Listen: goodreads has a rating system of ____ out of 5 stars, translating as 1 = I didn’t like it, 2 = it was okay, 3 = I liked it, 4 = I really liked it, & 5 = it was amazing.
My question(s): Is goodreads a way for us to brag about what we are reading? Or a way to genuinely respond to the books we read? Or simply a method by which to keep track of our literary ventures?
&, along those same lines: If we receive a book & are asked to review it, do we review it no matter what? Or only if we enjoy it? & if we don’t like it, are we supposed to just pretend that we forgot about it? Or should we mail it to someone else who might like it & then might review it?
This issue has come about for me in a variety of ways lately – hate mail in the inbox, angry commenters, etc. – but are we really just supposed to pat each other on the back no matter what because we are all writers & we all need the support? Or are we supposed to tell it like it is regardless? Or, as I guess some will say, are we supposed to straddle the fence (a la Friends – “You were in a play!” – yeah, that’s right, I went there) & find only the positive points in everything we read & never publicly discuss the negatives?
Yes, this is a rant.
Yes, I want to talk about this.
Yes, we should be doing something much more lovely on a Saturday evening.