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.
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