Paula Berinstein's Blog - Posts Tagged "reviewers"
"Rules" for What's Allowed in a Book
I just discovered a reviewer who seems to have interesting things to say (not about my books; she was reviewing something else). But when I went to look at her profile, I was dismayed to discover that she has "rules" for what she will and won't tolerate in a book.
I don't, and I think people who limit themselves like that are missing out. Sure, there are things I'm not all that interested in: sports, for example. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't read a book about sports because what matters to me is great writing and storytelling. That's it. That's all I require.
I really think that prohibiting love triangles or twins or wartime stories or whatever in one's reading is self-defeating. How do we grow except by exposing ourselves to new things? How do we learn? My goodness, if we don't broaden our horizons, what kind of person will we be in five years, or ten, or forty? Someone life has passed by, I should think.
I will continue to follow this reviewer because she seems to hold minority opinions, and that's something I want to know about. But I do hope she changes her mind about her rules. Because life is too short to put up walls around ourselves.
I don't, and I think people who limit themselves like that are missing out. Sure, there are things I'm not all that interested in: sports, for example. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't read a book about sports because what matters to me is great writing and storytelling. That's it. That's all I require.
I really think that prohibiting love triangles or twins or wartime stories or whatever in one's reading is self-defeating. How do we grow except by exposing ourselves to new things? How do we learn? My goodness, if we don't broaden our horizons, what kind of person will we be in five years, or ten, or forty? Someone life has passed by, I should think.
I will continue to follow this reviewer because she seems to hold minority opinions, and that's something I want to know about. But I do hope she changes her mind about her rules. Because life is too short to put up walls around ourselves.
