(I'd like to note that I had this all typed up and written out Thursday night and then I accidentally refreshed the page and LOST IT ALL. My cursing could be heard two towns over)
So, the big secret: I don't buy a lot of books based on reviews. Not the professional ones, anyway. I take the reccomendation of a friend (Ye Olde Word of Mouth) much higher than the folks at the New York Times. It's nothing personal – I don't know anybody who works at the NY Times – it's just the way the world is going.
As we dig deeper and deeper ditches for our niches, increasingly it's impossible to find someone's taste who is exactly like mine. (Rida is probably going to laugh while reading this, and she'll probably remark that this is a GOOD thing). It means that even if a reviewer applauds a book in my genres (which they don't) it still might not be up my alley.
Here's the funny thing, though. I used to write reviews, for adventure gaming products, and computer games, and even some music. This makes me a big damn hypocrite, right?
Not exactly.
My reviews shot for three things.
1. Talk about the product. Expand on the little bit that people might have picked up from the cover art and the back cover blurb. Shoot for the fifty-foot overview – don't spoil the surprises, but it's fair to say stuff like the Lady Juliet falls in love with Romeo and it's not something their parents are exactly smiling about.
2. Talk about the quality. This is a lot more relevant to some products like games, but it's true for books. Was the book filled with typographical errors? Was the grammar something that would have earned you a trip to the blackboard to scribble "Ain't is not a word" fifty times? That sort of thing. It doesn't ruin a good story, but it can be like fingernails on a blackboard for some people. (Aside: Rida is amused when she finds typos, but Rida is a proofreading GOD)
3. (Sneaky two-part question here) Did you enjoy it, and would you reccommend it to a friend? There are some books that I have trouble putting down and there are books that I struggle to read three chapters. I try to make note of that. But at the same time, I don't expect myself to love everything. I have genres I prefer, and when I am reading stuff outside those genres that's an immediate impediment to my enjoyment. But it can be overcome. Furthermore, even if I don't like it, I typically can think of a friend who can. So, say, if I was reviewing "Romeo and Juliet" by this Shakespeare guy, I might note "I liked the whole Tybalt killing Mercutio thing, but the whole lovey-dovey stuff was a little much. Even though the ending was unexpected and a nice twist, I'm going to have to say Romeo and Juliet is no Hamlet. Nevertheless fans of that lovey-dovey stuff are probably going to swoon over this. Anon!"
A lot of book review places seem to hold everything to literary standards that drive me nuts. It's not that I don't read literature – my Shakespeare omnibus is well-thumbed, thanks – but I don't want to read it ALL THE TIME. I read for pleasure. Sometimes that pleasure does not involve much higher thought. So it's okay when there is ultraviolence that doesn't really explore the plight of the working man grinding under the calloused thumb of the bourgeois. I don't care! Just shoot people, dangit!
–Robert