I’m one of those freaks who learned to read when I was eighteen months old and I’ve kept my nose buried in a book since. Although I’m a relative newcomer to the romance genre, my tastes vary wildly - I can flip from nonfiction to religious treatise to fantasy to works of academia to medical journals to literary fiction to poetry without a thought - you name the genre and at the very least I’ve probably dabbled in it.
Over the years, I’ve read some stinkers put out by major publishing houses, written by authors with enormous PR pushes behind them, toting big-time reviewers on their shoulders - and they’ve been wrapped in some of the most eye-catching, exquisite covers around. On the other hand, I’ve read works of elegant, beautiful prose that slipped through the backdoor of the literary scene with barely a whimper, wearing a plain brown wrapper and without any fanfare whatsoever.
What am I trying to say? It ain’t the meat it’s the motion. Does the story have substance? Does it touch my heart, wrench my gut? Does it fire up the old neurons? Do I mull the story over long after I’ve finished reading it? Is it worth a re-read and maybe a recommendation?
Reviewers have a perfect right to dislike/hate/detest any book they read, post negative reviews, take a blow torch to a book, burn it to ashes and bury it in a pile of horse manure. They can even pose the very legitimate question - is this work indicative of the books a particular pub puts out. But to trash a specific publishing house because you picked up one or two books you didn’t like? That’s ridiculous, and I make that claim as a reader, not a writer. If you want a meaningful sample, read twenty, thirty books of various sub-genres, and then, if you still think the publisher is ‘crap‘ - you can express a legitimate, informed opinion based upon a reasonable sample of the thousands of books that publisher has to offer. Hey, there are a few publishing houses I don’t respect, but that doesn’t mean I think everything they put out is crap. I’ve found damn good writers within those pubs and pointed readers in their direction without hesitation.
On a more positive note - speaking of books, check out Eliza Gayle’s blog and her 30 days of naughty excerpts. She has books from multiple pubs…we are all equal in Eliza’s eyes: http://elizagayle.net/blog/
Related posts:
- Why I love book bloggers! Recs! I love reading reviews - sometimes I find a...
- Splitting Hairs - genre fiction vs. literary fiction I love the book, Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay....
- One Four All - my new menage cover-licious! There is actually a story beneath this cover: Princess Lira...
- Advice from book bloggers: I’ve been seeing this everywhere from all sorts of book...
- Monday Morning Update and Go Gigantes! Yes! Got the purse - because I know you were...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Thank you for this post! I’ve read some interesting things today as I wandered my way around the IMM meme. One post I read was about common things book reviewers do - a slightly different take on one I read a week or so ago. I should print or bookmark these posts so that I can remember where I read them. The various post that I have been reading have made me think more carefully about what I say in my reviews! I also question why certain sites allow book or author bashing to pass as reviews - maybe to create more controversy ?? Thanks for the post!
No, Barb…thank you.
Julia, you touched on a controversial subject with a great deal of restraint and diplomacy - my hat’s off to you.
Julia,
This was a great post. I think reviewers often forget they’re writing about somebody’s creative work, which automatically makes it a personal critique. I can respect reviewers who manage to dislike a book without trashing it, the author, or the publishing house. I don’t look much at reviews unless I see that reviewer and I have already agreed on multiple points. Even then, I have a Kindle. If something looks good, I download the first chapter and read it.
Michele Z.
Julia, I completely agree with you. It’s just ridiculous to judge an entire publishing house by that standard. There is an author who I absolutely love, but sometimes it’s a love/hate relationship with that author for me. This author is a legend and can really pull at the heartstrings and gets great reviews and all the publicity push from her big pub, but her books are usually really good or complete and utter crap, where you can’t get past the first chapter.
And then there are authors out there where I see people slamming them all around and I pick up the book and it is excellent. I actually discovered a new, favorite writer this way, reviewers and readers were criticizing her horribly and it made me curious. Lo and Behold, I think this woman is a genius and a goddess of romance. So you’re definitely correct.
Cheers for you taking on this subject. I know people who do this very thing. They ban all authors from a publishing house they don’t like and ban publishing houses because they don’t like one author. I don’t find it fair.
Great topic and one worthy of discussion! One definitely can’t judge a house by one or two books, neither can you even judge an author on the basis of one book. I have several favorite authors whose earlier work I was not thrilled with.
I don’t envy the job of book reviewers, it can be hard to be objective. But each review is just one person’s opinion. The downside of some reviewers is that they don’t seem to realize that it’s only their opinion.
And yeah- they want to be bombastic and snarky in order to get more readers. But negative marketing is tough on everyone. Dollars/readers earned may not outweigh karmic debt.
If I judged any publishing house by such strict standards, I’d have to skip Simon and Schuster because I’ve read two lousy books in a row from Simon and Schuster imprints. It’s nonsense. I would not like to be a book reviewer either, but I do think that certain obligations come with the job - yes…karma can be a bitch sometimes.
I agree, Amber. There are publishers out there I’m not fond of, but they have some great authors writing for them!
Delilah - thanks! Yes, such a standard is too silly for words.
Thanks, Michele. I think that very often reviewers don’t stop to think.
Thanks, Missy. I do have foot in mouth disease on occasion.
What an interesting post, Julia. You make a very valid point. To make a blanket statement about all of a publisher’s books is simple ignorance. Great writers can be found anywhere, as can those who need some work. Even within one author’s body of work, there may be some stories that shine and others that don’t. Not to mention the fact that art is subjective. For every person who thinks a book is crap, there is another who connected with the story in some way.
Thanks, Rosalie. One of my favorite romance authors has written books that I adore and books that make me gag. That’s the way of the world. If I only gave her one shot, I’d have missed her sublime works.
Julia, well stated. I’m impressed with your insight of such a touchy subject. Of course, I always enjoy your posts. Thanks.
Thanks, Ciara. It is touchy, isn’t it?
I think first off to judge a book by the cover is wrong. It is not the author’s fault that they might get a not so great cover. If you do judge that way you might miss out on a fantastic story.
With regards to opinion on a publisher because you read one or two bad books…Well that just bites. You should not judge a publisher because there were some books you did not like. It is not fair to the other author’s who write such amazing books who might be part of that company.
Well said, Ms. Julia. And thanks for dropping by Charlene’s. Appreciate ya.
Savannah - I so agree, you can never judge a book by its cover. And yeah, every publisher puts out some good, some not so good - but it’s all a matter of taste. Something I don’t like might be another readers favorite book.
Sandra - back at you, Sandra!
No, I don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but I have knowticed that a really good cover will keep drawing me back to it again and again.
As for the publisher issue, the same could be said for some authors even. I have a couple of authors I really like that either put out a book I didn’t liike or started mass producing their work and thus going down hill. The bad book could be just me or be like everyone having an off day. But I have real issue when the author gets big and starts mass production of their work or producing ‘formulary’ type books. Esp if they had really good stories before. Its sad to see.
Great post and I totally agree with everything you said. Not every book will appeal to every reader and so there will be good reviews as well as bad ones, but the attacks on the writers and the publishing houses are ridiculous. To bash a whole house based on two books is not a fair test sample. Jillian
Vicky - I agree that that a great cover does draw the eye, but authors have minimal say over their covers. Yes, sometimes authors rest on their laurels, but I like to remember their earlier works.
Jillian - yup. To bash an entire publishing house and all the authors it represents because you chose two books you didn’t like? Really? How silly.
Julia, beautifully stated.
And, as well, everyone who commented, my hat’s off to you, too.
Thanks, Savanna - I agree - brave posters!