Little Bit and I are having a cup of coffee. Yes, I know, she's only 12, and 12-year-olds shouldn't drink coffee, what kind of a mother am I? Believe me, it's so diluted and loaded down with French vanilla creamer and sugar that you wouldn't recognize it as a cup of coffee at all. Starbucks, it ain't. Mine, on the other hand, is full strength mud, also loaded down with French vanilla creamer and sugar, but undiluted. Yessir, that's what gets me going in the morning. Not every morning. Today I made the coffee because the WGH is going to work later, and he must have his Java in the mornings. The Boy likes it, too, on occasion, just as light and sweet as mine but since he's 15 he gets the undiluted stuff. It's not like it's going to stunt his growth - the kid's already over 6 feet tall, for Pete's sake.
I feel guilty. Having met a particular author of a particular book I just finished reading, I'm really having a hard time writing the review for it, mainly because the book ... well, let's just say it didn't live up to my expectations. According to our editor, if a book sucks, we're allowed to say so. But I don't think of myself as having a mean bone in my body, so I feel guilty saying this book was awful when I really, really like the author. There's some discussion going around cyberspace about this - our expectations given our knowledge of an author and our disappointment when their books don't measure up. And I'm sure there are those out there who think the same of my books, and that's fine. It's a matter of taste. My first review was on a book I didn't particularly like but was well written, and I said those very words ("it's a matter of taste") in my review. This one's a little tougher. It's not that I think I'm so much better, not by a long shot. This woman has about 24 or 25 books out, which is a monumental accomplishment in this day and age. I just ... didn't get it. Sigh. I've written the review, and will probably send it in as is, but I'll probably feel horrible about it for a long time to come. I tried to be nice, really I did, but it was hard for me to find many positive things about the book, and for this I feel guilty. Okay, so I have a skewed sense of logic. I just find it hard to be objective about things sometimes.
JT is on vacation (a real vacation, not a working one) so I'm going to have to kick my own seat for the next week and get some work done on this endless rewrite. With any luck, by the time you get really tired of hearing about this WIP, it will be a finished manuscript.
Music of the Moment: Three Days Grace, Time of Dying. Surprised you, didn't I? It's The Boy - he's playing it on the other computer. I have yet to crank up the boom box, but will when I settle in to work once I'm home from the grocery. Ah, yes, real life intervenes.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
2 comments:
Why do I suddenly feel so nervous? If I hadn't sent you my ms I'd be able to be far more objective about this!
But the truth is, as a reviewer, you have to call it like you see it. That doesn't mean just labeling the book a festering pile of crap but qualifying the why it didn't work for you, and that's fair enough.
I just read a scathing review of a book that in the end did read like a personal attack on the author, and that's the only kind of review I don't have tolerance for. It's about the book and its own merits...not the writer.
Sandra's right. The point of reviewing is to review. If it doesn't work for you, saying so will bring credibility, not chase it away. I did a book earlier this year that was so very bad I couldn't help myself -- I gave it a terrible review. I hated doing it because I didn't want to discourage the writer (having 25 books under the belt, this one can take a negative review) But this person was just starting out, and I hated having to point out the problems. I hope she took the criticisms to heart though, and made her next book better for them.
Yep, I'm on vacation, but I missed you and wanted to say hi! Sounds like you've got it all together, as always. But just in case, here you go... KICK!
Amo!
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