Thursday, November 20, 2008

Booking Through Thursday

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This week's question

I receive a lot of review books, but I have never once told lies about the book just because I got a free copy of it. However, some authors seem to feel that if they send you a copy of their book for free, you should give it a positive review.

Do you think reviewers are obligated to put up a good review of a book, even if they don’t like it? Have we come to a point where reviewers *need* to put up disclaimers to (hopefully) save themselves from being harassed by unhappy authors who get negative reviews?

My answer...

I've reviewed books for years and some authors do expect positive reviews when they send out a review copy, but I don't think reviewers should feel obligated to write a positive review. However, OTOH, some reviewers can get downright nasty about a book they didn't like and I don't think that's right either. There has to be a happy medium.

Authors put their work out there and it's not always going to receive positive reviews or comments. You can't please everyone. That's the nature of the business.

I, also, think a reviewer has to be careful in the wording and not resort to bashing a book. Stating opinions and why is one thing, bashing doesn't accomplish anything. Just my 2 cents.
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4 comments:

  1. Beth FNovember 20, 2008 at 8:23 AM

    I agree. In my post today I mentioned that reviewers should resort to being mean.

    ReplyDelete
  2. jlshallNovember 20, 2008 at 8:26 AM

    I agree. If I really don't like a book, I say so. But I do try to be gentle in my criticism. Yes, bashing is not the best way to go!

    Here's my answer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SmilingSallyNovember 20, 2008 at 1:50 PM

    I think that a negative take on a book can still be professionally handled.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The BookwormNovember 20, 2008 at 6:36 PM

    well said, there should be no book bashing, just honest reviews.

    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

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