Because books are not junk made on an industrial assembly line and we need to stop treating them as such. And because there must be a better way of talking about books that isn’t so totally toxic.
DONNA, thank you, thank you, thank you. This is such a wise, mature, thoughtful piece about something that makes me feel TOO MANY FEELINGS. (Also, I often think that as a reader, writer, occasional reviewer and the host of a books podcast, Goodreads should be made for a girl like me! I should be their core demographic! But I hate it! I hate it so much! BAAAAAAAAAAADREADS.)
Daisy, I am glad this made you feel FEELINGS! I should be their core demographic too. But I am so not, and I realized this ages ago. It makes me sad. I hate the dread it provokes in me now, when I have a book coming out. The I start wondering: how in the world did we get here, specifically, where an author would feel this way?!
I love this...you’ve articulated what I’ve felt for a long time. We totally live in a ratings culture. I like to talk with friends about books I’ve read so that I can learn from their perspective and insight. Rating is subjective anyway.
So glad this resonated. I am bummed in a rather ongoing way about the constant request for ratings from every place I visit, etc. Thank you for stopping by and reading!
I love your point about giving books stars like fish sticks. I stopped doing it because I didn’t want rate people’s
Work that way but I did it for years so no medal there. My last book did get some harsh goodreads reviews and I did read them one day... that was a bad day. But I also learned some things because I didn’t disagree with all the reviews. Gulp. Here’s what I hear in the pub world- Goodreads does not sell books. I could be wrong of course but worth looking into to. ❤️
Thank you Find for writing this post/article. I have stopped reviewing on Goodreads and don't bother to load the books I've read. When I started receiving the reviews by one of their reviewers that were impossible to read that many books in the amount of time they were posting them, I became disenchanted. The reviewer had to have others reading books and giving their reviews to them and then rewriting them, lifting reviews from from somewhere, or something.
I average a book a day to two days, depending on the length of the book. I don't read near that many in the timeframe and I have received her reviews for several years. I unsubscribed from her reviews but they still keep coming to me. Now I ignore them.
I have never reviewed every book or purchase that I read /made. If a book really moves me or is outstanding (or needs works in development), I'll review it. If I'm reading a series, and I love the series, I'll review it at the end of the series. I'm too busy moving on to the next book to stop and review the book that I just read!
I'm not someone who just pops off a review. I take time and thought when writing a review. If I give praise or constructive criticism, it's coming from my heart. I know that the author spent time writing that story and I respect that. My criticisms usually are directed at self -publishing and skipping proofreading needed prior to publishing. This is a hot button for me especially since it's so easy to run a program like Grammarly. (I'm a professional editor, proofreader and writer so this might be more of a hot button for me than for others.)
There are books where character development need to be done but I don't usually remark on them. That Golden rule was heavily stressed while I was growing up too. Plus I always suspect that others are writing about it and I don't feel like piling on with more negativity.
I'm a great believer in peer reviewers/proofreaders. The exchange of manuscripts between each other for corrections keeps costs down. In the business world, teams do team/peer reviews of their work. Then it goes to the team editor.
Thank you for the referral to Italic Type. I've already joined it and am looking forward to using it.
Of course! It felt good to write about this. And to really take in what Italic Type is doing that's so different to Goodreads, and also so much closer to what I wish for as an author and reader myself.
Love this, Donna! I dislike Goodreads too for obvious reasons-- but I feel like any reader has the right to hate my work publicly.. I just draw the line at being tagged in bad reviews!! That's just unnecessary in my opinion. Thanks for pointing out an alternative site... v interesting xoxo
Hi Emma, I know--I always feel weird when that happens (when I get tagged in bad reviews). The alternative site is pretty amazing--you should check it out. And...I'm trying to think of how I feel about the right to hate things publicly. I think I believe--anyone has the right to be critical publicly--but criticism is an art. And it's not meant to be mean or snarky. And there is so much hate swirling publicly in general, I'm not sure that unrestrained hate on something like books is making the world a better place. I sort of go back to (and I know this seems ridiculous and cheesy but), how my mother taught me, at the most basic level--if you don't have something nice to say . . . Anyway! xoxo
Totally agree. I think unanimously "hate speech" should be banned but think free speech is important. I also remember Liz Gilbert saying something along these lines: as an author you're allowed your say, so the reader is allowed theirs. Interesting to ponder!! xoxoxo
I adore Italic Type! Been using it for months, as a sort of reading log and journal, while pretty much disregarding the community aspect. I guess I have too much Goodreads PTSD still. But the app itself and the intentions behind it are truly commendable. I’m so glad you’re sharing it.
