Book Reviews
There is nothing like the anticipation of reading a long awaited book. The first time you see the book displayed on the shelf you can’t reach for it fast enough. You experience a feeling of satisfaction as you stand in the check out line and hold it in your hand like a treasured prize. Sometimes you even read the first chapter in the store because you can’t wait until you’re home, or maybe you flip to the back and read the last page, because that’s your reading conscience. After you finish the book, you have an overwhelming urge to discuss it with other readers. You call a friend on the phone or find a message board with readers who share your obsession. Maybe you write a review of the book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Or maybe you don’t. Maybe I’m not describing your reading methods at all, but somehow you can understand the desire to read a great book, and then discuss or recommend it to a friend.
What I always find amazing about book discussions is the difference of perception between readers. How one reader can interpret a situation or character in a totally different light than another reader. It is all about personal perception. A reader reviews flaws in a book in the same manner they would in a meal or a movie. It’s all subjective. I admit I have chosen not to read a book from another reader’s perceptions, but it is always someone who shares my same reading tastes.
I follow a couple of book series written by different authors. I follow the perceptions of different fans of both series and find the conflicting interests over different characters interesting. Fans can become very argumentative over heroes and presumed endings in a book series. I’ve watched it play out on message boards and book groups, and even on book review sites. I’ve also seen legitimate complaints concerning flaws in the author’s writing. Many of the complaints are about discrepancies in different characters and storylines from one book to another. In this particular series the author’s mistakes have continued over several books.
As a writer, wouldn’t reader perception be a guide to what the majority of readers want, or are they too subjective to use as an influence on writing style? A writer is in control of characters and their destinies. The intention of the author may differ entirely from the way the story is perceived by the reader, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t written well or in some instances written with flaws.
I would love to poll a group of published authors and ask how often they read reviews on sites such as Amazon or Powell’s. I would ask how often, if any, do they change something in their writing process based on reader reviews.
When you become a published author, or if you are already published, will you, or have you, been influenced by reader reviews? Do you view changing your writing process, based on reviews, as releasing partial literary control to the reader? Does reader reviews ever influence your book selection when purchasing a new book?
Books by the Crew
53 comments:
Ah, I know of at least one instance where I swear the author had to have let her editor/agent or someone convince her to rewrite the ending of the book prior to publication. Always thought given a chance I'd ask her if I could read the original ending...then duck.
Do reader's convince authors to change things? I really doubt it. Too long between the writing and the reading...but I'd love to know if reader's influence things. Now and then you read a blurb in a book where an author credits a character to a particular reader/critic. Didn't Eloisa comment on how she hears the pleas of readers for her to write the whole story of a particular character? So maybe there is some influence...
When I reach those sacred halls of published-dom I have no intention of reading reviews. (I may write some...I believe in self-promotion!) I'll read letters, discuss with readers in person... And be open to correction with series. Heck, I find mistakes in my MSs all the bloody time!
*wait a minute, that wasn't the name of his flag ship...didn't I change that? Damn...where did I write that down...I know I wrote that down somewhere... ;)
Lisa! What a wonderful surprise.
Welcome home luv, you have been greatly missed.
I have published masses of stuff in learned journals and am always keen for feedback. I imagine that fiction writers (except Chance of course :wink: ) will be the same...its human nature.
If writing for a mass audience primarily to make money, then its vital to listen to reader's opinions. Economic survival demands it through the law of supply and demand. If popular opinion can be accommodated in future work through adjustment of style and presentation then go for it. I think that Ely gave an example recently where one of her manuscripts was criticised by reviewers, and she was sensibly re-writing parts of it to change the heroine's image. On the other hand, a writer should never compromise on core ideas or content IMO as that would amount to artistic suicide.
If I ever complete my romance novel, I will be very keen to get reader feedback before submitting for publication.... to avoid making a complete ass of myself if nothing else!
Great comeback Lisa! :D
PS great blog, lovey
I love love love to see Lis back in her rightful spot here on the ship. For however long she decides to stay. :) XOXOX
I think that I already listen to reader feedback when I listen to the thoughts and concerns of my CPs and beta readers. I know we all have to be true to our stories, but if people who read it don't get what I wanted, then I think it's my job to make sure it's not my fault they didn't.
I'd imagine I won't be much different, to some degrees, when I get published.
Chance,
You are a stronger writer than I am. I would hope I could avoid reviews, but in all reality I would have to know what readers and critics were posting. Of course you can't go back and change a book once published, but I would hope if it is a part of a series I would at least consider what the readers are criticizing. It doesn't mean I would change how the series ends, but if I made mistakes I would want to know. In the case of one of the series I read, I blame the editor as much as I do the author. The editor should know the series as well as the author. I question if she is correcting only grammatical errors not content.
