Okay so what’s the deal? I depend on reviews and word-of-mouth before I shell out money for a book. And, yet, no matter how hard I try, some bad books get great reviews. Either I’m all off-base about what’s good or people don’t realize they’re reading bad stuff.
I’m beginning to think that the latter of the two choices above is the correct one. As a writer, I’ve gotten much more picky about what I consider good writing and what I consider mediocre at best. When I give a book 5 stars, you can be sure it’s a book that obeyed the rules (or if it didn’t, it didn’t obey the rules well). I tell the readers of my reviews what I liked and what they might not like about the book. I know my preferences don’t match all of yours. What I don’t get is how some of these books can violate what all good writers say not to do and still get good reviews (sometimes by those same good writers).
What rules?
One rule is to stick to a point-of-view. Floating from head to head is called head hopping. Today’s writers know this. You will get eaten up and spit out alive if you head hop. Yet, the book I’m reading by a known author with great reviews is head hopping like mad, and I want to scream.
Next rule: Do not information dump in the first chapter. OMG did this author info dump. So much info that I, the reader, couldn’t keep up with it all. I yawned and fell asleep in the first chapter. That is one of the biggest no-no’s for all writers.
Next rule: Do not repeat and repeat what the reader already knows. If you’ve told me as a reader once, it’s okay to remind me a bit later in a different way, but definitely do not tell me over and over in the same way just a few pages apart. I’m yawning again and about to toss the book in the trash.
Next rule with an example. What do you think of this writing: “He began to wander, looking at the perennials, at the herbs all marked and named. Echinacea, meadowsweet, St. John’s wort, chamomile. He was no gardener, but he suspected these weren’t just herbs or flowers, but medicinal.” What do you hate about that passage? First, how does he know these herbs are medicinal if he’s no gardener? And second, couldn’t it be shortened big time: “He began to wonder, looking at the marked herbs, echinacea, meadowsweet, St. John’s wort, chamomile…” Please! Now, I’m done. Only pages in and the book won’t get finished.
Please tell me if you know. Is it because the big publishers are tricking us into buying their bad stuff? Or am I being too picky as a reader. Tell me! I wanna know.
If your example is typical of the writing … that’s just plain bad, and I would have recognised that even before I started writing and editing. Now I know it’s bad, and why—excessive narrative distance, began (he’s either wandering or he isn’t), and your comment about not being a gardener (and yet he knows these plants are perennials).
I think some really big-name writers get away with putting out second-rate writing because they have such a huge fan base, the publisher knows it will sell. I know of one big-name writer who says she’s now important enough that her books don’t have to be edited. Some of the reviews gush over her books. Some comment that it could have used a good editor.
I also think there is a lot of people who believe if you (they) can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all. So they fill their reviews with nice … and forget about being honest. Maybe they don’t want to hurt the author’s feelings. Unfortunately, they hurt people like you and me who buy a book “everyone” has raved about, only to find it doesn’t live up to the promise.
Hi Iola, Yes, it is very, very frustrating. I didn’t name the author in my post out of courtesy, but now that I think about it, perhaps I should. It’s Louise Penny. I’d heard such good things about her, that I nearly bought two of her books! Thank goodness I didn’t. I will write a review on the one I’m currently not reading even though I do not plan to finish it.
The majority of the time, I can count on reviews to steer me. I’ve gotten so I read the 3 stars because they tend to be more honest.
Thanks for stopping by and stay in touch when you read a great book. Tell us about it!
Here’s my cynical side reporting for duty: bad books get good reviews because reviewers want to continue to get freebies from publishers and authors; because authors get their friends and family members to write positive reviews; and because some people write reviews about books they never even read in their quest for top reviewer status. #sad
OMG! Karen, that’s awful. How’s an innocent book browser supposed to survive in that world? I had never thought about that top reviewer status issue. I guess you know this because you had such a great mystery blog. We miss that! You could have saved us hapless readers. I do know that Amazon won’t allow friends and family to review author’s books. That does frustrate me because many of my friends are also my readers. Yet, I understand why Amazon came down on that because of overly positive reviews. Maybe they need to come down on that “top reviewer status” as well.