Hi there, Toi here. I’m back to share another new release with you today. This is one for the teen and adult book lovers of the world. It’s an opinion piece I’ve written to shed some light on book reviewing culture.
Have you ever wondered why it seems authors are often whining about book reviews? What's the big deal anyway? How much of a difference could your one book review really make? In this opinion piece, ten-time self-published author and blogger, Toi Thomas, discusses candidly why book reviewing culture isn't what it should be.
This is not a book about how to write book reviews and it is not a how-to book for authors to gain book reviews. This is a book about reevaluating your thought-process and opinions about book reviewing culture.
Toi Thomas clearly understands that "Ain't nobody got time for book reviews" when there are so many more important things for a book lover to do. Right? Plus, you can read this book from cover to cover in less than two hours. 100% of proceeds go to support Lit Carnivale, a book fair in the making.
Check out these two, variant mock-up covers that didn’t make the cut as you enjoy this excerpt.
“I have this theory that if people treated book reviews like food reviews, we’d have more of them. Of course, I do understand that while everyone eats, not everyone reads. I also recognize that eating is a basic human need, and that reading is a form of entertainment, a tool of education and development, and a method of rehashing or discovering history. However, for those who love to read, books are usually a high priority. My question is, why not write book reviews?
When someone walks into a restaurant, they do so with the intention of spending money. In fact, I’d say it’s more than an intention. People go to restaurants to pay for a meal, just as people go to theaters to pay to watch movies. After paying for their meal, people often feel compelled to let other people know that the food was good or bad, that the service was good or bad, and that the price and ambiance were balanced or unbalanced.
This is not the case with books. For people who actually buy books, not just the people who only download free ebooks (This book probably isn’t for them anyway, but I’ll touch on this later.), but the people who pay money for ebooks, print books, and dare I say it, audiobooks- there is no guarantee that these paid for items will ever get read; a library patron will pretty much always read the books they obtain. Still, if by some chance a book is read, a small act of God or, whatever you believe in, may have to occur before the average reader will share their experience. They’ll keep it to themselves whether the plot was good, the characters were likable, and the setting was believable or realistic. No, no, no, a book lover will not go out of their way to write a review for a book they liked and will only write a review for a book they don’t like if they feel a need to warn people against it….”
Ain’t Nobody Got Time for Book Reviews © 2018 Toinette J Thomas, published as Toi Thomas.
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COMMENTS
Toi Thomas presents a thoughtful book on why we don't make time to review books, and ways to overcome your hesitation in writing reviews.
#OurAuthorGang
Great article, Toi, and one that hits close to home for all of us.
Today on
#OurAuthorGang, author Toinette Thomas talks about book reviews and the non-fiction book, "Ain't Nobody Got Time For Book Reviews."
Oh my, so, so true! I only write reviews for books I like, and I feel like I'm always behind on them, LOL!
I get caught up some times, but I'm usually behind. For me, at least, getting caught up is important.
Today, I put Ain’t Nobody Got Time for Book Reviews in the Spotlight at
#OurAuthorGang
This is probably an accurate assessment of book reviews.
This is just a small snippet, there's more to it.
An Indie author who understands the importance of book reviews--I write one for every book I read.
That's awesome! Yay book reviewers!
This post reminded me I need to leave a review for your book! Ain't Nobody Got Time for Book Reviews is a thoughtful, well-reasoned book about book reviews and book review culture. I think you touch on some points in your book that would surprise the "average" reader. I definitely recommend this book to both authors and readers!
Thanks so much for saying that. I put a lot of thought in it and think it will appeal to people who do actually enjoy reading.
Eva Pasco originally shared
this
An Indie author who understands the importance of book reviews--I write one for every book I read.
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