Disappearing Reviews for Fearless Fourteen on BN.com

A friendly person from an online book group emailed me with some ire, though not directed at us (always nice!). Seems she’s teed off because earlier last week, the fourteenth installment of the Stephanie Plum series, which hits stores 17 June, had a three-star ranking on BN.com, with a large portion of the 29 individuals who read an advance copy discussing how disappointed they are in the latest Plum installment.

But as of Friday, there are 11 ratings, all of them four to five stars, with more than a few from people who slapped that puppy with a fiver merely to indicate how excited they are that the book is coming out, omg, wow!!!11! According to the person who contacted me, there were 30 reviews up on Tuesday 20 May.  Wednesday 21 May there were 9.  2 more glowing reviews have been added since.  1 negative review was posted on Thursday 22 May and removed on Friday 23 May.  Scroll through the reviews posted and look at the dates.  They’re a jumbled mess, in no order whatsoever.  Never seen that before.

BN.com is one of the few places where you can review a book online prior to its release date. Amazon.com’s listing for the book indicates a five-star rating as well, but there are no reviews of the book listed on the book’s page on Amazon. (Where are those stars coming from anyway?)

However, there is a customer discussion that is less than impressed with the book, which echoes discussions on Shelfari and on Powell’s.

Can I just say I am so absurdly amused by the “How can you hate this book you are a moronnnnnn!” shreiking that comes along like a sidecar of idiocy in threads like those? It’s like the creature opposite of the squeeing fangirl: the shrieking fangirl. How dare you dislike her favorite author! Fangirl powers, activate – form SHREIKING HARPY BANSHEE!

Which is why my eyebrow is raised at the email from the bookclub miss. On Monday, there were 29 comments. Today: only 11, all of them five stars, or four.
Google Cache powers, activate!

If I Google “Fearless fourteen boring” there are several results, including one that quotes Evanovich’s “Meet the Author” page, and one that references the following phrase: “Like many fans, I was willing to overlook that boring, poorly written book…”

Take a look. (note: popup window! Oh noes!)

If I Google that specific phrase, which appears to be a review quote for Fearless Fourteen, an identical excerpt shows up in the Google info but is nowhere to be found on the BN.com page.

Additional Google-fu provided by Jane revealed a negative review from “Tired” in the Google cache, but the active link for that page does not show the review.

There are several review texts that appear in the cache but not in the current BN page.

The hardcover isn’t the only page with disappearing reviews, either. The CD version also has a then/now version discrepancy revealed courtesy of The Cache of Google. Here’s the cache version showing 12 reviews, and here’s the current version of the page , which shows 11. Note the top review on the cached page – it’s no longer on the site, though I don’t see any options to remove your own reviews once they’ve been posted.

Obviously, it’s in BN’s best interest to have higher ranking books for sales purposes, but who gets to say which books have the negative and low-starred reviews removed prior to a book’s release? Who has that kind of power? The publisher? The author? BN.com? Based on what criteria are bad reviews removed from people who appear to have actually read the book, while reviews from people who are merely slapping the fiver out of anticipation are left active? And why is it some authors have negatives removed while other authors with not quite the same sales powers have to fight and beg to have spoiler reviews removed? What, in short, is up with that?

Comments are Closed

  1. Cat Marsters says:

    I’m greatly saddened by tales of readers boycotting authors who are simply pointing out the realities of the publishing business and standing up for their right to be paid.

    It was recently proposed that a small duty could be levied on second-hand books, which could be used to renumerate authors in the same way as PLR (I don’t know about other countries, but here in the UK books aren’t subject point-of-sales tax like other new goods).  That way, readers could buy books cheaply, and authors needn’t lose out.

  2. Jana Oliver says:

    As an author I can see both sides of the coin. I’d love to get a little bit of cash each time someone read my book. It’d sure help with the cost of ink cartridges, paper, travel to conventions, etc. On the flip side, I can see the “Ford doesn’t get a cut out of each used Mustang sold” analogy.

    I do admit to buying used books. If I find I love a particular author’s work, then I buy new from then on as my way of supporting that author so they don’t give up writing and resort to flipping burgers at Mickey D’s to earn more money. It’s not a perfect solution, but it works for me.

  3. Mary says:

    Ms. Marsters,

    Or the line “I might never find you otherwise.”, could simply read to mean if it hadn’t been for that particular used book store, I’d have never found those particular authors. Just as I intended it to mean. Again, it’s all in the way you look at something.
    Write a great story and I’ll do my best to find it, where ever it is.

  4. michelle says:

    Often its not what you say but the way you say it.  I love my librarys used book store where they sell donated books or library discards.  I will try a new author for 35 cents when I won’t for 7.99.  If I find a new author I love I will then buy their books new.  Also for my favorite authors I will often buy cheap copies to try to convert people into fans.  I have stopped loaning out my keepers because you never know if you will get them back or what shape they will be in.

  5. Not going to jump into the “ethics of used book stores” debate other than to say I wish Amazon wouldn’t put the used books on the same damn page as the new ones.  Especially since the used ones seem to go up as soon as or sometimes even before the book actually comes out—how the frick does that even happen, anyway???  My last book had 3 used copies available for sale on Amazon’s page before I even got my author copies in the mail.  What.  The.  Hell?  Can someone explain that to me?

  6. … okay, I’m a liar, I’ll say something else on the subject.  The only time I’ve actually gotten pissed about the “used books” thing was when a friend’s roommate told me she’d gotten 4 of my books and read them and loved them.  I started to smile and say thank you, and then she proudly added that she’d pirated them all so she didn’t pay a dime.  “Pretty cool, huh?”

