I love getting reviews of all kinds and I have done so for a good fifteen or something years now. I like to think of it as a dialogue between writer, reviewers, other readers, etc. In the end, we’re all readers. In my own reviews of books and other texts I try to be generous and constructive and engaged with what I’m writing about. I think it’s important to review, to critique and to discuss things. What I don’t like are boring, badly-written or unhelpful reviews – or pompous ones, or ones with hidden agendas or overt agendas, or ones that don’t really engage very interestingly with the material, or ones where it’s obvious the reviewer hasn’t taken enough time or effort, or reviews that feel mean-spirited or ungenerous. The review I remarked on seemed a bit dull and sweeping in the dismissive stuff it was saying.
I love getting reviews of all kinds and I have done so for a good fifteen or something years now. I like to think of it as a dialogue between writer, reviewers, other readers, etc. In the end, we’re all readers. In my own reviews of books and other texts I try to be generous and constructive and engaged with what I’m writing about. I think it’s important to review, to critique and to discuss things. What I don’t like are boring, badly-written or unhelpful reviews – or pompous ones, or ones with hidden agendas or overt agendas, or ones that don’t really engage very interestingly with the material, or ones where it’s obvious the reviewer hasn’t taken enough time or effort, or reviews that feel mean-spirited or ungenerous. The review I remarked on seemed a bit dull and sweeping in the dismissive stuff it was saying.
best,
Paul Magrs