I never like to be snarky in my book reviews, although I admit, I love reading them. Call it a guilty pleasure, but when done well, I find them entertaining and not as rude as some think they are. 

At times, I really feel like doing one. But I can’t. I just don’t think I can pull it off in a way that others can. There’s a fine, thin line when writing a review of a book you didn’t like in a tone that doesn’t come off mean-spirited, yet is obvious in its disdain for the author’s work. 

Why bring this up? Recent reads have me banging my head against the standards I’ve set forth for my blog and me. 

Over the course of the last year, and even recently, I’ve read books others have liked and I have not. It makes me think sometimes that I’m missing something. Then I remember the most important thing that keeps me grounded: I am entitled to my opinion, as are we all. 

Is it always informed? No.
Is it always right? No.
Is it always set in stone? No.
Also, and this is most important, it is not to deliberately hurt others. If it does so, that was not my intent. 

Hence, why I always try to be fair and impartial. 

But forming an opinion is anything but impartial. Due to one’s environment and upbringing, there is always some kind of bias and a certain amount of preformed ideas used to develop a decision as to whether or not you like a book, a movie, a person, etc. 

This conundrum makes reviewing books challenging, especially when they are books that have let me down. Perhaps my fault for having such high expectations. However, isn’t that what makes reading so interesting? No matter what you hear or read, ultimately, it is your choice to like or dislike the work. 

Many times an author has changed my mind, for the positive, in that I wasn’t sure they could pull it off, but they did and in spades. 

How much more my disappointment when it is an author I’ve read before and the magic is lost. 

Again, this is the specialness of reading, discovering the good and the bad. And it happens every time, regardless of whether or not you are familiar with the writer. 

My challenge remains how to handle the disappointment: Honestly, yet kindly. 

It’s the most frustrating thing in the world to write a bad review. I hate it. But it is part and parcel of what I agreed to (with myself), when I decided to be a book blogger. So I will do it, and move on, hoping that the next one will bring back that sparkle, that excitement I get when reading an engrossing and enjoyable story.