Happy Monday! I should have published this post loooong time ago but some things and others prevented me to do so. I’m very sorry. *bows deeply* Today, I’m going to talk about something that has been in my mind for a long long long time: negative review.
I don’t mind reading negative reviews, but writing it is another thing. Why is it hard for me to write negative reviews?
I write negative reviews in order to provide constructive feedback and send warning for other readers who may not enjoy it, but not to discourage them from reading it or even tackle the author personally.
- I don’t know how to make it balanced. It’s very difficult not to rant about books I don’t like in my reviews.
- Sometimes I am not capable of explaining clearly why I don’t like that book. Some problems I had were very minor and mostly related to the attitude of the main character or the illogical plots, but it’s hard to explain it in writing. There were times when it’s just the writing that ticks me off, or how illogical the plot is in my opinion.
- It takes me much much much longer time to write a negative review because I need to formulate my sentences carefully in order to stay polite yet true to myself.
I write negative reviews in order to provide constructive feedback and send warning for other readers who may not enjoy it, but not to discourage them from reading it or even tackle the author personally.
Most of the time, I spend time checking Goodreads before I decide
to buy a book. Sometimes negative reviews with strong cases make me even more
interested to give the book a try. :)
How about you? Do you like reading negative reviews? How much does book review influence you? Feel free to share your thoughts! :)
How about you? Do you like reading negative reviews? How much does book review influence you? Feel free to share your thoughts! :)
I enjoy reading negative reviews the most, because they're usually ranty and funny, which is entertaining to read. I also have no issues with ranting on negative reviews, and I tend to be quite harsh if I really didn't like a book. I do always mention what I didn't like and why not, and if an author has given me a copy in exchange for a review, I'll do my best to add constructive criticism.
ReplyDeleteI love writing negative reviews but I totally know what you mean. I've been trying to become less ranty and more umm.. not ranty? While at the same time staying true to myself. I myself LOVE writing a good rant but I think it's perhaps more important to explain your reasons than to rant and I've actually had some fun doing that even if I sometimes really just want to break out and RANTTTTT. :P
ReplyDeleteFantastic discussion post, Hilda!!!! :)
Rashika @ The Social Potato
I do try and balance my thoughts when it's a book I wasn't in love with. Oftentimes, a negative book can still have positive moments. I think it can be difficult to write negative things in general though. I think it's nice to get varied opinions because what doesn't work for one reviewer, might work for another.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
I think negative reviews are often a lot more detailed than positive ones. When I set out to write a negative review, I always back up my reasons for disliking the novel and, as a result, often wind up having to provide more details for the reader to understand the technicalities in the novel which didn't work for me, so that way I really like negative reviews. But, like you said, the balance is hard to strike and the bias in negative reviews is something that needs to probably be taken with a grain of salt.
ReplyDeleteI actually have a harder time writing positive reviews because of the same reasons you mentioned above. Sometimes there are elements in stories that I hate but I still enjoy the story itself and I find that really difficult to convey. Hang in there. Everyone has parts of reviewing that they aren't good at and if worse comes to worse and you find writing negative reviews difficult don't do it. There are lots of people willing to write negatives reviews that are bound to capture your thoughts as well.
ReplyDeleteLike you Hilda, I don't like writing negative reviews mostly because I don't want to waste my time. But I've been trying to do that a little more because it can be helpful to readers. I agree with you about reading negative reviews. Sometimes I actually want to read a book after reading one, because some of the things listed as annoying I'll actually like. Great thoughts here, Hilda! :)
ReplyDeleteSome negative reviews are easier for me to write than others, but recently, I have stopped attempting many of them. I might post some quick thoughts on Goodreads, but a lot I just don't talk about (or even rate these days). Part of it is that I've started beta reading for several author friends, and to be stepping inside the world of writing, it makes it harder for me to criticise knowing that it will be seen. Most of it, though, is what you mentioned - not being able to explain why I hated something. I find it much easier to talk about the things I love!
ReplyDeleteI don't really mind writing negative reviews and I find them easier than writing reviews about books I've loved :) I can always point out what I disliked, so that's what I talk about in my review. And if I highly disliked it, most of the times it is a DNF review and those are short :)
ReplyDeleteReviews can influence me. If a book gets a lot of negative reviews, especially from close blogging friends, I will stay away from it. I like to spend my time on books I most probably going to love :)
I enjoy reading negative reviews not because I want a particular book to be rip apart, but because I find that this reviewers really have valid points and that they can write constructively while still being funny. When it comes to writing, I find it harder to write about books I actually love than those I hated. Also, this is the reason why I don't like DNFing a book because I feel like I have more freedom or my negative review can be justified by suffering and finishing the book. Obviously, having read a negative review about the book greatly influences me. Sometimes, I would steer away from the book or even read it just to see how it will fare with me.
ReplyDeleteNegative reviews are great when they're done well and without malice towards the author, they can even make certain people want to read the book!
ReplyDeleteMands @ The Bookish Manicurist
Fantastic post, Hilda! I've heard of a bit of conflict regarding negative reviews (the writing of them), but I've felt a bit detached from that, even though I understand it, because I've nevr had an issue writing negative reviews. I enjoy writing them, though perhaps not as much as writing positive ones (because I haven't liked the book and am reliving the factors I didn't like), but I do think they're really important, that it's fantastic to see different perspectives on books, ect, though I don't think there's a need to be hurtful to the author, ever, if you don't like their work.
ReplyDeleteI just wrote a negative review, and it was HARD. I write as well, so I understand how much of you goes into writing a book, how tough it is, etc. But I also want to hold my own opinions and be true to myself
ReplyDelete