Authors' Reaction to Book Reviews and DNF

By ChaoticNinja


“In my reviews, I feel it's good to make it clear that I'm not proposing objective truth, but subjective reactions..."  ― Roger Ebert



Roger Ebert was a great American film critic who, along with the equally great Gene Siskel, awarded “Two Thumbs Up” to deserving films. Ebert was considered the most influential and powerful film pundit in America.


Though I don’t review films, I follow Ebert’s “relative, not absolute" approach when reviewing indie books. But sometimes, authors react as if reviews are absolute truths.

The way I see it, a review is really an exercise in reaction and counter-reaction:

When a book gets a glowing 5-star review...





When a book gets a 4-star review...


When a book gets a 3-star review...


 When a book gets a 2-star review...
 

 


 When a book gets a 1-star review



 And the ultimate reaction when a book is marked 'DID NOT FINISH' (or DNF)






 
I’m no authority  in indie book reviews (not by any stretch of the imagination), but  I feel that I need to make a stand on DNF. 

Some reviewers consider "Did Not Finish" as a review in itself. I DON'T. 

I believe that marking a book as DNF is OK. But marking a book as DNF and posting scathing remarks in Amazon, Goodreads, and blogs is a disservice to the readers.

It's just...


To me, preliminary reactions and impressions on the first 10 pages of the book do not qualify as a review. 

I'd like to hear what authors and reviewers have to say about reactions to book reviews and DNF. Post your comments! 



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