You may have already seen this on Twitter. I just noticed it about ten minutes ago. Despite the soul-crushing rigors of homework and a full day of class, I managed to levitate from my chair and squee when I saw this picture:
Yes, ARCs (advanced review copies) for Other are now in existence. Stay tuned! (cough) giveaways (cough)
While poking around my local Barnes and Noble, I saw a whole slew of Tenners on the new YA books shelf. I happened to have ARCs of Bleeding Violet and The Dark Divine with me, since I was going to mail them at the post office, so I couldn’t resist taking a few crummy cellphone pictures of them side-by-side with their finished counterparts. I also happened to have my netbook with its webcam, so I tried in vain to use it to take better photos. Kneeling before the YA section while holding a netbook over my head earned me some very, very odd stares from the staff. I smiled and said, “Oh, I know these authors!” To which I got no reply. Whoops.
ARC & hardcover of BLEEDING VIOLET by Dia Reeves
ARC & hardcover of THE DARK DIVINE by Bree Despain
MAGIC UNDER GLASS by Jaclyn Dolamore
HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick at the top of a big display of angel and ghost books
You shouldn’t like the color blue. It’s really an overused color. Try something more sophisticated.
You shouldn’t eat cilantro. I hate the way it has such a coarse green flavor.
You shouldn’t read this book or watch this movie. And my review will tell you why.
Cilantro. Which my boyfriend despises.
Now tell me. How useless or ridiculous did you find those sentences? To follow that question up, how useless or ridiculous do you find certain negative reviews? Note how I say “certain negative reviews,” because I believe there’s a time and a place for intelligent criticism that gets people to discuss genre and story, as well as helping people choose which out of thousands of books or movies they choose to spend their time on. But I do not, however, like the way some critics bash creative works with every weapon at their disposal: snark, haughtiness, and ad hominem attacks on both the creator of this work and the fans who love it. Especially if it’s popular.
I am guilty of such reviews. Primarily in the snark department, although I hope I have never bashed an author or their readers. I have had such bad reactions to certain books that I experienced the proverbial wall-banger phenomenon. Way back when, before I was published, I used to share my thoughts online. This is why this wall-banger sucks, and you should never, ever read it!
I don’t do this anymore. Need I tell you why? Firstly, I could very well be alienating myself from authors and readers I have never met, merely by introducing myself to them with my guns blazing. Secondly, I am getting published in six and a half months, and I do not relish the idea of being exposed to my own medicine. Finally, and most importantly, I just think these reviews are kind of useless. Honestly. Do you need to know how stupid someone thought Twilight was if you, in fact, loved it to pieces and have a lovely time writing fan fiction? Do you need to step out of a 3D showing of Avatar feeling thoroughly amazed and then have this amazement tempered by sneering reviews? Or worst of all, do you need to avoid reading a book or watching a movie because so many critics turned you off?
Avatar. Which I loved.
Never, ever eat pumpkin butter. I hated it when I tried it. You will, too. I mean, who wants to taste mushy squash with the consistency of something out of a baby’s diaper?
I know it’s fun to snark. Really fun. And gossiping about books and movies behind their creators’ backs can give you a sense of superiority and good taste. You can think to yourself, I would never make such a stupid mistake. I wouldn’t tolerate such glaring imperfections, cliches, and hackneyed plots in my novel/movie/whatever. Uh-huh. You’re never going to hit perfection. And even if you get close, who says everybody is going to like it? You may have invented the pumpkin butter of the literary world. But then again, we don’t expect everybody to like a particular food, and we don’t waste time snarking about those who do. Oh, you banana-lovers are so cliche. Get a life. Silly, no?
Sure, we have food critics who tell us intelligent, articulate things so we don’t have to waste loads of moolah on not-so-fine dining. And we have critics of books and movies of the same caliber. But I would like to end my small ranting ramble that if you read reviews very often at all, please remember that they are opinions, and opinions about books can be as useless as opinions about colors and food. And some people have ulterior motives or insecurities the size of Alaska when they write these reviews. Or just like to snark. Bring on the critics, but remember: the creative works being pecked to death by a flock of snark-birds will likely outlive their detractors and go on to please many more.
(For the record, I do love pumpkin butter.)
