I haven't done the Booking Through Thursday question in several weeks. This one was interesting, and reminded me of the dilemma I went through writing this post.
That, and I don't have anything else to talk about.
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?
In a word, no.
But.
First of all, I think most people who review books feel a bigger obligation to their readers than they do to the authors. In my experience, if someone recommends a book and I think it's awful, I'm going to be less likely to take that person's recommendation next time. If it happens consistently, I'll quit reading altogether.
And I have no problem doing this for nonfiction. If an author failed in his purpose (came to an incorrect conclusion, failed to make their point, had no point, etc.), I will tell you all.
I do have a harder time slamming someone's fiction.
Hey, author. You know that story that burned in your soul? That you toiled away on in isolation, sweating every plot twist and character development? It was crummy.
That's a bit harder. If I don't like someone's fiction, I generally don't talk about it. Or, I just don't mention them or the book by name and write cryptic paraphrases.
I can think of a couple of times when I didn't like someone's fiction and said so. In those cases, the author was either dead, which probably takes the sting out of negative reviews, or so famous that the opinion of some blogger in the Midwest is hardly going to change their life.
I also have to say I'm a little curious as to the situation that spurred this question. Are there really authors out there that think that they should get a positive review because they gave someone a free copy of their book? What planet are these people living on?
Updated to add:
I realize I kind of got off the point. The question was talking about review copies and I got going on books in general. While I do have a harder time giving negative reviews for fiction, I do. I don't accept as many review copies for fiction books, but when I have reviewed them, I've been honest.
Negative reviews are part of the risk of putting yourself out there. If you can't take negative reviews, print out your work at home and give it to your mom in binders. That's what I do.
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