I agree that authors listen to readers in writing books about secondary characters, it's only the smart thing to do:)
*Running in slow motion toward Q with arms outstretched. Forrest Gump score playing in background*
Q, It's good to be back. Thank you for the welcome!
I totally agree that a writer should know what their fandom is discussing about their work. With the economy as it is,readers are probably tightening their book budget.
I also agree that the core idea for plot or characters should never be compromised. Just because readers wish a series would end in a certain way, doesn't mean the writer has to compromise their vision.
Marnee! Thank you! It's good to be here.
CP's are worth their weight in gold. They know your story as well as you do, and can understand your vision. They also can see things that we sometimes never see in character development, and plot. I think as writers we get caught up in the big picture, and forget little details.
I don't think I would be able to read my own reviews. Hell, I doubt I'd be able to read my own book after it was published--much like many other authors. You've done all this work to make it the best book possible, and there is a glaring typo on page 3 that none of you caught. And oops, you never did address what happened to the butler. Crap. Come to think of it, actors, it seems, don't watch their own films, probably because they too would be too critical of their performances to enjoy it. "I look constipated, not pensive!"
I think it's a balance thing. I'm pretty sure Eloisa has said repeatedly that Mayne was a throw-away rake of a character in Your Wicked Ways; but his three-minute appearance on screen set the romance readers tongues wagging: We want more Mayne. He happened to be friends with Lucius Felton, who was the next book's hero...and the talking continued. Although I am convinced that by the time Mayne showed up with Felton, he was destined for a bigger ending. Eloisa knew even then he was going to end up with Josie. Somehow. The archetypes that Mayne and Josie are play well together; I think they're a natural match for romance. But I could be wrong; she might not have planned that far ahead. In any case, Eloisa listening to her readers who wanted more of Mayne, paid off.
However, look at J.K. Rowling's series. She'd always had a plan how it was going to go, since she wrote the last chapter first. She'd always planned for Hagrid to live because she needed him for the forest scene...she'd had that forest scene, then, planned forever; and thus, the outcome of Harry planned forever. And yet for like 8 years of internet website buzzing, there were theories and speculations and "THIS is how it's going to happen; it's the only way it could happen or she's stupid." Completely insane. And she didn't read the stuff, pretty much none of it--because she didn't want to be influenced by it and also, I think, there's the possibility if it can be proven she was reading the site and she used an idea generated by another reader, she could be sued. So, I think a lot of authors don't read this stuff or let themselves be influenced by it because of legal reasons. And because they actually have had a plan the whole time. And Rowling's stuff does look like it has a plan.
And then there is the Plum series. It does not have any sort of plan because as we all know, Stephanie Plum isn't good at them. Sometimes this zany adventure stuff--off the cuff, completely random--comes out as a pretty decent book. The rest of the time, you wonder if she was smoking pot and wrote down things she thought was hysterical. I've giggled my ass off while on NyQuil; doesn't mean any of the things would make a good book. Or a book that looks like part of a series. I think that's the problem with the Plum series...it's not so much a series because that implies PROGRESS and the series is going nowhere. It's just a bunch of random stories where Plum acts completely insane, solving crime with a bunch of insane characters around her, and deliberating between a Real Man and a Completely Fictional But Preferable Man. As a reader, it totally pisses me off to see characters not growing or doing anything.
Another series that gets reamed, but that I don't mind so much is the Anita Blake series. I do think Hamilton does have a plan; so even though these books are crammed with more sex than any one porn movie could fit in--I think the sex is rather relevant...and she makes it part of the characterization. Anita Blake has problems; but she's growing from them. Slowly.
BTW, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Lisa back on the ship...XOXOXO
BREAK OUT THE RUM!
H,
I haven't read JK Rowling or LK Hamilton, but we all know that I was referring to the Plum series in my blog. Thank you for your examples!
I love the thought of reading Plum on NyQuill! Maybe I'll try that if I decide to read the new book when it comes out in June. At this point that might be the only thing that would get me to read it.I get so tired of Evanovich's inconsistancies, and tired over done bathroom humor. The crazy squirrel bombs, and monkeys on the loose, oh! and don't forget the horse that lived in Stephanie's apartment. *eyeroll*
Honestly the reason I wrote this blog was over the plot in a Jo Beverly book I read. I heard she is a good author and I picked up one of her books. I think I must have started with the wrong one...
*raising cup o'rum in air* It's good to be back!
