Apparently My Book Reviews Suck

I received the following email today regarding my review of Rob Bell’s book, Love Wins.

i came to your blog becuz a friend posted your blog post on rob bell’s book as a great review.  i must say i am truly disappointed at the lack of info in your post.  you could be talking about any christian book.  i at least expected you to back up why you think its a great book.  you gave me no reason to read it, either pro or con.  and just to state someone isn’t a universalist, is a christian, is a great pastor doesn’t make it so.  give me some meat here!!!  if you’re going to review something, then review it!

otherwise it makes me think you’re hiding something or just don’t know what you’re doing.

The funny thing is, I reread my review, The Final Word on “Love Wins” earlier this week and was very pleased with how it came out.

I read a lot of books, at least 50 a year. About half of the books are popular fiction and literature that I’m reviewing for TheFish.com, a site that provides a Christian Look at Pop Culture. I also read a lot of Christian books and post the reviews here on this blog. I receive far more requests for reviews than what I’m able to respond to.

I read a lot of reviews as well. I personally look for reviews that give me an idea of what a book will be about, but won’t spoil the big reveals. I like background information on the author and whether or not the book is a part of a series. Any details that help me put a book’s story or message into context is helpful. More than anything I want to know whether or not the book is worth my time reading, or if I should spend my time on something else more creative, beautiful or challenging. I try to keep these elements in mind when I am writing my reviews as well.

Another way a review can be helpful is when it provides warnings for questionable content. For instance, many people come to the TheFish.com looking for help in figuring out if a book, TV show, or movie is suitable for their children as the reviewers agree to report if there is extreme violence, profanity and sexuality in the content.

What can limit a review’s impact is how much the reviewer puts their own opinions between the book and the potential reader. It is a good challenge to write a 500 word review on a book or a movie without ever using the word ‘I.”  Writing about the author’s premise, how they go about presenting their case, and whether or not they did so successfully can be artfully presented without the “I believe, I think, and I feel” statements. Although the reviews I write for TheFish.com have my style, they rarely have my first-person voice. “I couldn’t put this book down,” means something to the blog readers who know me and like the same books I do, but the statement “If you are looking for a book you won’t put down this summer–read this one!” puts the relationship with the book and its potential readers front and center.

In the case of Love Wins, I was tired of seeing reviews that were full of opinions and #$&holes telling everybody else what to believe. (Note: this review will not be available on TheFish.com). I found it ridiculous that people were writing opinion pieces on a book that many of them hadn’t read but were instead just mimicking fear-based diatribes by The Haters. Many other reviews presented the content of the Love Wins differently than what it actually contains. So instead I determined to write a summary of what the book is and what the book isn’t. I think the review stands up as a good resource and adds a good thought or two towards engaging in the discussion that Bell is presenting. No, I didn’t think we needed another “I like this book because…” review that we learned to write in elementary school, nor do I think the “Stay away from this book because…” reviews are helpful for mature people. There is no extreme violence, profanity and sexuality in Love Wins and no animals were harmed in its writing.

I sculpted this review with purpose and knew exactly what I was aiming for–to encourage people to read this book with the same attitude that the Bereans did with their studies. If that isn’t enough of an opinion for you, there are plenty of other writers, bloggers, and reviewers out there who will be more than happy to tell you exactly what you need to think. My readers, by and large, don’t typically need or appreciate that approach.