tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post5854809716565595347..comments2023-10-25T03:40:54.655-07:00Comments on Neth Space: On Reviewing…Take 1,764 and CountingNethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16963540055415924510noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-1734460377066671632009-12-30T18:29:23.183-07:002009-12-30T18:29:23.183-07:00This was an interesting thing to read, and definit...This was an interesting thing to read, and definitely gave me some things to think about. As a new blogger, this was good to read.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03456689516505172959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-65285602756316248832009-12-29T07:45:52.067-07:002009-12-29T07:45:52.067-07:00@JeffV
I'm sorry if my use of Mark's anal...@JeffV<br /><br />I'm sorry if my use of Mark's analogy wasn't clear - but I do understand his point.<br /><br />To stick with the analogy - I'm a 'beer snob', but I don't like all beer - some beer is simply bad beer. Continuing with it, I also enjoy Scotch quite a bit (and other whiskeys as well). But there are some Scotch's that just aren't all that good. It's more like saying - I don't like Stone beers because they overhop their beers and loose the subtle complexity of a mixing of flavors that I like best about beer*.<br /><br />*In reality this is only partially true, but I chose Stone beer as an example since you enjoy it so much :)Nethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16963540055415924510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-65864758707347188792009-12-28T22:52:13.480-07:002009-12-28T22:52:13.480-07:00So... how the hell am I, as someone not reading Th...So... how the hell am I, as someone not reading The author's mind, supposed to know what the author was "trying to do" except by what they wrote? If I didn't review taking this intent into account then either I am not smart enough or the author didn't write well enough. Sorry, but authorial intent is a concept that should be mostly disregarded.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08169008132642213854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-66801509558262175112009-12-28T21:20:29.357-07:002009-12-28T21:20:29.357-07:00Neth--I think you're misunderstanding Mark'...Neth--I think you're misunderstanding Mark's first point. Because you're saying you do recognize beer as beer and whiskey as whiskey. And that's Mark's point.<br /><br />JeffVAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-6651991369177699952009-12-28T14:46:03.373-07:002009-12-28T14:46:03.373-07:00Mark makes some good points. And some incomplete ...Mark makes some good points. And some incomplete ones. And some that just seem self-serving.<br /><br />The point about not mixing your drinks up is fairly common coming from writers. But it's also fairly common coming as an excuse. <br /><br />Yes, books may have different goals. But not all goals are equal. You may succeed at your goal with the book, and that can be the very thing that makes it bad. The same with style or pacing.<br /><br />Yoyu shouldn't judge every book by the same criteria. Mark has that right. But you can't judge every book by different criteria, either. Or the judgements mean nothing,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-43417971246015563952009-12-28T13:40:47.909-07:002009-12-28T13:40:47.909-07:00Excellent points! I'm glad you said them so el...Excellent points! I'm glad you said them so eloquently, because now I don't have to try to do it myself.<br /><br />There's no such thing as an objective review. I think it's ridiculous for anyone to pretend they can be objective. Being fair, honest, and thoughtful is a much better goal.K.C. Shawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12467201304235217944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-80241792517513611502009-12-28T13:10:03.445-07:002009-12-28T13:10:03.445-07:00Good points made! It's interesting to read peo...Good points made! It's interesting to read people's opinions about this subject.<br /><br />And about objectivity's being a myth, I totally agree. As Goethe said: "I can promise to be candid, though I may not be impartial". After all, a review, at least in our case, is the reflection of our opinion.Yagiz (Between Two Books)http://betweentwobooks.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-82129766547380713732009-12-28T08:25:12.240-07:002009-12-28T08:25:12.240-07:00I know I'm not maturing too much! ;)I know I'm not maturing too much! ;)Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-89430152840271015802009-12-28T08:21:38.566-07:002009-12-28T08:21:38.566-07:00@King Rat
Well, the original Twitter conversation...@King Rat<br /><br />Well, the original Twitter conversation was partially about getting a different perspective on blogging, specifically what authors (or at least one author) thinks of blogs and what he would like to see from them. Clearly a biased position, but Mark still makes interesting points that blogger would do well to consider (of course they should be taken in context as I point out).Nethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16963540055415924510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-22911943760898797602009-12-28T08:10:25.743-07:002009-12-28T08:10:25.743-07:00Thanks guys
@Carl
I think that things like this ...Thanks guys<br /><br />@Carl<br /><br />I think that things like this are always on a spectrum with reality falling in the middle rather than at an extreme. And it's a different place that works for each blogger. Absolutes are scary - even for something as harmless as review blogs.<br /><br />I hope I'm not maturing too much :PNethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16963540055415924510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-84177545043722420632009-12-28T07:56:23.862-07:002009-12-28T07:56:23.862-07:00Okay, so I had to come back over and say that I am...Okay, so I had to come back over and say that I am pleased to see my fellow bloggers, to this point, have not gotten pissy but actually shared some good points. Those who disagreed did so very constructively. I'm proud. Are we maturing?!!? ;)Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-25226963273577415932009-12-28T07:42:30.563-07:002009-12-28T07:42:30.563-07:00Nicely done! I hadn't read Marks article, but ...Nicely done! I hadn't read Marks article, but it was nice to see you include the main points with part of his explanation before you shared your opinions. <br /><br />I cannot say that I disagree with either of you. I do think there is more of a middle ground between what he said about reading a book for what it is and your response. Maybe not a middle ground so much as looking at it a bit differently. I have found many reviews where the reader did not in any way take into account what the author was trying to do when they review the book. The reader may not feel the author succeeded in what they tried, and that makes for an interesting review. I don't expect every book I read to be a life-changing experience, but if I compare each book I read to those that have had a profound impact on me then I feel I am doing the book I am reading a disservice.<br /><br />I was very glad to see you mention the idea that some bloggers have a good handle on the kind of stuff they like and that skews their reviews positive. I certainly am that way. Out of 57 books read this year I only marked 4 or 5 at a rating where it is obvious that I'm not really recommending them. There were only two books that I was really hard on in my reviews. <br /><br />As you posit, I am certainly a blogger doing it as much for myself as anything else. My secondary purpose is to encourage others to try books that I myself enjoyed. If I pick up a book and am not getting into it then I usually don't continue reading it. I am not a professional critic and have no desire to slog through something just to do so and review it when I could be reading something I know will be pleasurable to me. I also have a pretty good intuition about what I'm going to enjoy reading so it doesn't surprise me that the majority of books I pick up to read at the very least merit a 4 out of 5 stars to me. <br /><br />It is good to hear from an authors on this issue as well and I do think valid points were made. I'll have to go over there and read his post and the comments. It won't surprise me if bloggers got their panties in a wad over there. I hope not, but that is certainly what I am expecting out of some of the comments.Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-8814632379149469912009-12-28T01:39:01.464-07:002009-12-28T01:39:01.464-07:00Yeah, what you said about 1 through 3. Only I woul...Yeah, what you said about 1 through 3. Only I wouldn't have been so nice about it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08169008132642213854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-65564224320573742412009-12-28T00:06:59.189-07:002009-12-28T00:06:59.189-07:00I plan on making a commentary on that one as well....I plan on making a commentary on that one as well. He has some good points and I want to emphasize on them. There are so many ways on how to blog and what makes good blogging and I think James has a post on the same topic.Harry Markovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09140305922494369576noreply@blogger.com