*adding rum to her coffee and toasting along with everyone else*
I'm doing my best to catch up, but tons of work this morning. I'll come back soon but wanted to say WHOOHOOO FOR POWDER MONKEY'S RETURN!!!
I heart Lisa.
Although, I don't miss you because I annoy the hell out of you on a daily basis. LOL
Okay, I take that back because June was a long time ago and we need another weekend. I'll get working on that.
Review, reviews, review. Hm. Well, if I don't get anything written I won't have to worry about them. I'm used to reviews on FF.net and sometimes those can get brutal and even though writing and posting is something extremely personal and horrifying at first, I just take them with a grain of salt. Sometimes a shot of tequila. Depends how awful it is.
I will say that I am influenced on my reading by peer reviews. Only if the author isn't one I've read before. I do this because I don't have much time to read anymore (Oh, I long for the days when "bored" was a part of my vocabulary) and I want to NOT waste my time when I could be doing something else.
Like I picked up PC Cast's and Melissa De La Cruz, but haven't had the heart to pick them up yet. Lis, didn't you say you read them?
I heart you too!
Now drink some rum.
You always get good reviews on FF.net because you are the bomb. I didn't even think of those reviews. They have treated me pretty well there, but the average age of reviewers over there is like 12.
Nope, I haven't read them.
I just finished the first book in the Lara Adrian series and really liked it. Thanks for the recommendation:)
We are up to book 15 for Plum. And being the first book set the tone for insane, weird, and plain improbable occurances (for anyone but Stephanie), she's simply run out of IW&PIO in books 13&14--and that's why we have what we have. In a sense, she tried to outdo herself, but now it's gotten so farcical that as a reader, I just feel like my intelligence was insulted to the Nth degree. Will Ferrell provides higher-browed humor than the recent Plum novels.
However, I must say: books 13 & 14 have their fans. I can't remember the number of reviews I saw that said they were relieved Plum was returning to her earlier zaniness and humor. Apparently not everyone has the high level of expectations of character growth that I have.
Sometimes it's just a matter of stop trying to fight the author and accept you've outgrown the series. And the author. The Plum novels have trailblazed the zany woman-adventure novels--and now there are a number of other great series, like Spying in High Heels series and the like... And I love Leslie Langtry's zany adventure assassin novels.
I mean, I feel like someone who is divorcing a beloved spouse...it feels disloyal; I completely want to fight for it...and yet at the same time, if you want to fight for that marriage, you have to accept that the spouse is not going to change, not really. You're going to have accept them for who they are now and stay with them, love them. If you can't do that, then move on.
I really need to read Leslie's books.
With each new Plum novel I feel like the series is going backwards instead of forwards. Stephanie was such a different character in 12. She pulled herself together and stepped up to the plate for Ranger, then the next two books pushed her right back to square one. I feel like 12 was just so well written compared to the last two, and not just because it was a Ranger book.
Yeah, Book 12 was the best. It almost makes you wonder if it was the book written by someone else--and the rest are JE's. *LOL*
Don't burst my happy bubble. LOL
And you're smokin' crack if you think all my reviews are good reviews. I just get lucky and have all bad reviews EMAILED directly to me so I can't ignore them. Isn't that sweet of the little buggers?
Lara Adrian's first book was gifted to me by Dee after my trip to Chicago. She gave it to me before we left for the airport and I had it read before we got home to Columbia. I couldn't put it down. The rest of them are much better so if you loved that one, you'll really like the rest.
I LOVE Gemma Halliday! I'm so sad to see the end of the High Heel series but I know she's going to move in bigger and better directions next. :)
Another Plum gripe -Book 15-Finger Lickin 15? WTF?
How could anyone pick that title? The titles are even becoming unbelievable.
Sin, You must tell me how to have bad reviews emailed to you. And about the 12 year olds, we've been over there so long now they are at least 16 by now:)
LMAO.
I had one email that said it was so obvious that I was still in JR High because there is no way any of the stuff in my writing could ever happen. People just don't end up pregnant after having sex once.
I later found out the girl was 16. Obviously they aren't teaching kids the right things.
I've had a lot of nasty stuff because of how I ended Mission: Distraction. Or emails about how I cut chapters off. Or writing Ranger. Or how Steph would never act like that. Or Ranger. Or Morelli. Especially Morelli. How long it takes me to post. How long it takes me to reply to reviews. How my characterization makes someone want to jump off a building. I espeicially loved the emails for a while that I was ripping off other FF writers. They didn't get nice ones back. You know that. Obviously. It was a painful time in Plum history for us.
Only good things about my Twilight fic. Which is why I'm only sticking with one and not pushing my luck. LOL
I know you've had some doozies.
