One Star Bash Reviews
This one is a rant, only because I have a lot to say, but I know I'll be censoring myself heavily so to not offend people.
Have you ever seen those reviews with a bunch of "WTF" gifs or gifs of that nature? Those reviews chock-filled with sarcasm? Those ones that just make you laugh?
I love them. There I said it. They make me laugh so much, especially when I agree with them or when I can relate. And they're usually very factual and have strong points.
What this rant is about is me writing them. I've had ideas to write these things and I've realized that I can't. For me, I have a loud sense of what people think of me and I always think of people before me. That being said, in a huge way, I don't agree at all with these kinds of reviews. On one day, I'll love reading them and the next, I'll be like "holy crap, if I was the author, I'd feel like such a pile of shit." So that's me. I'm not saying that people who write these kinds of reviews should feel bad or anything, it's a "to each their own" phrase; and most of the time, these people are so nice anyway.
Plus, these reviewers don't bash the author; just the book. I feel like I have to point this out.
Have you seen parodies of songs before? Now, comes the rant part because yeah. I hate parodies that degrade artists more than like anything. They're almost always the same and follow the same thing. It's a video of music that uses the same time, changes words and is meant to be "funny". While this doesn't seem too bad, it bashes the artist. For me, it's not okay. And it isn't even funny.
Artists like Bart Baker are ones I stay away from because I don't find him funny. I find him rude and pretty mean. Like a one star review, I would hate to be an artist being made fun of by someone who does it for fun. At least with a book review, the reviewer is making fun of a bad book, not the author. Some parodies even go to making fun of the artist as a person. NOT COOL. (Like when people repeatedly call One Direction GAY, I just can't. It's insulting, not to mention horribly untrue.)
And then there are people like Lisa Schwartz, who write parodies that are just fun to watch. They don't mention the artist at all. These are reminiscent to the bad reviews that are done in a classy way. They might be ranty, because anger is okay, but they aren't hurtful to the author. (But again, authors really shouldn't read reviews if they can't take it... lol.)
It's a topic that's been turning in my brain for a while. I feel like reading these kinds of reviews make me feel wrong, even though I like them. I'm also a pretty peaceful person so there's that. Do you write these kinds of reviews? Do you read these kinds of reviews?
Hmmm... Yes I read these reviews (and secretly like them) :D And there is some sarcasm in my reviews but I don't go over the top... Your topic was really nice and eye opening :) Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteBook Maniac Reviews
I do write these reviews, and they're usually the most popular reviews on Goodreads, although that's not why I write them. I just feel like it's cathartic to get all your frustration out in a snarky review when a book really pissed you off for whatever reason. They're also the reviews I'm more inclined to read, because, like you said, they're funny.
ReplyDeleteIf a book creates a strong enough negative emotion, I will write one of those snarky, negative reviews. This has only happened twice, and trust me, I dwelled on the idea of posting for a day or two before actually pressing "publish". Writing it felt cathartic because I had just endured a few days of a terrible book, but I don't want to hurt people's feelings either-- not just the author, but the people who loved the book and related to it (because us bookworms can be pretty sensitive when people dislike our favorite books). I do try to make it a point to offer some positive aspects about the books as well...for some balance I suppose.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I like reading them, but I don't make it a point to seek out snarky reviews just because I want a laugh.
- Jackie
Great topic. I really enjoyed reading this post. I do like rant-y reviews because they are usually very funny and the writers are usually so passionate about their dislike for the book. There's been many books I didn't particularly enjoy, but I have just stopped reading them, and personally, I don't review books I don't finish. But even if I did finish a book I'd like to rant about, I probably wouldn't do it publicly, but that's just the kind of person I am.
ReplyDelete