Dishing Junk: Comparing One Book to Another
Why am I feeling self-conscious?
This week I read Touched by Corrine Jackson and I had to pause in my review, because the first thing that came to mind was…
It was just like Twilight.
I’m not one that coins these phrases in my review lightly. I don’t snidely compare other young adult paranormals to THE YAPNR with abandon and derision (only when it is VERY obvious, like here). I think it is an unnecessary joining of two books that might have no conjunction except maybe their genre and will only do this if the book was obviously used as “inspiration.”
I read a post about a year ago that went OFF on people that do this. Using terminology like “vomit” and “hate” it made me pause and frankly a bit self-conscious when I go to compare one book to another. I DON’T LIKE TO BE SELF-CONSCIOUS. I’m a pretty confident person, I usually don’t mind just saying what is on my mind and screw the consequences. You think I’m shit for saying that, so be it, you don’t like it, that is your deal, accept it or move on. Don’t hang around and make me feel like crap for my opinion, because I won’t make you feel like shit when you voice your own. I’m not going to link to that post because I don’t want to shine a negative light on it. It was her opinion and it made sense when she wrote it…but it did make feel self-conscious. Which…is a lesson that I have to remember when I write my own ranty pieces.
But, I digress. The topic is of course is BOOK COMPARISONS when writing a review, not rant posts that make me feel self-conscious. Especially when comparing books to Twilight or other big names, like The Hunger Games.
I’ve been known to do a “this book is like The Hunger Games mixed with The Vampire Diaries” type descriptions. And I think there is nothing wrong with this. I think it gives readers a good comparison, if you like those two things, you’ll probably like this book. I also include similar books in the footer of the review. You like this book, you’ll probably like these too..
Yet, on occasion…a book stands-out as using too many elements that you can’t look past the similarities. It is one thing to have a vampire in the story, or a love-triangle, it is another to have a family dynamic that is similar, congruent scenes and antagonists. Makes you pause and ask “what book am I reading?”
When things like this happen within a book, I love pointing out the similarities. It is obvious to me, why wasn’t it obvious to the publisher? Or was it, and they are just using the Twilight craze to sell their own rip-offs? Or, am I being unfair to the book? Should I just accept that there are no original ideas and certain books will probably overlap ideas?
Unfair, usually doesn’t come up when I review a book though. If the author decided to use a very popular book as inspiration…isn’t it my job to point out the similarities? I know authors like Kresley Cole (cue light breaking through the heavens music) will not read books within the genre/type they write within. JUST so she won’t accidentally use that book as inspiration. When she said this at a signing, I wanted to cry for her. Think about the great books she is missing with her genre!
Why can’t other authors be like the amazing Cole? Why must some resort to regurgitating ideas that were already popularized by other great authors? I think, it boils down to originators and parasites and takes the form in all walks of life. There are some people that have great ideas and they implement them with precision and class and their are others that find inspiration from these originators and offer secondary, half-assed versions of the original. On some occasions they actually take the idea and make it better and become quite popular for an idea that is not even their own. It sounds terrible, but even films like FINDING NEMO was supposably based on a “stolen” idea.
I do believe I’m talking myself into a circle with this one. I just know that when I went to write my Touched review, I felt self-conscious when I wrote Twilight for the first time. On pondering this pause, it brought me back to a year ago and a few rant posts that I had read. I shouldn’t have paused, I shouldn’t have felt self-conscious. The book is too similar to Twilight. I shouldn’t be afraid to say that.
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You shouldn’t feel self-conscious. Reviews should be honest. They’re opinions. People can agree or disagree. They can create discussion. But you shouldn’t worry about what other people think.
I think it’s OK to compare one book to another if you think they are very similar. It would almost be strange if you didn’t.
And it’s still just your opinion, people don’t have to agree with you.
I agree with you, you shouldn’t have to feel self-conscious. It’s completely fine to compare books. Particularly when you’re doing it a Hunger Games meets the “Vampire Diaries” because that just helps readers figure out whether or not that book is for them. When literary agents are pitching books to editors, they do the exact same thing to get the point across.
