I just finished reading a light, quick, holiday read, then rated in on GoodReads. While reading others reviews, I learned an important lesson that I'll need to hold onto as a writer. Likes and dislikes are highly subjective and are often inconsistent. I quite liked the book and ignored the minor problems with the writing, whereas others hated it and didn't finish it before writing a detailed, negative review of it. It's not that I didn't know people have different opinions about things, especially subjective topics like art and literature. This was particularly clear last night at my book club when four of us expressed differing perceptions of a currently popular book. I need to hold onto this understanding when my writing is subject to reviews. What someone says in a review is more about them and their perception of your piece than it is about the quality or validity of your work. If one book can range from one-star, I have nothing nice to say, all the way to five-star, I've never read a better book, then that has nothing to do with the author. The negative reviewers all picked up problems which I noticed but wasn't bothered by. Interestingly, many of the issues with this book were things I'd criticised in the last book I reviewed. It all comes down to your mood and your particular sensitives at the time of reading the book and writing the review.
I just finished reading a light, quick, holiday read, then rated in on GoodReads. While reading others reviews, I learned an important lesson that I'll need to hold onto as a writer. Likes and dislikes are highly subjective and are often inconsistent. I quite liked the book and ignored the minor problems with the writing, whereas others hated it and didn't finish it before writing a detailed, negative review of it. It's not that I didn't know people have different opinions about things, especially subjective topics like art and literature. This was particularly clear last night at my book club when four of us expressed differing perceptions of a currently popular book. I need to hold onto this understanding when my writing is subject to reviews. What someone says in a review is more about them and their perception of your piece than it is about the quality or validity of your work. If one book can range from one-star, I have nothing nice to say, all the way to five-star, I've never read a better book, then that has nothing to do with the author. The negative reviewers all picked up problems which I noticed but wasn't bothered by. Interestingly, many of the issues with this book were things I'd criticised in the last book I reviewed. It all comes down to your mood and your particular sensitives at the time of reading the book and writing the review.
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