The Accidental Reviewer | Karen Kao
My life as a book reviewer started when I joined Goodreads. I’d been told it would be good for me as an author to connect with my potential readers. If you’re a Goodreads Author (a self-identified category), you can fill your profile with photos and videos, author events and, of course, what you thought of the last book you read or wanted to read or just wanted to comment on. As a Goodreads reviewer, my first task was to assign stars to the books I had read. I decided to limit myself to the books I had read in 2016. All the same, I agonized over the difference between 3 stars and 4. Would the author hate me? Would the author even notice? Hold on, you say. Since when is handing out stars the same thing as writing a book review? I’m glad you asked. Age of Reviews Egyptian burial chamber. Image source: Wikipedia Everyone’s a critic. So it stands to reason that literary criticism has been around since man first set awl to stone. Book reviews, on the other hand, are...