DONNA, thank you, thank you, thank you. This is such a wise, mature, thoughtful piece about something that makes me feel TOO MANY FEELINGS. (Also, I often think that as a reader, writer, occasional reviewer and the host of a books podcast, Goodreads should be made for a girl like me! I should be their core demographic! But I hate it! I hate it so much! BAAAAAAAAAAADREADS.)
Daisy, I am glad this made you feel FEELINGS! I should be their core demographic too. But I am so not, and I realized this ages ago. It makes me sad. I hate the dread it provokes in me now, when I have a book coming out. The I start wondering: how in the world did we get here, specifically, where an author would feel this way?!
I love this...you’ve articulated what I’ve felt for a long time. We totally live in a ratings culture. I like to talk with friends about books I’ve read so that I can learn from their perspective and insight. Rating is subjective anyway.
So glad this resonated. I am bummed in a rather ongoing way about the constant request for ratings from every place I visit, etc. Thank you for stopping by and reading!
I love your point about giving books stars like fish sticks. I stopped doing it because I didn’t want rate people’s
Work that way but I did it for years so no medal there. My last book did get some harsh goodreads reviews and I did read them one day... that was a bad day. But I also learned some things because I didn’t disagree with all the reviews. Gulp. Here’s what I hear in the pub world- Goodreads does not sell books. I could be wrong of course but worth looking into to. ❤️
Thank you Find for writing this post/article. I have stopped reviewing on Goodreads and don't bother to load the books I've read. When I started receiving the reviews by one of their reviewers that were impossible to read that many books in the amount of time they were posting them, I became disenchanted. The reviewer had to have others reading books and giving their reviews to them and then rewriting them, lifting reviews from from somewhere, or something.
I average a book a day to two days, depending on the length of the book. I don't read near that many in the timeframe and I have received her reviews for several years. I unsubscribed from her reviews but they still keep coming to me. Now I ignore them.
I have never reviewed every book or purchase that I read /made. If a book really moves me or is outstanding (or needs works in development), I'll review it. If I'm reading a series, and I love the series, I'll review it at the end of the series. I'm too busy moving on to the next book to stop and review the book that I just read!
I'm not someone who just pops off a review. I take time and thought when writing a review. If I give praise or constructive criticism, it's coming from my heart. I know that the author spent time writing that story and I respect that. My criticisms usually are directed at self -publishing and skipping proofreading needed prior to publishing. This is a hot button for me especially since it's so easy to run a program like Grammarly. (I'm a professional editor, proofreader and writer so this might be more of a hot button for me than for others.)
There are books where character development need to be done but I don't usually remark on them. That Golden rule was heavily stressed while I was growing up too. Plus I always suspect that others are writing about it and I don't feel like piling on with more negativity.
I'm a great believer in peer reviewers/proofreaders. The exchange of manuscripts between each other for corrections keeps costs down. In the business world, teams do team/peer reviews of their work. Then it goes to the team editor.
Thank you for the referral to Italic Type. I've already joined it and am looking forward to using it.
Susan, thank you for this very thoughtful reply. And I'm so glad you joined Italic Type. I'll be curious what you think of it once you start using it.
Love this, Donna, and thank you for sharing! 🤗
Of course! It felt good to write about this. And to really take in what Italic Type is doing that's so different to Goodreads, and also so much closer to what I wish for as an author and reader myself.
Love this, Donna! I dislike Goodreads too for obvious reasons-- but I feel like any reader has the right to hate my work publicly.. I just draw the line at being tagged in bad reviews!! That's just unnecessary in my opinion. Thanks for pointing out an alternative site... v interesting xoxo
Hi Emma, I know--I always feel weird when that happens (when I get tagged in bad reviews). The alternative site is pretty amazing--you should check it out. And...I'm trying to think of how I feel about the right to hate things publicly. I think I believe--anyone has the right to be critical publicly--but criticism is an art. And it's not meant to be mean or snarky. And there is so much hate swirling publicly in general, I'm not sure that unrestrained hate on something like books is making the world a better place. I sort of go back to (and I know this seems ridiculous and cheesy but), how my mother taught me, at the most basic level--if you don't have something nice to say . . . Anyway! xoxo
Totally agree. I think unanimously "hate speech" should be banned but think free speech is important. I also remember Liz Gilbert saying something along these lines: as an author you're allowed your say, so the reader is allowed theirs. Interesting to ponder!! xoxoxo
I adore Italic Type! Been using it for months, as a sort of reading log and journal, while pretty much disregarding the community aspect. I guess I have too much Goodreads PTSD still. But the app itself and the intentions behind it are truly commendable. I’m so glad you’re sharing it.