The “Don’t Buy That Book” Meme
December 30, 2008 by Lillie
Mihaela (Mig) Lica at eWritings – Online Public Relations tagged me for the “Don’t Buy That Book Meme.” After being disappointed by a highly-hyped book, Mig asked the questions:
Have You Ever Regretted Buying a Book? Why?
The purpose of the meme is to help fellow bloggers avoid book buying mistakes, a laudable goal. One caveat, though: just because I didn’t like a book doesn’t mean you won’t love it. We all have different tastes and different levels of knowledge. Mig found Small Is the New Big by Seth Godin a waste of time and money. She writes:
Nothing Seth writes about is new under the sun. Literally nothing.
However, she also says:
If you are an experienced marketer, the book will be a bore, and a huge disappointment.
I haven’t read the book and Mig doesn’t make completely clear, but perhaps someone new to marketing would find the book helpful. So when reading my (or anyone else’s) opinion, remember that your experience, knowledge, and interests are different than mine. Weigh those factors when deciding if you would have the same reaction to the book.
I must confess that the books that have disappointed me the most have been the classics. I always think I should love the books that have stood the test of time, but often I don’t.
The lastest disappointment was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This is a novel I thought I should have read years ago but never did. When I finally tried, I disliked the story so much I quit reading after a couple of chapters. I guess I have no patience with hedonism. The characters had no redeeming value as far as I could tell, and reading the story was a bore and a waste of time.
Have you read The Picture of Dorian Gray? What was your reaction?
You could win a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate from Mig if yours is the most interesting entry before the end of January 2009. Read the the rules of the meme at Don’t Buy That Book Meme and write about the book you regret buying.
Lillie,
I agree – one person’s opinion on any book is just that – one person’s opinion. This is why I try to only write about books I enjoyed reading – and I try to remember to say why. That way, other readers will have a little more information. I suppose the same could be true for books I don’t enjoy. I could say so and say why, but I’m not generally comfortable do that. Exceptions are when authors present themselves as experts on a topic. I fully expect those books to be factually accurate. And, if the topic is writing, I expect the book to be well written and engaging.
I wish I had read “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” but I haven’t. Yet.
Char
Charlotte,
I understand writing only about books you like. That is my general policy, also.
I thought this meme was a little something fun to do, but you notice I didn’t criticize any book whose author could read it and be hurt. I have had the experience of being trashed by a reviewer, and I would never do that to another person.
I hope I made it clear that I feel it’s a lack in me that so often I don’t enjoy the classics that have stood the test of time, and I’m curious as to whether other people have that experience. Maybe it’s because I have unrealistic expectations—since they are classics, I expect more of them than any book can deliver. Or maybe it’s just my personal tastes.
When you read The Picture of Dorian Gray, I’d love to know what you thought about it.
WOW! The Portrait of Dorian Gray is one of my favorite books, if not the top of the list.
I could write a book about the book. LOL.
You are right, it is a matter of personal taste, perception and the like. And yes, I was not very clear about Seth’s book. Well… let’s say that I prefer to read blog posts online and not in print. Also, the structure of the book was bad and the style was self aggrandizing, like everything Seth writes…
It’s really annoying to read a “me, me, me!” book. And even more annoying to pay for it.
Mig,
I’m glad to get your reaction to The Picture of Dorian Gray. It’s amazing to see the different reactions we had.
I wasn’t disputing what you said about Seth’s book—I just wanted to make clear that we all have different reactions, just as you and I have such opposite reactions to The Picture of Dorian Gray.
I liked Dorian Gray. I loved the ending. Oooh! I haven’t reviewed that book yet. Next year, my resolution will be to review more classics.
But I know what you mean about classics. It was Moby Dick for me. What a colossal waste of paper and ink. That’s hours of my life I can’t get back. LOL!!
Bluestocking´s last blog post..Keyword Wednesday 3
Bluestocking,
Maybe I didn’t read long enough. I gave up after a couple of chapters. I didn’t get to the end, though I have read summaries of the book, and the ending sounds more interesting than what I read.
I haven’t read Moby Dick—it never even sounded interesting to me. But Dorian Gray did sound interesting—that’s why I was so disappointed.
However, I seem to be in the minority. The only people who have responded that they read have loved it.
