBR pile before I fork out money on it so there!
If I tried to turn one of my reviews into my English professor, he’d have a field day with it. I snark, I curse, I rarely use proper grammar (because I typically write like I talk, which is very much like a Sailor would since I spent so much time in the Navy, not to mention the fact that I’m Southern and I like using my quaint little Southern expressions)… but I still consider what I do reviewing, because it is my honest opinion about whatever book (or movie occasionally) I’ve just read. I break it down my characters, setting, plot, etc. I don’t just make a generalization saying things like “Wow I liked this book! Go get it!” That would be for Twitter because of the 140 character limit. No, I tell exactly WHY I liked (or disliked) the book. I try to keep it professional for the most part… there have been a few times when I’ve been uber-snarky and I even make it a point to post a warning at the beginning of the post to let people know if there’s massive snark (or any spoilers) coming up.
So I have to say that yes, I took what Maggie Stiefvater said the same way you did. I work very hard on my book blogging/reviewing and it hurts my poor little sensitive heart that it was belittled by anyone — especially a respected author.
That being said though… I don’t write my reviews for the authors. I write them for other readers, like me.
I agree whole heartedly with your assessment of pro-reviewer vs. blog reviewer. I’ve been “reviewing” books for a few years for several blogs, websites and indy authors. I have never attacked them personnaly. Reviews, whether considered professional or not, are still an opinion. I’m glad to know others see it that way as well.
I personally think that you did a great job in explaining what ‘we’ do as ‘bloggers/reviewers.’ I suppose that there are things that I agree with in Maggie’s statements, but the average reader is going to be looking for reviews that are coming from people like them. Sometimes when I read a technical/professional review I feel like the person writing it just wants to be read. Kind of like ‘hearing myself talk makes me feel more important.’ What I really want to know before I pick up a book is whether someone with my basic taste liked it or not – and if not why? I suppose whether we are reviewers or not, we serve a purpose. I’ve interacted with too many authors to think that what we do doesn’t matter. Sometimes, especially with Indie Authors, our opinion is very important. Thanks for sharing Rachel and making us all think.
Right now I’m singing to you…”Have I told you lately that I love you”. LoL No…not really, but seriously. *Grins*
This whole drama thing just gives me a bad taste in my mouth and only causes a lot of mixed feelings and emotions. The only time that I’ve ever been bugged by someone that wrote something on goodreads, was someone that OBVIOUSLY did not read the book and they seemed like they were just looking for attention.
Does this drama make me feel like my reviews don’t matter? I guess in a way they are making me questio I think I need to step back and think, “What is the true reason that I started my review blog?” The answer to myself is, “I started it because I wanted to share my true opinions about a book that I read.” I really didn’t really expect a whole lot of readers at all, but I still thought of myself as a reviewer.
I think that Maggie’s post bugged me more than any of the others. I could see if there is specific points needs to be covered in a review, if that is what is expected due to someone getting paid to write the review. But when it is your own personal blog, you The Blogger gets to decide your own personal style of how you review a book. I don’t think of my reviews as professional at all! Personally I steer clear of sounding too professional. I like to put as much of my personality out in my review or how I might talk about a book with a friend.
After all this drama, do I feel like my posts about books are still a review? Yes. I understand that my style might turn people away because my style is not their taste, or might keep publishers from sending me review books. But I’m OK with that. I started my blog for a reason, to express my feelings about books…and I will not stop thinking that they are reviews.
First off, I was miffed by what Maggie posted. Most bloggers I see do a fantastic job of supporting their opinions with evidence for both strengths and weaknesses of a book. I do believe that most bloggers are writing REVIEWS not just “opinion posts.”
However, reviews like those Maggie spoke of (professional ones in Booklist, School Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, etc.) are just as powerful as blogs. What I think some bloggers don’t realize is that most public libraries and school libraries use these sources and have to justify their spending via reviews from these sources. So a good review in one of these magazines could translate into thousands of libraries purchasing multiple titles. So while many bloggers don’t read these “professional reviews” these are still the sources relied upon by libraries with much bigger budgets than individual readers.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think bloggers are extremely influential. Bloggers have a power that I think is under-recognized.
But these professional reviews that you say no one reads… well, they do get read, and they still play a big role in the publishing industry and an author’s career. (Which is probably why authors care about them.)
I came back to read what I had written soooo very late last night, and realized the last bit could come off accusatory “But these professional reviews that you say no one reads” I didn’t mean “you” as in Parajunkee. I read almost every comment on this post, and a lot of people were saying that they don’t read professional reviews, and the “you” was vague pronoun for all the people who said that.
Sorry! Don’t want to offend you! Your post defending bloggers was awesome. And you’re awesome!
I am in agreeance with you. Here’s the thing. If you take away the whole “I’m a reviewer” name and drop it to book thoughts or some other name, it isn’t going to have the potential as reviewer. I think it does sound professional, but if I were to be called a poser, I would start reconsidering things greatly. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing this, it’s just that one simple word means so much and if you take it away and replace it with something much more simple, many wouldn’t be as interested in ‘reviewing’ books. If you are going to get mocked and laughed at, that’s another issue. But how many books do we actually promote? I’ve read tons I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for fellow reviewers/bloggers. Not a big fan of the gifs thing. I’ve seen some rather innapropriate ones. But if it’s your thing then run with it. Now, to review a book only from reading the synposis, that’s just silly.
My definition of a reviewer:
Someone who takes the time to read a book and is moved enough (good or bad) to share the experience.
I honestly wouldn’t know how to write an impersonal review, unless I was faking it and not actually reading the books. I find reviewing to be personal, it’s an account of my experience with the words and story. Granted some of the reviews I write are more or less invested depending on how I felt, but they are all my babies. I find I write the most glowing or harshest reviews for the books or series I love the most, I’m hardest on series that have disappointed me in some way along the line, like the House of Night series. The idea that reviews should be bland book reports is simply sad, since books with most personality or disappointment really bring out the best in me.
My blog is still rather new and I’m starting to implement more discussions and features promoting my views. The blog is an extension of my views not bound by just what I read. I like to read and write and share my thoughts and experiences. Maybe that makes me a reviewer or blogger. I don’t really care because I refuse to let someone who hasn’t taken the time to see or read my work define me in such general terms.
Good Morning Parajunkee!
I’m new to the book blogging communitee and the first major thing I read about is all this drama. I read all the links and I was pretty conflicted by Maggie’s post. Yes she made some good points but then there were the points that I felt belittled me as a book blogger. As a new Reviewer (where can I find me a Reviewer flag to put on my blog?) I’m still trying to figure out all the in’s and out’s of writing a good review, wether it be good or bad, but I’d never stoop so low as to personally attack an author. I even felt compelled to write about this on my blog.
http://notyourmothersbookblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/discussion-post-authors-vs-bloggers.html
Have a great day and I really enjoy your Book Blogging 101 posts.
Love your blog!
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