Book Review Policy

 
I read a lot of books, both fiction and nonfiction. I don't know that I tend to read any particular type of book, though, since I read almost at random. I let my friends and family suggest books to read (some times at my own risk) and I request books from the library that I see mentioned in articles (or even other books) that catch my fancy. Sometimes I even grab books at random off library shelves. Sometimes I do go looking for a new book by an author I like, but usually when I have nothing else lined up. Lately, since I bought my Kindle, I've started reading indie/self-pubbed books (The Translated Man by Chris Braak was my first indie book).
 
With all that reading, and a blog that needs content, I've decided to start posting reviews of the books I read and enjoy. That second part of that equation, "and enjoy", is the most important for me. That means I won't be posting reviews of books I read but didn't/couldn't finish or that I simply didn't like.
 
Here is a summary of my ratings:

– I enjoyed the book enough to finish it and I have positive things to say about it.
 
– I really liked the book and I have no hesitation about recommending it.
 
– I liked the book enough that I decided to buy my own copy (in the case of library books) or I liked it so much that I think I'm likely to re-read the book in the future.
 
I will be using these ratings in all the reviews I do from today forward. 3-star and 4-star will be the most common ratings. I'm very stingy with 5-star ratings of anything.
 
Why won't I post negative reviews review? Simple: I'm a writer. I don't think writers should write negative reviews about the work of other writers. I might gripe about a book that disappointed me to my close friends and family, I might even send the author feedback (if I know them personally), but I won't post a public bad review of the work.
 
Just because I hated a book (or even mildly disliked it) doesn't mean it's a bad book (even if I do actually think it is a bad book). It might not be the book's fault. I could just think vampires are overdone (I do) or know more about the subject matter than the author did and find it hard to get past glaring errors and misrepresentations or maybe I'm having a slow sales week and feeling really bitchy. Why be all negative, I figure? And why immortalize that negativity on the Web? I'll just let it go and move on with my life.
 
So I won't post the negative review of the book I gave up on yesterday (oh, yeah, I wrote it, with the final statement "2-stars–on a good day"). My review was funny, I thought, as well as accurate–but it was mean. And unnecessary. Seriously, you won't even miss it.
 
-David