Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Bad reviews of books I loved
I picked up a book off the "new books" display at the library the other day because it looked interesting, and then I went to Amazon to read the reviews. I've found that it can be easier to just zero in on the one-star reviews first, because the five-star reviews are WAY too common to be reliable. I've read some real stinkers that were rated five-star on Amazon, I'm just sayin'.
But then I got wondering, what would the one-star reviews of books that I LOVED look like? Hmmm.
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon is probably my favorite book EVER. Let's see what the one-star reviewers have to say:
"This is one of the most pointless books I have ever read."
"This is the most boring book I had the misfortune to read in high school."
"please do not read this book."
Oh dear. Tell us how you REALLY feel, one-star reviewers!
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski:
"Do not waste your time on this."
"The worst book I ever read!"
"I wish I had never read it."
Okay, okay, so let's try a book that EVERYBODY loves. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. SURELY no one can dog on Mockingbird, can they?
"It was one of the most boring books I ever read."
"If you suffer from insomnia, read this book."
"To Kill a Mockingbird is about as deep as a rain puddle."
I ... I guess there's just no accounting for taste. Huh.
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2 comments:
Yeah. "One man's trash...." I look at the overall score, then skip the 5s and the 1s and go for the 3s and 4s, and if it's generally low, the 2s. People who score a book 3 or 4 are more likely to have put some thought into their review, to write a meaty critical review, and to give actual reasons for their score. Then I can look at their criticisms and say, "Yes, that would annoy me too", or "Nah, that's ok with me." Sometimes, ya gotta review and critique the reviewers.
Some of them are just lazy and annoyed that it wasn't a comic book (excuse me, a "graphic novel" - I hate that term).
Man, I read a ton of "graphic novels" when I was a kid. :) Does that give me hipster cred now?
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