tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post3123709935957753879..comments2023-05-17T05:15:04.982-07:00Comments on BIBLIOPHILY: How to Handle the Bad Book? You tell me.Marie Hartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07722761134690362076noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post-8982673893159057722012-03-30T15:18:22.488-07:002012-03-30T15:18:22.488-07:00Paty--that's a huge deal with me too. Characte...Paty--that's a huge deal with me too. Characters who don't stay true to type. Unfortunately, that was a problem in one of the books I read. In the other, the type was "immature" and I was really hoping the heroine would break out of that! She might have. Like I said, I didn't read the whole book, so I'm not qualified to review it. But I just couldn't get through any more pages.Marie Hartehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07722761134690362076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post-83854943462453057582012-03-30T15:16:53.638-07:002012-03-30T15:16:53.638-07:00Diana--yeah, the grammatical errors and such reall...Diana--yeah, the grammatical errors and such really grate. That's the problem with a lot of self-pubbed books. The editing. And hey, I've had books with my other pubs that we go through over and over, several edits, and still miss things. ANd that's with several pairs of eyes. It's tough!<br /><br />Karen--a book not holding your interest is a problem. I read romances expecting a HEA and interaction between the characters. So if I don't get that, or if it's unsatisfying, I'm more than annoyed. :) Though that does make me turn a hard eye on my own stuff, from a reader's perspective as well as a writer's.Marie Hartehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07722761134690362076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post-45438630828889676702012-03-30T15:14:49.407-07:002012-03-30T15:14:49.407-07:00Hey Angi.
I'll have to get with you offline. ...Hey Angi.<br /><br />I'll have to get with you offline. I hate to disparage any book. And I recently learned that the m/m I couldn't get through is part of a series. That helps to understand why I was somewhat confused at times, but it still doesn't clear up the romance I couldn't fathom.Marie Hartehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07722761134690362076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post-73988983445446207272012-03-30T14:36:35.814-07:002012-03-30T14:36:35.814-07:00Great points, Marie! I'm sad to say I come acr...Great points, Marie! I'm sad to say I come across a lot of books lately that I can't finish. It's usually because they fail to hold my interest, which isn't necessarily the author's fault. I've just come to accept that I've become a more critical reader over the past few years. As Anon said, reading tastes are subjective. I think part of my problem is that I get impatient when the story doesn't move as fast as I want it to. I lean more toward YA books because they do seem to match a pace I'm more comfortable with.Karen Duvallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01839711547501582977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post-49147665774970640002012-03-29T14:05:07.426-07:002012-03-29T14:05:07.426-07:00Great post! I agree with you, I don't like sp...Great post! I agree with you, I don't like spending money on a book I have to throw against the wall. I never waste my time finishing a book that is boring or full of mistakes. I find it happening more and more with self-published books. Not all of them but some. Sometimes even if there is a sample chapter which is good, the book will have grammatical errors, plot errors etc.Diana McCollumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14827594305973746696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post-47670122878604385152012-03-29T11:19:49.660-07:002012-03-29T11:19:49.660-07:00It's all subjective. A book I didn't/could...It's all subjective. A book I didn't/couldn't finish because the characters were acting out of character, for me, and one dimensional has won an award. Go figure. I bought the book because other readers on a loop were raving about it. It didn't work for me. <br /><br />I've stopped reading three e-pub but not all self-pubbed books because of all the typos, missing words, and wrong words. <br /><br />I know every author has their heart and soul in a book but I wonder at some of the ones that get published while there are books that are fantastic that can't get a publisher or agent to look at them.<br /><br />But variety is the spice of life. Great post, Marie!Paty Jagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03257614436422105729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post-23331347130575400362012-03-29T11:03:24.134-07:002012-03-29T11:03:24.134-07:00Hey now wait just a minute Elle ... I'm a revi...Hey now wait just a minute Elle ... I'm a reviewer and I'm not an idiot LOL Well ... unless you ask my husband or my sister ... then ... ok never mind maybe I am an idiot LOL <br /><br />Anyway, reading is much like art and music and even movies ... EXTREMELY subjective. What I like others may or may not. Maybe we agree and maybe we don't. <br /><br />And while to a certain extent I appreciate the time and effort a writer puts in, I sometimes wonder what the hell they (and their editor) was thinking? <br /><br />A great example of this for me is the book Wicked ... I wanted to like it, I TRIED to like it, the premise was SOOOOOOOOOOO promising ... and then ... I wanted to chuck the book at his head. And it got RAVE reviews from pretty much EVERYONE ... EVER. I mean it's even a Broadway musical for goodness sake. And I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering what the hell I missed. Is it me? Am I too critical? Too intelligent? Not intelligent enough? expected too much from it? What?<br /><br />Why can't I love that book like so many others before and after me? <br /><br />In the end the reasons don't matter. I didn't like it. I couldn't finish it (we won't talk about what I wanted to do with it LOL). So I walked away and said "Well that's not someone I'll read again". <br /><br />I don't like paintings that are just paint splatters either. Doesn't mean they aren't still art in someones eyes. Just not mine. <br /><br />I have never in a review bashed the author. I have said "I don't like the way this author substituted every third word for the biggest word they could find in the thesaurus" or "the characters were stereotypes and flat" or "maybe I just don't get it". But I have never and will never (and the site I review for doesn't allow it anyway) personally attacked an author. <br /><br />And marie ... tell me in private who and what books :) LOL I'm always curious to see if I agree or disagree with someones take on a book :) <br /><br />Angi ClinganAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post-36890683870027468042012-03-29T10:45:24.000-07:002012-03-29T10:45:24.000-07:00Yeah, Elle. It really made me question how so many...Yeah, Elle. It really made me question how so many people can just love books that bad. I'm thinking a rabid fan base, maybe. Then I'm wondering where the authors got those fans. :) It's been my experience that readers have no problem leaving negative reviews of my work on Amazon or B&N. In a way I like that, because it's real. But in another, I wish they'd all lie. hahaMarie Hartehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07722761134690362076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748120279251102636.post-46064189283637374892012-03-29T09:45:26.505-07:002012-03-29T09:45:26.505-07:00I know exactly what you mean- several of the books...I know exactly what you mean- several of the books I've downloaded recently left me very disappointed, including one by a favorite author. Again, each of those books had great reviews and I really WANTED to like them, but the characters fell flat and I found myself rolling my eyes and skipping entire sections of dialog.<br /><br />Like you said, I appreciate the time and effort an author puts in to writing a story and I can't bring myself to bash that effort... even if I couldn't finish the book because it was so blah.<br /><br />Now, bashing the idiots who write such glowing reviews about these (IMO) terrible books? They're fair game. ;)Ellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06041730827537378732noreply@blogger.com