The reviews about how I wrote Morelli so out of character always made me laugh. If anything I made him better. The pilfering emails were laughable, maybe not at the time, but they sure are now. I'm so glad I'm not as caught up in it as I once was. It's so nice to have our own litle Plum world.
But think of the porn-parodies you could have with Finger-Lickin' 15. *LOL*
Leave it to the Captain to make a great suggestion for an otherwise corny title:)
I think Twilight fan fiction would be easier. Fewer Team Jacobs. *LOL* I mean, I like Jacob; I think he's a riot--but I never thought he'd end up with Bella because she would have chewed him up and spit him out. She needed a bigger handler.
But the Team Ranger and Team Morelli camps are brutal and vicious. And in the case of one camp in particular--not naming names, but it's not the camp I belong to--are irrational and insane. Well, some of the apples in that camp are. I wouldn't say all of them are. It's kinda like that Dixie Chick thing: one girl speaking for the whole group...and you're kinda thinking, "I don't know if I want you speaking on my behalf."
I've figured out I'll never catch up and I'm missing the party. So I'll say I judge books much harsher than I used to and was recently told I'm harder on characters. Historical inaccuracies pass me by. But if a character does something I don't believe they would do, I'm done. And if I get to the big pay off to find out why a character thought or acted a certain way and the motivation is lame or ridiculous, I'm done. So characterization is where I have the biggest gripes I guess.
How did I know the Plum subject would come up today? LOL! Have fun and I'll try to get back here eventually!
Yep. The other camp of Plum fans are scary as hell. Funny, I saw a recent interview with Janet and she said Ranger fans are much more wild than Morelli fans. I guess she remembers our group from Dallas this past June. *g*
Hey Terrio,
I'm with you. I'm kind of picky about characters. I recently read a historical that included rape, a mistress, a gay brother- in- law (who was also the rapist), a hero whose friends were more sexy and honorable then he, and a baby who could have been fathered by the rapist or the hero who had a mistress during the entire book.
Interesting.
I think Lexington was wilder. LOL
I will admit, I haven't read the last couple of Plum books. I wasn't really sure why I lost interest, since I hadn't really analysed it. I read a lot of throw-away books. They are one day reads, sorta fun, but not keepers. Anymore, the Plums just ended up there. Unread, but on the stack.
Q - I'm interested in what readers have to say. I pay attention to my CPs. But once the book is out, when it is out, I don't want to know! Like Hellion said, it's done, can't fix it. Let it go.
With series, I'd listen to fans... Critics are a different bag o' tricks. I'm just focused on the impossibility of pleasing everyone!
The book I mentioned at first was an Anne Rice novel. I swear, I could put my finger on the page where the rewrite began, all for the sake of a sequel. Hated the ended, never read another book of hers. Since readers hadn't seen it yet, had to be the editor/agent thing. Like the woman wasn't rich enough by then!
Lisa, the last book you mention sounds really...confusing!
Here, try a bo'sun burner...let me light it first! Ain't it pretty?
You guys are much more wild than Morellis. I just don't think you're as vicious. *LOL* Those Morelli girls hit below the belt.
Sin,
Dallas Giddy Up. That's all I'm going to say.
Chance,
It wasn't as much confusing as frustrating. It was the first book I've ever read where the hero never redeemed himself in my eyes. Gah! I usually can read pretty hard core stuff, but the rape scene was very disturbing to me in the context that it was done. Not that rape could ever be done well, but it was so creepy. *shudder* And it was used as the hook.
LMAO. I'd almost forgot about that.
Yeah, I know. I don't know how it got blocked from my memory. That was classic.
OK, that was gutsy. Unpleasant, from the sounds of it, but gutsy.
I'm sorry, have another bit of bo'sun...it'l 'elp the shudders.
THere were really good reviews for the book on Amazon. I would hate to think I'm a hater about a book some other reader may enjoy.I have it in a bag to take to the paperback exchange. But Bo'sun's method works for me:)
How could you forget? *snort* Oh, I know, you let the drama overwhelm the moment. LMAO
Lisa - That sounds more like a take off on a Romance than a real book. Wow. I could never follow all that.
When I've spent a couple hundred pages wondering why the heroine is so this or that, and the answer comes and I'm like NO FLIPPIN'WAY. It just pisses me off. Of course, this could come back to bite me in the ass if I ever finish this book of mine. LOL! Because there are going to be times my heroine makes it hard to like her.
Funny how a well written scene, horrible scene, can stick in the head. I 'member one from a Joseph Wambaugh book...great writing, compelling story, but after this one particular scene...never read him again.
Got to applaude an author that can write such a horrible thing so well that I got the heebie jeebies, and it was a masterful bit of writing. But that was it for me. No more.
