Comments on: Sunday Salon – November 16, 2008

By: Caribousmom

Caribousmom — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:36:02 +0000

Joanne: That is, in my opinion, a legitimate way to review! I use stars, but I have a clear definition of my star ratings in my left sidebar.

Amy: I’m still not feeling great – but thank you for your well wishes! I hate cutting down on things, but I have come to realize I need to do so. I like what that reviewer said…that’s how I feel! A review should be your opinion supported by excerpts or whatever…if you aren’t truthful, than what is the point???

Jeane: I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings either…but one way to look at things is that authors are writing books as their job…without honest feedback, how can they improve or grow? It is always hard to hear you did not do the best job at something, but I have always looked at those times as huge growth times for myself.

Michelle: Yes it makes sense – but she keeps writing more and more!!!

S.Krishna: I think we all need to be cautious to some degree without being terrified

Samantha: *nods* I won’t request a book that doesn’t “grab me” … I have too many to read!

By: Caribousmom

Caribousmom — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:30:08 +0000

Lisa: Josh Henkin is a great guy (I met him at the Book Expo) so he is an author you are “safe” to get a book from

Vasilly: That is an interesting take on the issue – I hadn’t thought about a bad book sapping my time to write a review … but it is a good point.

Michele: Like you, I don’t give a ton of 5′s nor a ton of 1′s…even books I haven’t really liked don’t typically get lower than a 2 from me.

Kim L.: I do believe we have a responsibility to be honest for those who read our blogs…for me, it is about my integrity as a reviewer. Negative reviews can be tricky (they are much harder to write than positive ones!), but I think they can be done respectfully.

Dawn: Excerpts are especially helpful! Thanks for the get well wishes … I’m still battling this nasty cough.

Lexi: It says a lot about censorship – an author who puts pressure on a reviewer and threatens them (whether it be through harassment or hinting at lawsuits) is trying to get the reviewer to be untruthful in their opinion of his/her book. I like your attitude!! It is one I agree with!

By: Samantha

Samantha — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:17:39 +0000

I don’t have a review policy posted but am thinking that I should. I try to only request books that I really want to read but you never know when you’re going to get a dud. Have a great week!

By: S. Krishna

S. Krishna — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:20:22 +0000

I don’t have a review policy posted on my blog, but I am very careful about the books I accept for review now.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:20:52 +0000

I’ve only read a handful of books by Margaret Atwood, but I think she’s a wonderful writer and I’m sort of saving her books for a little while longer. Does that make sense?

By: Jeane

Jeane — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:45:21 +0000

I don’t have a review policy posted (but following what Joanne said, I do have an explanation of my rating system up). I’ve become more careful about what books I receive for review after seeing what happens to other bloggers! I always make sure to let the author/publisher know what my review policy is before I accept a book. I try to be honest about my opinion on a book, but at the same time not mean about it. Sometimes that’s difficult, as I know authors are real people and of course can get their feelings hurt when we don’t like their books. It’s tough.

By: Amy @ My Friend Amy

Amy @ My Friend Amy — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:00:05 +0000

I hope you feel better soon Wendy! That doesn’t sound good. Cutting down on commitments can be hard to do, but I hope its rewarding for you.

As far as the blogging thing, it’s been interesting to read all the different approaches bloggers take. Everyone seems to have a slightly different take and I think that’s great. Just as we can’t all expect to like the same book, we can’t all expect to blog in the same way. Honesty does seem to be the common denominator.

I asked this question for faith ‘n fiction saturday and one reviewer said…I review books. I don’t know what a dishonest review is. I LOVED that!

By: Joanne

Joanne — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:59:59 +0000

Since I only started reviewing on my blog this past summer I am still trying to find my way – in the sense of how I rate something. But I’m always honest, I will point out the negatives along with the positives because I don’t consider my review the be-all end-all of a book, just a random readers opinion and/or view.
I don’t have a policy posted, at this time it doesn’t seem necessary. The only thing I don’t like about reviewing so far, is that some sites require a star-rating. To me that is hard to do, the stars are too easily misread. And there are many different ways readers assign stars, which complicates things further.
So for now, my reviews are basically just my thoughts, with no particular rating.

By: Lexi

Lexi — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:21:45 +0000

This is an interesting topic, and I’ve seen the post that started it all. I never gave this much thought before, but my bottom line is this: I try to be fair when I review something. I’m not going to say I like it if I don’t. I review every book I read, whether I receive the book from an author, get it off my shelf, or borrow it from the library. So what is the author going to do? Not send me a copy? Okay, I’ll Mooch it or get it from the library. I’ll read the book regardless. And THEN I’ll review it anyway. It’s terrible that an author would be immature enough to make a stink about it. And what does this say about censorship?!

By: Dawn

Dawn — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:16:19 +0000

I’m honest in my reviews, and most of them contain excerpts to give examples of the good, the bad and the ugly

I don’t yet have a review policy on my blog, but will craft one over the next week or so. I like what you’ve come up with, citing your readers’ expectations of honesty.

I hope you’re feeling well soon!