Ksenia asked Leah Raeder:

Lea, recently you’ve removed all your reviews from GR. Does it mean that you wouldn’t post any reviews anymore?

Leah Raeder Hi Ksenia,

Yes, I will no longer be reviewing books. While most readers are respectful of others' opinions, and I've enjoyed some great conversations here about books I've both loved and hated, ultimately the trolling became too much to deal with. People have one-starred my books in retaliation, attempted to sabotage my sales, stalked me on social media, and repeatedly harassed me because of my reviews. When reviewing begins to negatively impact your livelihood and peace of mind, you have to ask yourself whether it's worth it. For me, the answer is no. I prefer to put my energy into writing books rather than dealing with trolls.

There's a belief among some people that authors should never criticize books, and I find that disappointing and bizarre. A writer, someone who lives and breathes words, is in a unique position to comment on literature and illuminate it in ways that others may not see. Literature has a long tradition of writers critiquing writing, sometimes harshly. Criticism is vital to all arts. Without criticism, nothing improves and no one learns or grows as an artist.

Unfortunately, the climate here at GR--and on social media in general--is changing for the worse. When I first began using Goodreads as a reader six or so years ago, it was easy to stumble across intelligent, thoughtful discussions with others who were passionate about books. GR had an intimate book club atmosphere. Whether or not you agreed with someone, you knew you were both passionate about the same things: discovering great books, and chatting with fellow booklovers.

Now there's a distinct Us vs. Them mentality, where discussions often devolve into fans and haters attacking each other for liking or not liking a book. This cultivates a culture of fear where people are afraid to speak honestly, lest they face backlash from an angry mob. Every day I see reviewers I admire get trolled and attacked for daring to express their honest opinions, especially when those opinions are critical. I've watched too many great reviewers hang up their hats because of the backlash. And I've continually stood up for reviewers' rights, which to me seems totally absurd because those rights should be self-evident: everyone is entitled to express their opinion on art without fear of bullying or harassment. That means readers *and* writers. An arts culture that frightens and silences critical voices is essentially dead.

The fearmongering and harassment isn't for me. I talk about books because I love books, and I don't censor myself. But I've got too many kickass novels to write to waste my words on trolls.

To those of you who continue to review in the face of such hostility: you have my deepest respect. You are brave souls. Keep thinking critically, writing honestly, and talking passionately about books. Keep authors on their toes. Keep challenging other readers to see new things in books, and keep demanding better books. There'd be no literature without readers. Keep letting us know you're out there, reading, opining, liking and disliking, raging and squeeing--and please, above all, respect each others' right to express an opinion.

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