Kudos to mystery-thriller writer Brad Meltzer for having a positive outlook on the bad reviews he's gotten from the various failed authors book reviewers, panning his New York Times best-selling books (official motto: suck on THAT, haters!)
Brad produced this video, having kids from the Little League team he coaches, plus residents from his grandmother's nursing home read the high points from his reviews.
Although I have a friend who is soon wending her way to Oxford to get a Master's degree in literature and literary criticism, I don't think much of the form when it's nothing more than petty book reviewers who get sadistic delight in driving a dagger through the heart of an author, just to make himself or herself sound smarter. It's too easy to bitch and whine about why you think something sucks, like it's supposed to make you sound cool.
It doesn't. It makes you sound like an asshole.
Several years ago, when my dad was writing his college textbook,Motivation: Biological, Psychological, and Environmental he had to have each chapter reviewed by threefailed textbook writers other college professors. He said nearly all the reviews came back negative, which was really disheartening. I reminded him that these are all people who only wanted to sound smart to the editor, and were probably bitter that they had never been asked to write a textbook themselves.
"Highly developed spirits often encounter resistance from mediocre minds," I said, quoting Albert Einstein.
So, Brad, I'm glad you were able to take the negative responses to your wildly popular books, and do something fun with it. My hat is off to you.
And all the reviewers who are not New York bestseller authors can just suck it.
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Brad produced this video, having kids from the Little League team he coaches, plus residents from his grandmother's nursing home read the high points from his reviews.
Although I have a friend who is soon wending her way to Oxford to get a Master's degree in literature and literary criticism, I don't think much of the form when it's nothing more than petty book reviewers who get sadistic delight in driving a dagger through the heart of an author, just to make himself or herself sound smarter. It's too easy to bitch and whine about why you think something sucks, like it's supposed to make you sound cool.
It doesn't. It makes you sound like an asshole.
Several years ago, when my dad was writing his college textbook,Motivation: Biological, Psychological, and Environmental he had to have each chapter reviewed by three
"Highly developed spirits often encounter resistance from mediocre minds," I said, quoting Albert Einstein.
So, Brad, I'm glad you were able to take the negative responses to your wildly popular books, and do something fun with it. My hat is off to you.
And all the reviewers who are not New York bestseller authors can just suck it.
---
Like this post? Leave a comment, Digg it, or Stumble it.