tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18864142.post2021065613587334596..comments2024-01-01T22:11:46.192+10:30Comments on Australian Literature Diary: ... and a bad bad review ...Kerryn Goldsworthyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270814460793882309noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18864142.post-71475277242173407072009-09-15T16:34:30.869+09:302009-09-15T16:34:30.869+09:30John Updike's 6 rules for book reviewing are a...John Updike's <a href="http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/2006/06/reviewing-101-john-updikes-rules.html" rel="nofollow">6 rules for book reviewing</a> are also pretty useful. This link may re-direct you which is a nuisance - but persist with it.<br /><br />I guess my golden rule of reviewing is to try to be fair, which encompasses the idea of reviewing the book you've read rather than the one you thought you'd be reading, or wanted to read. You'd be amazed at how often that seems to happen, even by people who should know better.<br /><br />I was also pretty impressed a few years back by a review, of Richard Ford's latest novel, which basically stated that the book was boring because it was about a bloke suffering from prostate cancer. It was obvious that the reviewer saw no connection with the book and dismissed it on that basis. <br /><br />I like your notes regarding the reviewer's responsibility to a potential reader of the book. I'm not interested in "good" and "bad" as descriptors of a book, but I do want to finish a review with an understanding of whether the reviewer thought it was worth my time or not. Half the time I come away from a review with no idea at all.<br /><br />Perry MiddlemissAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18864142.post-47163491716783224822009-09-15T13:56:20.658+09:302009-09-15T13:56:20.658+09:30This is really useful stuff. I do quite a few book...This is really useful stuff. I do quite a few book reviews and I've often wondered if I'm doing the right thing. I think that I've been following your rules of responsibility unconsciously, but it's nice to see them articulated so usefully.dogpossumhttp://www.dogpossum.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18864142.post-6693633859881198542009-09-15T12:45:26.227+09:302009-09-15T12:45:26.227+09:30Shiny New Coin on Twitter: "NYT reviewer desc...Shiny New Coin on Twitter: "NYT reviewer describes Dan Brown's latest as "impossible to put down". Is this because it should be "thrown across room" instead?"Helenhttp://castironbalcony.media2.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18864142.post-35175653815928528882009-09-15T12:45:11.070+09:302009-09-15T12:45:11.070+09:30Do you think book bloggers somehow manage to get a...Do you think book bloggers somehow manage to get around some of this responsibility? (Not all aspects, but for example, they're writing for their own publication, not the Australian Literary Review). <br /><br />As a book blogger I'm trying to write as if I were being published by someone else, but the opportunity to write in my own voice overshadows that a little. It's easy to go too far in the meanness factor when trying to be funny, which I've noticed in some other book blog reviews.<br /><br />But this article has definitely given me something to think about, I hope my writing is getting better!Elenahttp://www.withextrapulp.com.aunoreply@blogger.com