This one would be hard for me. I’m so far behind on my reading of current books, I haven’t read a classic in ages. And I don’t want to trash a living author’s book. Not long ago, I might have thought, hey, I can say whatever I want, no one reads my blog. But I’m learning that people do read my blog and look at my website and read my Tweets. I found out today that family members have been reading my Tweets. They don’t belong to Twitter, but they figured out how to go to my home page and read my Tweets. Yikes! Now I’ve got to really censor my Tweets even. I’m even wondering if it’s too late to go back and delete old Tweets. Aakk! I should delete this.
Paranoia strikes again.
Helen Ginger´s last blog post..The Next Generation of E-Readers
Helen,
I had someone tell me she wouldn’t comment on my blog because it is DoFollow, and she didn’t want anyone to find the comments she left. I don’t think she understood what DoFollow means, but beyond that, I warned her that she’d better not say anything anywhere online she doesn’t want someone to find. As you have discovered, people do find what you say and do read it.
Oh, Lillie. It sounds interesting to me, as I never hear about this “Don’t Buy That Book” Meme before…
I’ll check it out and have a peek on it! Thanks for the tips.
wilson´s last blog post..Drinking Water is Not Only For Quench Your Thirst!
wilson,
This is a new meme Mig just started. Since she’s offering a $50 prize, you might want to participate.
The problem with writing about books that you dislike is that it’s simply your individual opinion which frequently goes against many others. For example, I’ve read numerous recommendations from online marketers that ‘Small Is the New Big’ by Seth Godin is a great book.
Like the earlier commenter mentioned, I always just try to stick to recommending books that I like rather than those that I didn’t.
Marketing, is that your first name?
(Note Keyword Luv that allows to leave a real name along with a keyword)
As I said in my post, everyone’s opinion differs. I certainly understand reviewing only books you like. On the other hand, I don’t mind someone giving a negative opinion as long as they aren’t rude or disrespectful.
As an author, I hope everyone loves my books, but I know that’s the case. If a reviewer gives valid criticism, I appreciate it, even though I don’t like it. However, I don’t approve of anyone being insulting or having only negative things to say.
Lillie
With respect to my fellow commentators, I personally would feel perfectly comfortable in reviewing a book which I had disliked.
However, there are two caveats to my above stated opinion.
Firstly, it is important to be crystal clear about why you disliked the book, perhaps explaining which specific parts you disliked most and why.
Second, it is important for the reviewer to be fair and state the positive attributes of the book as well as the aspects which he or she dislikes (I am assuming that reviewers would not finish a book which did not have something positive about it)
Thirdly, as mentioned by yourself as well as some other commentators above, the reviewer must bear in mind that whilst the book may not be interesting or relevant to him, it may certainly be relevant to others. Therefore, I feel that it is important therefore in the interests of fairness for the reviewer to emphasize and highlight this fact, and perhaps describe the type of audience which he or she feels that the book may appeal to.
Andrew´s last blog post..Heads should not necessarily role – this time
Andrew,
Excellent points. Interestingly, you’ve done a good job of describing how to write a book review as outlined in the book on reviewing I reviewed not long ago.
At the risk of sounding like a literary thug, I *usually* find classics tedious. Apparently they didn’t have editors or writers’ workshops back then.
I have a couple Seth Godin books and while I liked Purple Cow, I do feel that he often takes a paragraph and turns it into a book when the idea really didn’t need to be expanded beyond a paragraph.
Lindsay´s last blog post..How to Get Your Article Site up and Running (How to Build Passive Income with Article Sites Pt
Lindsay,
Styles and tastes were certainly different in the past. As I mentioned, the books I have been most disappointed in have often been the classics. Glad to know I’m not the only one.
Lillie, the meme was not as successful as I hoped, despite the prize offered. There were only 2 participants: you and Bluestoking. Both of you came up with some very surprising choices and in my view you are both winners. I think it is only fair that you share the prize. How do you prefer your share? Amazon or PayPal? Please let me know.
Mihaela Lica´s last blog post..Who Is Afraid of Wikia Search?
Mig,
I’m sorry you didn’t get more participation. It was an interesting meme.
Thank you for the prize. I buy books for my Kindle at Amazon, but those are automatically charged to my credit card when I download them. I’m not sure how to use the gift certificate for downloads, so let’s do PayPal (lillie@lillieammann.com).
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