I don’t love every book I read.
Sometimes I just don’t connect with the story. Sometimes the characters feel a little two-dimensional or I don’t fully understand their motivations. Sometimes the writing style feels confusing. Sometimes the romance is rushed and lacks real chemistry. Sometimes the tropes feel overused or under-utilised. Sometimes it feels like the author’s approach is too surface-level. Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes —
And that’s okay.
We’re not supposed to fall in love with every book we read. Not every book is written for us in mind. Sometimes the timing of when we read a book isn’t right either. And maybe, even simpler, we just don’t like it.
But just because we don’t like book — whatever reason that might be is valid — doesn’t mean we need to write negative reviews that vehemently tear it apart. I’m not talking about critical reviews or people simply stating they didn’t enjoy a book (there’s nothing wrong with that), my definition of a negative review is one that is unnecessarily antagonistic or downright rude. “This sucks, don’t read this garbage” or “anyone who likes this book is stupid” or “I’ll never understand people who like this author, their work is crap” are only some of the comments I’ve seen on review sites like Goodreads. It seems like these types of reviewers only see books as inherently good or bad without seeing any nuance — and if they deem it bad it’s a personal offence that must be avenged with an onslaught of hate.
There’s a unique anonymity that comes with social media that makes some people feel fearless and even untouchable. This results in a carelessness with our words, forgetting their weight and that they can have an ever-lasting impact. It’s easier to write a negative review and press publish, than it would be to speak these opinions aloud to an audience.
Yes, it’s perfectly okay to not like a book (who likes every book they read?) and it’s perfectly okay to share that you didn’t like it. But it’s not okay to come into spaces like Goodreads to crucify a book and it’s author with a tirade of harmful, hate-filled comments (or sometimes a single sentence that just condemns the book with no attached reason).
I always cringe a little when I read the negative reviews that attempt to be clever or use flowery language to try to disguise their vehement hatred as honesty. “I’m just being honest".” Just remember that honesty without kindness is still cruelty. Your words have impact and make reverberations. You’re not just speaking into a vacuum.
So does that mean we shouldn’t write negative reviews at all?
In short: no.
But, maybe, instead of writing negative reviews that simply spew hatred and add nothing to the conversation, maybe there can be an attempt at more nuanced and critical reviews. These reviews argue a particular point, either good or bad — such as the existence of sexism, homophobia, racism, transphobia and other hateful themes that are handled poorly or perpetrate stereotypes. Or the fact characters come across as two-dimensional and lack believable motivation. Or that the book is the epitome of romance and betrayal.
Whatever point is trying to be made, these types of reviews are done through the intentional dissection and interrogation of the book and it’s author. The best ones use examples from the book to illustrate their point. And the even better ones can speak respectfully about the book without putting down the author and their craft.
You don’t have to love the book. You could have even hated it. But I think this more nuanced and critical approach is a much kinder contribution to conversations within the community.
I don’t write negative reviews. Period.
Like I said, I don’t like every book I read. I’ve actually had some pretty disappointing reads this year. But I’ve simply moved on and picked up my next read.
What’s my reasons for this?
Because even though I’m not going to like every single book, and I know not every book was written for somebody like me, that doesn’t mean that somebody else isn’t going to like it. What might be a disappointing read for me, might actually become somebody else’s favourite book. It could be the book that guides them through the hardest time of their life or cements their love of reading or helps them find their new favourite author. And I would hate to think that my negative review persuades them to never pick it up.
And maybe it’s because I’m an aspiring author — or a chronic people-pleaser, or perhaps even both — but I have horrible nightmares of writing something negative and the author seeing it, their feelings hurt. Even though books are published to be consumed and dissected, the act of writing is still so personal. It requires vulnerability to bare your soul — I mean, Ernest Hemingway wrote “all you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed” for a reason. I just can’t imagine tearing somebody down after they do that. The kindest thing I can do if I don’t like their book is to just move onto another one.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that what I like to write are actually love letters.
There’s honestly nothing better than finishing a book I loved with every morsel of my being and sharing that love with others. I write love letters about my favourite reads, telling everyone what the book meant to me and how it’s burrowed itself inside of me, changing me forever. I write about the characters — their raw humanity, their messiness and complexities, their heartbreaks and triumphs that feel just like my own. I write about the beautifully crafted language, and the surprising twists and turns that make me gasp and keep reading late into the night. I write about anything and everything that makes the book special to me.
I despise negative reviews. And if I’m being honest, I really love nuanced and critical reviews as a reader, but I just really dislike writing my own. I don’t think I’m very good at it and don’t want to spend hours agonising over writing one in attempt to be profound or a proper reader or just someone I’m not. I’d much rather pour my heart into something as close to a love letter as I can. I think that I can still capture the essence of the book and tell others about it in this way, and from there they can make the decision to read it or not based on their own interests.
I just don’t want to add to the echo chamber of negativity.
This is my choice. I’m never going to write a negative or demonising book review, and I’m fairly certain I’ll never write a critical review either. They’re just not my thing. I’m just going to keep writing even more love letters. And at the end of the day it’s your choice to decide how you want to approach your book reviews too. I don’t think negative reviews are ever really going away — I’m not delusional. But I hope that even if you don’t like a book — which is valid for whatever reason — you can review it respectfully and be conscious of who is reading it.
Do you write negative reviews or critical reviews? Do you only write reviews for the books you loved? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
And I’ll be sharing more of my love letters in my newsletter soon!
Until next time,
- Madeline
I so agree. Even when I dislike a book, I think before I leave a comment. And that comment is carefully curated and includes stuff I did like because there will always be an aspect to a book I like. People get too comfortable behind a screen
I really loved reading this post! I totally agree about seeking more nuanced thoughts about books, rather than hateful reviews. There’s truly nothing better than writing a love letter to a book and convincing someone else to read it!