Why I Care What You Think

I’d like to believe I’m a smart author in that I want to learn from my mistakes. That being said, I’m finding that my most important “teacher" is you, the reader. What you say about what you read matters—a lot. That’s where book reviews come in.

By leaving feedback as to how you feel about what you just read on a book’s page at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, wherever, you help your fellow readers discover new authors to love, but you also let authors know what we did good or where we went wrong.

Granted there are professional literary critics out there who look down their noses at reviews given online by paying customers. The pros think you have to have a degree to know when a book is worthwhile or a waste of time. I’m fairly certain that’s bull s***. You don’t have to be an art history major to know whether a certain painting transports you, nor do you have to be a Sorbonne-trained chef to know when you taste good food. So it is that you don’t have to be a New York Times book critic to know when a novel stinks or when it’s made you turn the last page wanting more.

So, if you've read a book recently—mine (Curse Me Not) or whoever’s—and you have just a second, leave a comment behind. Be gentle, be constructive, but be true.