Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Book Talk: Negative Reviews

It's time for Book Talk, a Confessions of an Avid Reader weekly feature that offers a forum in which to discuss book-related issues and topics.  This week's topic: Negative Reviews.

Given that I wrote a less than glowing review for a book this week, the topic of negative reviews is a timely one.  I believe that reviewers should be honest in assessing a book's merits or lack thereof.   Nevertheless, I have a hard time posting reviews where the majority of what I have to say is negative.  I know some book bloggers chose only to post reviews of books they've enjoyed.    No author wants to be on the receiving end of a negative review, yet as a reader it is lower starred reviews that I find the most useful.  The reason for this is that a well-written 2 or 3 star review that clearly articulates why the reviewer gave the rating he or she did help me to determine whether or not I should read a book, especially those that I'm unfamiliar with.  

How do you feel about negative reviews?  Do you write them?  As a reader, do you find them more useful than positive reviews?