I don’t think authors should stop reading their genre, though. A person can usually trace back their idea to a source and if it’s too similar (like the case with Touched) then they should know better than to do it. But at the same time, people have simultaneous ideas sometimes. I was watching a vlogbrothers’s video a while back and Hank Green came up started to use anagrams of presidential candidates names. Shortly there after, John Stewart on the Daily Show did the same thing. John Green was friends with some of the writers and found out that they had had that skit written weeks before Hank Green ever did his thing. So sometimes it seems like stealing muse when it’s not.
Though, I doubt that was the case for Touched since Twilight predated it by quite a bit. Writers should really scrutinize their work to make sure it’s as original as it can get. I would have thought a publisher wouldn’t have allowed a book to be so similar to another … but perhaps they were just doing what you said, and trying to use the Twilight crazy. It’s a shame.
Great post.
I have to admit to comparing books from time to time, I think most reviewers do on occasion, because I think that can really help a potential reader. If I compare a book to Twilight, people who really loved Twilight may flock to it, and the ones who didn’t like Twilight know that the book is similar. I find these comparisons helpful, because as a librarian I am always being asked for Read-alikes. When I see that in a review I take note so I can recommend it to my patrons. So I say keep doing it, there isn’t any reason to feel self-conscious about it especially when you are doing a service to readers and librarians too!
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with comparing books to other books, especially when it’s extremely blatant. There have been a few books like that for me; like I said on Facebook, I was shocked when reading Carrier of the Mark because it just screamed Twilight in almost every facet. Sometimes I get like that, where I think to myself, “Well, maybe we’re just running out of ideas and increasing similarities are inevitable.” Then I end up reading a book that reminds me that as long as people have an ounce of imagination and creativeness, original ideas will always be possible. Also I laughed at Kroger’s “Butter It’s Not”. I’ve honestly never noticed this before, but you can bet I’ll be looking for it next time I’m at the grocery store!
Here here! I actually appreciate you stating when a book becomes too similar to another one since I don’t like reading the same exact story twice with a different (but not that different….) cover. There is a big difference between “if you liked this popular book, you’ll probably like this other one” and “omg this book is so similar but of poorer, it’s ridiculous,” but I think both are useful to your readers.
Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings
If reading a book reminds you of another I see absolutely nothing wrong with mentioning that. If you feel that sense of deja vu, I couldn’t imagine not wanting to voice that. It’s what you felt.
While I’d never have noticed most of those comparisons you made in that other review, if those things jump out at you and you want to talk about them, why should that be a bad thing? Some readers may even enjoy those similarities and choose to read the book because of them.
I rarely notice similarities between books because I visually create pictures in my head that paint a very different world so I often miss 99% of framework or other issues that are similar. But I had the hardest time getting through two YA books I’d read – one before blogging and one I read last year – because that little voice inside my head kept screaming that I’d been on that journey, I’d seen that setting and they didn’t deviate enough from the original.
I say you totally shouldn’t feel uncomfortable about voicing your thoughts. If it didn’t feel original or unique enough to you and the characters and setting didn’t offer enough differentiation, then go for it.
I’d be curious if you make comparisons of books by the same author. Take the various V.C. Andrews (insert register mark) series which I felt mimicked the original author’s Flowers in the Attic characters, setting, structure so much that I stopped reading them after awhile.
You already know how I feel about this. Call that spade a spade. I don’t second guess it. I understand a certain amount of inspiration is fine for me, but if it’s a rip off, that’s not my problem. I’m just tellin’ it like it is. Chances are, if it bothers you, it’s probably going to bother someone else.
I agree with the others. It is what it is, if one book is similar to another, why not call it out. You aren’t blogging for authors anyway, right? Readers want to know what you think, and if you think it’s similar to another book, then that should be what you say.
I called out three books that were similar to Vampire Academy….incredibly so. I even did a chart for one of them. I felt sort of like an ass for being that detailed, but all those things caught my attention, and I’d only read both books ONCE. So I thought it was fair to say it.
And as it turns out, I love both series with equal fervor.
I see no reason not to make comparisons! After all, like everyone above said, it might push lovers of the book you compare it to further into wanting to read the new book. If publishers can make charts that say “if you like this, read this” then why can’t we make our own comparisons? I don’t want to feel guilty for it.