A Year in Reviews

Besides writing reviews for my own pleasure, I also write them for Kirkus Reviews. I get the "indie" or self-published books, which are quite a mixed bag. Since Dec. 29, 2011,  I've written 62 reviews. A few reflections...

I've learned that truly bad novels are fun to laugh at and easy to review, truly good novels are very few and an honor to review, and hardest of all are mediocre romance-y kinda books where I pretty much hate the characters and their supermarket-aisle-magazine values because they're boring and stupid, but I can't just say that and be done with it.

I've come to hate: "smirked," overworked synonyms for "said," the phrase "broke the kiss," "matching' as synonymous with good taste, characters who fall in love because they're both hot and that's about it, frequent mention of brand names cool or uncool, male writers leering at their female characters, lurid descriptions of child abuse even/especially if true, self-involved hipsters, and vampires.

I love: writers. Even the bad ones are trying, and are not deliberately out to bore me and piss me off. The good ones? You are my life's chief delight. Thanks for getting the words out of your head and onto paper.