Thursday, July 11, 2013

18 & Over Book Blogger #85: The bottom of the totem pole

ReadingBetweentheWinesBookClub
 
18 & Over Book Blogger Follow is a weekly feature that begins on Fridays and runs through the weekend, hosted by Crystal from Reading Between the Wines. This is a Friday blog hop with the objective to find and visit other book blogs that share the same interest as you, namely books geared towards the 18 & over crowd, and make some new friends!


How to join in:

  • You should run a book blog that features and reviews mostly adult reads, some Y.A.’s are okay but 18 & over adult reads should be your majority.
  • Make a separate post for the 18 & Over Book Blogger Follow on your blog.
  • Copy the html for the button above and place it at the top of your post.
  • List & answer the ‘Question of the Week.’
  • Place your name and blog title in the linky below and the url for a direct link to your post
  • Visit the other blogs on the list and say 'Hi!' Following each blog is not mandatory but I know it is always appreciated, and if someone comments saying they’re a new follower it’s polite to follow back. :) It’s always nice to spread the 18 & Over Book Blogging love!
  • Contact me (readingbetweenthewines10 at gmail dot com) with any questions!


    Question of the Week: When you DNF a book or rate a book two 'stars' or lower, do you post a review for it on your blog? Have you ever emailed the author about it? 



    Crystal's answer:
    I am dealing with this right now, so I was a bit inspired with the question. We were sent a request to review two books from an author, part of a continuing series with those lovely cliffhangers that are oh-so-popular right now with New Adult. The book has received some really great reviews from others.
    One of my guest reviewers loved the first book, the second - not so much. I checked the books out myself and couldn't really get into the characters from the first book and by the second, the editing and inconsistencies were so atrocious I ended up DNFing it halfway through. I mean, we're talking about the author forgot her own characters names here. Which surprisingly enough, isn't mentioned in any of the other reviews I have read on the book. 
    So I was going back and forth with myself, should I post my guest reviewers less then stellar review of the book? We've posted lower rated book reviews before but this one was pretty dismal. Should I email the author about my thoughts and reasons on my own DNF? I don't want to hurt her feelings because I understand that this something that she has probably put blood, sweat and tears into. Agh! What should I do?! So needless to say I am very interested to hear everyone else's opinions on this matter. It might help me make up my own mind. ☺

    Wishing everyone a magical weekend! 





    5 comments:

    1. its hard, especially with so much author/blogger drama going on a late.

      I just decided not to post my 1 or 2 star reviews on my blog, I just post on GR why I didn't like the book..same with the ones I DNF.

      hope you find a solutions that works for you :)

      ReplyDelete
    2. Crystal,
      I loved this question, cause I am getting ready to write a 2 star review for a book I got from NetGalley. For me, it sucked. I couldn't get into it, didn't like the characters, and it had a few grammatical issues. Although, the main problem was the characters. I was not diggin' them. I will be honest with my review, without bashing (I hope it is taken this way at least). But as far as writing an author? That's something that I have never done. Grammatical issues though, is something that I feel is important in writing. An author should take the time to edit (or get edited) their work. It's part of the process. Take pride! With so many self publishing books out there, readers now have to wade through a bunch of garbage to find a gem. A few grammatical errors I can overlook. Shit happens. But repetitive mistakes make for harsh reading and to me, is just plain laziness. I am not a grammar guru by any means, so my work is read, re-read, edited, and re-read again.
      I'll shut up now, lol.

      ReplyDelete
    3. Sharonda SexxyBlogger
      Hey Lady, thanks for your comment! :) I always make sure to notate on GR's as well. I'm debating on putting it out there on Amazon, I really just don't get all of the 5 star reviews of the particular book I am dealing with right now. And the author/blogger drama has gotten insane! I try to stay out of that mess. lol

      C.S. Maxwell
      Hey hon! We've had a few 2 star reviews on here before and I like to think that we keep them constructive and I like to find at least one good thing about the book to say. But with this one, there really isn't anything good to say about it. At least, imo. lol Oy
      I am totally with you on the editing, the funny thing, this book acknowledges two editors. That is crazy!
      I've seen other bloggers talk on FB though about emailing an author they received a book from about the problems they had and I actually wrote one out but once I re-read it (again and again) I just don't feel comfortable sending it because I don't want to come off like I am bashing her. So I don't think I'll be doing that. Maybe I'm missing those brass balls between my legs or something. lol
      Thanks for stopping by!

      ReplyDelete
    4. I would write them and let them know that it wasn't her thing. Give them the option of sharing an excerpt or guest posting on your blog. That way, you don't sever ties with that author (and any authors that they may know). Just because she didn't like it doesn't mean that your readers won't. There are a ton of books that I hated that everyone on the planet loved.

      ReplyDelete
    5. That's a very good question. Like I said on my blog, a Goodreads author asked me to take back my bad critic of her book and I did. But then, even though I didn't want to hurt her feelings or make her cry, when you publish a book, it's not guaranteed that everyone will like it ! A critic reflects only the critic writer's point of view, you can't like everything. But it's true that being on the net makes it harder, you can join the authors, they are able to see what you write, maybe you are friends with them on FB, so it's not easy...
      But I'll say post it anyway, this only reflects your opinion and you have the right to have a different opinion than the rest !

      ReplyDelete

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