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°ä³ó±ð°ù²â±ô’s comments from the More than Just a Rating group.

Yes, I appreciate a sentence or two saying why a book got a low rating or was dnf'd. You don't owe that to other readers (much less to the author). But it is, in my opinion, an act of reciprocal kindness if you have benefited from others' reviews, or a favor if you'd rather think of it that way. :)

I read the 'difficult review' article you posted and it wasn't what I hoped so not helpful to me.

I appreciate the quotes from the FTC. The argument that holds the least weight for me is that writing is hard work.

Serving customers at Taco Bell is hard work. Building highways is hard work. Raising Thanksgiving turkeys is hard work. If you're writing to earn money, stop.

Write for love - the books written because the author needed to express them are the better books.

Oh. Ok, wow, yeah, those two instances would totally peeve me. Gosh.

Geepers. Such reveals. But, you see, if we were, say, a neighbor or colleague, we'd only learn those kinds of details after a while... so, 'realistic.' But I agree that, since we're the reader, it can be annoying.

Oh, Data, what a wonderful story! And yes, your example makes an excellent point. Thank you so much for sharing.

(And for being patient while I catch up on my groups since GR messed up the notification system.)

(Stupid Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ for messing up the notification system. I have now checked the box "Notify me when people comment" in most discussions in most of my groups, but I've also left some groups. Way too much of a PITA.)

I agree, L J. Maybe the author thinks it's more realistic if we get to know character gradually, but I don't like the way it's often done.

I don't read a lot of series so it's not surprising I don't recall encountering that... but it certainly must be frustrating! And, yes, I would absolutely make my displeasure known in rating and in review. Jeepers.

Google AI gave me this, which is what I remember learning a few years ago: "Marty Stu, Gary Stu, or Larry Stu." But, yes, a Prince Charming can indeed be too perfect to be true, too. Good points.

Hm. I, otoh, like reading about good people, people who truly do always make an effort. I know a couple of people like that irl and aspire to be a better wife, mother, daughter, and citizen myself.

Unless you mean too competent to be true, like a Mary Sue. Generally the books written about them are pretty boring.

Thank you both for your insights. I absolutely agree. I don't like reading about unpleasant people, especially if we're meant to be amused by them.

I try to remember to write especially careful reviews in those kinds of cases, to warn off other readers who are sensitive to the 'isms and the wrong kinds of humor (practical jokes, amiright?).

For example I just wrote a review of a children's book about a child escaping on her own from a war-torn country. It was not grim in tone as the girl just made her way through adventures, but it was not 'funny' like the blurb said. And I said so, in my review: The Day My Father Became a Bush.

"Less lax" - ok, that's fair.

Yeah, authors. Hmpf.

L J wrote: "Overall I probably rate most at or below their average rating...."

Oh, yes, me too. Unless some poor book got bombed for some dumb reason, I tend to love books less than the average of the community.

I find it interesting that you both start more from neutral, as I do. Maybe we have that strategy, and this group, in common for a connected reason.

(Of course I've no idea how to test that. And what about the converse? Do more ppl who aren't in this group start from the top and work down when they rate? :)

Also just now I learned from a random GR reviewer that they apparently start every book at five stars, and mark down from there as they encounter negatives. They rated a book five stars, saying they took off a star because something bothered them. They didn't say anything was amazing about the book.

I realized, upon reading that review, that I subconsciously start at about three stars and go up or down from that. To get more stars, it has to do something special. I think I probably, therefore, tend to rate lower.

Do you see the difference in our two approaches? Which is, or feels, more like what you do?

I just participated in a 'passport' program this summer and visited 21 other libraries in our consortium (NW Wisconsin) and came home with too many books that 'looked interesting' from each one. Some were definitely interesting, but too many really weren't worthy and, had I read reviews first, I would not have bothered trying. Still, I agree with the motto 'nothing ventured nothing gained.' And I gave the libraries a 'circulation' boost!

You make good points. I hadn't thought about it that much. I don't hang out with people likely to be offended so that issue didn't occur to me.

To clarify, first, of course I use the full title online.

But irl, I've been just using the catchier brief title, and talking about the book in more depth than just a short subtitle. And most times I've had the book in hand, to be ready to show them after I introduced it. (Mother, sons, and about a dozen members of library book club have been exposed to it this way.)

Ah, good one! Thanks, I want to investigate this now, myself!

I did recently enjoy Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World and believe it to be a perfect title for a terrific book. (I don't use the subtitle when recommending this to other readers.)

Similar reaction to the wonderful Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?.

Interesting, but far too literary for my more plebeian taste (both the book and your review of it).

Welcome! I'd love to look at the review you're offering to share, but the link is missing.

Thanks! Everything you say helps me! I may or may not have to visit in SFFBC to get help with the others.

The other thing that bugs me is when there are a dozen books with all the same title and the one I want is on the second page of search results because GR thinks that exact title match is less relevant than popularity. If I were an author I would certainly run my title thru GR and thru search engines to make it as unique as possible.

How much do you pay attention to titles?

I think that mostly I do so to initially screen a book to see if there's a chance it's possibly going to appeal to me, then I read the blurb and probably forget the title.

I seldom remember to check whether the title helps focus or explain the story. Most titles are fairly innocuous, it seems. Or mysterious. I'm reading the Murderbot series right now and I have no idea what All Systems Red means, and the occurrence of the phrase Artificial Condition in the text doesn't really help my understandings, either.

And then there are the very catchy ones, like A Cat's Guide to Bonding with Dragons.

Oh, and in non-fiction, I occasionally notice a title that way over-promises what will be delivered, and that really frustrates me.