theolbooknook commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Hello, all!
I just finished watching "Book reviews are gaslighting us" by Below the Fray on youtube. The central thesis of the video essay revolves around the soulless platitudes in most modern litcrit columns in newspapers and magazines. He brings up a lot of great points, and it made me think about non-monetized book reviews like those here on Pagebound.
My biggest question for you all is do you read (and/or write) negative reviews? I recently started writing negative reviews but have a bad habit of kneecapping my sentences and coddling the author more than I probably should. I am a firm believer that reviews are for readers and criticism is for the authors, though where exactly else are these authors to get criticism from if most modern litcrit is monetized and a bad review could get you fired or blacklisted?
As readers, do you enjoy reading a bad review? Do you seek out alternative, often negative opinions of books you enjoy? Do you feel vindicated by a bad review on a book you hated? What kind of review gets you to read a book most: a raving 5 star or a critical 1 star review that piques your interest?
TL;DR Do you read negative reviews of books (whether you've read them or not), and what do you feel the purpose of a review on a platform like PB is, exactly?
Signed, a ranty reader lol
Post from the Pagebound Club forum
Hello, all!
I just finished watching "Book reviews are gaslighting us" by Below the Fray on youtube. The central thesis of the video essay revolves around the soulless platitudes in most modern litcrit columns in newspapers and magazines. He brings up a lot of great points, and it made me think about non-monetized book reviews like those here on Pagebound.
My biggest question for you all is do you read (and/or write) negative reviews? I recently started writing negative reviews but have a bad habit of kneecapping my sentences and coddling the author more than I probably should. I am a firm believer that reviews are for readers and criticism is for the authors, though where exactly else are these authors to get criticism from if most modern litcrit is monetized and a bad review could get you fired or blacklisted?
As readers, do you enjoy reading a bad review? Do you seek out alternative, often negative opinions of books you enjoy? Do you feel vindicated by a bad review on a book you hated? What kind of review gets you to read a book most: a raving 5 star or a critical 1 star review that piques your interest?
TL;DR Do you read negative reviews of books (whether you've read them or not), and what do you feel the purpose of a review on a platform like PB is, exactly?
Signed, a ranty reader lol
theolbooknook left a rating...
I don't particularly regret reading this book, but it just wasn't my thing! It seemed predictable and a bit amateur plot-wise imo, but it did give me nostalgia for the melodramatic high-tier wattpad stories I'd read as a kid. The setting also wasn't really my thing, but if you're into massive ranches and rich families without it being a urban "billionaire romance", this is for you <3 I think people who liked Archer's Voice would probably like this, as it has a similar hurt/comfort and instalove/puppy love/honeymooning tropes, iirc.
I considered docking another 0.5 stars because there was a shockingly negligible amount of actual horses and I am, at my core, a horse person, however I didn't want to sink the rating too low. I (selfishly) hope Esposito has more horses in her future works though lol
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