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Annie, I enjoyed working with you on the Cybils panel, and I love how you describe the books arriving at the door as close to nirvana. It does feel like that!

Thanks, Cheryl. Ditto right back at you. And it seemed like a great reason to jump back into blogging after weddings and holidays and such. I was amazed at how different all the books were and found myself wondering about people who published each title. It is definitely not for the faint of heart. Thanks for commenting.

hi there,

That's a good question - re: truth even if it isn't "nicey nice." I think one approach might be to reflect on how we would act in real life, would we be as critical, as free with our "fire and verve?" If so, then I guess that's more of a personality question. Of course it's good to be critical but, I think, it can and should all be done in a professional manner. That's the key.

What do you think?


Thanks for the link. :)

I like to read what others have to say on a book, good or bad. Even if I read a bad review, I may still pick up the book. I get more of my TBR list ideas from bloggers than from anywhere else in the book world and that's why I decided to start my own blog. People don't necessarily have to listen to what all of us "critics" have to say, it's just a nice feeling to be able to "talk" about books with others that are interested in them. I write my reviews in the same manner in which I would talk about the book to someone...not too much of a difference in my eyes anyways. Thanks for the link, it was enlightening! :-)

"For bloggers that tell the truth even when it isn't nicey nicey? Or is that just an excuse to be rude?"

Bloggers ought to tell the truth, no question.

But the blogger ought to be doubly careful to keep how he feels about the author (the author's looks! The author's charm! The author's presence on You-tube! Or lack thereof!) out of what he thinks about the author's book.

If we're going to be good readers and worth-while critics for kiddie lit, then We need to be holding the plot, the characters, the denoument up to the light...and forgetting about the strengths and weaknesses of thos darned pesky authors...

Z
www.lindazinnen.com

For authors, blog mentions provide an alternative way to get stories known to potential readers. But reviews from critics who obviously care more about the book and the reader than about the author are CRUCIAL for the credibility of our stories. There is room at the table for all kinds of book chatter -- the cozy, nurturing kind and the tell-the-truth-even-if-you-sob-when-you-read-this critique. Discerning readers can soon tell the difference, and authors (it's a lonely job) need both. As a blogger, you have to decide what kind of book talk you want to offer.

"But reviews from critics who obviously care more about the book and the reader than about the author are CRUCIAL for the credibility of our stories."

Beautifully put, M.

There's a world of difference between a critic who says, "Here is a book. This is what works for the reader; this is what doesn't" (and bonus points if the critic can explain *why* something doesn't work!)

....and a critic who says: "Here is a book. It stinks. And the author is a moral reprobate who tries to fool everybody by singing in the choir and helping out with the cookies afterwards, but he doesn't fool *me*, the old sot."

Z

"Which is to say, it's a slightly rehashed version of the eternal Should a Blogger Post Negative Reviews question that keep popping up."

Absolutely. If it saves people from reading books they don't like, go for it. And as long as the people know to take another person's opinion with a grain of salt, why not?