Why I'm Nice on Goodreads

I admit, blogfrogs, that I really do like Goodreads. I say "admit" because a lot of authors are fed up with the Wild West atmosphere of backbiting and cruel reviews and way-too-personal contact with readers. But I choose to participate mostly as a reader, not a writer, and I like seeing the pretty covers of all the books I'm reading and setting goals to read more.

 

But.

I also must admit that I'm not entirely up front on Goodreads. You'll notice that I don't rate any books below 3 stars. I don't love everything I read, but as a writer, I don't want to trash someone's average rating by throwing a bitter one or two stars their way. If I truly dislike something, I don't rate it, because a rating of 0 won't throw off the average. And I won't trash a book with a cutting review, either. The transparency of the medium makes that seem, well, mean.

So I talk about the books I like--the good reads, if you will.

And this blog isn't really an objective reviewing medium, either. I have a tag called Recommended Reading, and it's just that--books that I recommend. For my own purposes, and to catalog my library, I use LibraryThing, which you might consider checking out for similar uses. I think of it as more of a database than a review site. (It also isn't owned by Amazon. It's nice that something isn't.) I use it to catalogue all my books and to pen scathing reviews of books I hate. But you'll never know, because my shelves are private (sorry). Nothing I say there is going to hurt anyone's feelings.

That said, because I'm going to try to chronicle my 2014 To Read Goal on this blog, I will tell you here if I think a book is worth your time. But I won't get snarky, and I won't apply any ratings.

That's me being nice. Take note.

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