Terrio - yer right. Nothing more frustrating than a twist that is just flippin' impossible. From the sounds of 'er experience, ya tried to find a place to suspend disbelief, but it never came. I hate when the writin' has me, then does something so blatantly wrong I drop out of the book like a hanglider without wings.
I loved the heroine in this book, but my faith wavered for her after she put up with the hero sleeping with his mistress The heroes friends had so much more honor than the hero. Don't get me wrong, I love a dirty rake until the end, but this guy just didn't get the job done.
Hella drama.
A rake can be cheered for, when they redeme themselves, at least in the eyes of the heroine. Even if the rest of the world doesn't see it.
I've seen Eloisa redeem the rake...my memory is cheese, but I think it was Mayne who worked to repair damage down to a lady's reputation due to his nastiness...? (I'm reading them all out of order, so I get them mixed up!)
I need to carry a notebook with me to keep characters straight anymore, and what I've read. Ah, for those heady days of having it all at the front of me brain...when I had one. A brain that is.
Chance,
You're not alone. I can never keep characters straight. I reread a Lisa Kleypas book not along ago and I thought everything that happened in it was in another one of her books. I had my heroes and plots totally wrong.
Think somewhere inside me head, they are all melting into this soup of plots and characters. And I was once so proud of all the details I could retain! *sob
I need some rum.
Ever mix up author names when yer lookin' fer a book at the bookstore? A first name from here, a last name from there...an odd title from another pothole in the memory... Gives the clerks a real challenge...
I have almost no recall about anything I read more than a few months ago. Have read everything from Spencer, Garwood, McNaught, James. If you named an older title, I couldn't even name the characters.
Chance - Mayne is the one you're thinking of. He damaged the heroine's rep because he was acting like a spoiled little boy when she went back to her husband. Then he stepped up (when prompted by his sister) and fixed it.
I realize I just contradicted myself in those two paregraphs. LOL! But we talk about this stuff a lot on the BB so I remember it better.
A rake is fine, but inside he has to be a good man. With honor. No good man with honor would do the things you've described from that book. That hero was no hero.
Ha! Terrio - you 'member more than ya realize! Is like I know the names a' the dogs in the neighborhood, but not the neighbors! I 'member what is important ta me!
BTW, I'm looking at adoptin' a Walker Hound from a local rescue group...will let ya all know how it works out. If it does. I won't rename her Bolt, 'er given name be Tula. Which I'm thinkin' ta stretch to Tularoo(laroo).
Hey, Lisa! It's lovely to see you back on the ship and blogging again. (((Hugs)))
I'll start by saying that if I'm published, I plan to read only the reviews my friends assure me are good ones. I know some people will hate what I write, but I don't want to read their rants.
For me, there is a significant difference in a book that's poorly written and one that just doesn't appeal to me. I read and enjoyed Evanovich in her old Loveswept days, and I read the first two Plum books. But I didn't care for them. I think she is a talented writer, just not to my taste. For the same reason, I love Nora Roberts but only sampled J. D. Robb.
On the other hand, I have been reading Jo Beverley for twenty years, I have all her books (except the Medievals) on my keeper shelves, and I count her Rogue and Malloren books among my comfort reads. I think the hero you mention is a man of honor; its just that two loyalties are in conflict. He chooses to marry E because of honor and loyalty. He chooses to follow through with his earlier commitment to his country. That choice leads to his hurting his wife and himself. He's a flawed hero in a flawed world.
JB shows IMO his wife and his friends reacting much as you do to his actions, but she also shows his torment and the forgiveness he receives when E and the Rogues know the full story. I think he is redeemed within the book; certainly it is a redeemed figure who remains King Rogue through the following books.
Just another reader's different response to the book. :)
Janga,
Thank you for stopping by. I've missed you!
I really appreciate your take on Jo Beverly's book. Maybe if I would read the rest of the Rogue series I may see Nicholas in a different light. I wanted to like him, and I admired his follow through on what he started for his country. I would have respected him more if he had found another way than being deceitful to E. I agree he was flawed, as we all are, but it was one of several things I found flawed about this book.
We can't all like the same writing style or this would prove a very boring world:) Thank you for your insight.
Oh, Janga! That's funny! I prefer JD Robb to Nora! Just goes to show! One person's sugar is another person's poison!
She was talking about Nicholas?!?! I love Nicholas. LOL! Goes to show, my CRS is as strong as ever. When you summized the book like that, I never thought of that book. There are so many deeper things that go on in that story. So many levels.
I've read all the Rogue books and I adore them. I may not remember details, but I remember when I like something. LOL!
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