    Um.  No.  Actually, so NOT cool, really.  She looked a little surprised at my sudden speechlessness and whatever look came over my face, not to mention the silence that fell in the room.  Then my lovely friend jumped in (while I was luckily still finding my voice) and explained to her that she’d basically just reached into my wallet, taken my lunch money, and then bragged about it to the room at large.  She was extremely embarrassed and bought me dinner to make up for it, so hopefully that means she’s actually purchased any subsequent books I’ve put out.  She probably has.  I really think she honestly didn’t think about it before it was pointed out to her.

    Wish I could say that’s an isolated incident.  In fact, I had the exact same thing happen just a couple months ago—when I complained that I’d found my entire backlist on an illegal download site and was writing to God and everyone to get it disabled.  Instead of sympathy or shared outrage, I got this response:  “Ooh, great!  What’s the url?  I want to download them before that link gets taken down!”  And this person?  WAS MY MOTHER.  *headdesk*  She can’t squeak by on the “she just didn’t know” excuse—I don’t even know what the crap was in her head with that one.  *makes face of utter bewilderment*

    Yes, I know these are examples of ebook piracy and not technically the same animal.  Point is, I can understand how emotions can run high when money’s involved.  It’s one of the biggest hot button issues around, always has been, always will be.  You’ve got authors on one side, mostly broke, all working hard to make a product and hoping to be compensated for it, and readers on the other side, also mostly broke, and all trying to stretch a limited entertainment budget as far as they can.  Who’s right?  Like lots of things, it depends on your point of view.

    What I want to know is, how can I get my books into libraries that pay that lending fee?  Because that seems like an excellent middle ground to my mind, and my checking account could use all the help it can get.

  7. Willa says:

    Seeing as libraries, at least in the US, have been closing down left and right due to slashed federal funding, looking to them for a lending fee might not be your best bet.

  8. Denni says:

    Pirated books totally get my goat…and I’m a reader, not an author.  I love books, buy new books, buy used books, buy e-books, trade my used books, active at my local libarary…but pirating is just STEALING.  My ratio of new book purchases to other reading material (library, used, trades, library) is maybe 50/50 ish.

    Cat..if it’s important to you that you get paid for every single book copy, and those copies cannot then legally change hands, maybe you should consider selling your work to an e-publisher.  That seems to come the closest to your expectations.

  9. Wayward says:

    I’d love to be able to buy the works of my favourite authors fresh off the rack to support them and their endeavors.

      Got a time machine?  Most of ‘em died before I was born.

      ( No, reprint volumes are of limited use to me – it’s always the same stories over and over again.  Used bookstores are the only place I can find the more obscure works I don’t already own. )

  10. Cat Marsters says:

    Denni, I’m with three e-publishers.  Hence, I understand all about piracy.

    I apologise for offending anyone’s right to buy books cheaply.  I like buying books cheaply.  I don’t have a lot of money.  I don’t like wasting what I do have.  And I know something has to be done with used books or they’ll all get turned into toilet paper (although personally there are some books I’d consider quite fit for that purpose).

    My point was simply this: that authors (unlike car manufacturers or clothes designers) are paid in royalties.  Their income depends on every new book sold.  Publishers make marketing decisions based on bookstore figures.  They might even decide not to buy an author’s next book if it hasn’t sold well enough—if people are waiting for the books to turn up used.  Very few authors have the financial security to deal with the loss of even a few sales.

    I’m simply trying to make people realise how people who write for a living earn their money, and ask readers to think about supporting them financially by buying new books whenever possible.  Buy a new book: the author gets paid.  Buy it used: the author gets nothing.  It’s that simple.

  11. Nora Roberts says:

    ~And this person? WAS MY MOTHER.~

    Oh, the pain!!

    Hate piracy.

    I’ve got no problem with used books. I’ve been paid (and thanks), and whoever bought it owns it, and can give it away, sell it, trade it or lend it to their neighbor. They just can’t make copies of it and sell them over and over, which is how I equate piracy.

    I also appreciate that many readers, if they enjoy the author’s work when they pick up something used, will then buy future releases or backlist new.

    I agree, and strongly, about Amazon’s used/new books on the same page being a crap deal for writers. Sell the used ones, fine, but jeez, don’t list them right there with the new. And yeah, HOW do they get them used before or basically at the same time of release?

    While I don’t agree with authors who object to used books, I can see why they object. Boycotting those who do for stating their opinion seems harsh.

  12. Sarah W says:

    This controversy over reviews at Amazon and B&N;just reaffirms my love of http://www.goodreads.com/ There the reviews are distinct from sales and are much less likely to be influenced by publishers or authors. In addition, one can see what your friends have thought about a given book before the mass of people you don’t know. So when I’m considering reading a specific title I can see if people who I know share my taste liked it.

    While I’m not an author, I do work in a library, and I thus have a hard time seeing what is so bad about them for authors. The library system that I am in purchases large quantities of most titles, and repurchases them when they fall apart from use or poor construction. We automatically purchase large quantities of books by popular authors, regardless of reviews because they will circulate. It is true that it would be better for authors if all the patrons went out and bought their own copies, but many of our patrons can not afford to purchase the quantity they read. Most patrons use the library to discover new authors, try out new genres, but mostly for the internet computers.

  13. Thorn says:

    With practices like this coming from BN and Amazon, Librarything.com is an oasis in the desert.  Over there, NO ONE censors reviews (we may flag them, but not erase them).  If a book sucks, it sucks and we don’t care how many people know it.  A review is tied to a personal catalog and that is part of your data record; only you control it.  Because LT is not interested in sales, there is no axe to grind over money.  Refreshing.

  14. Georgiasblu says:

    Miss Roberts,
    I have recently bought a car, a computer, clothing, books and groceries.  The car dealer didn’t seem interested in selling to a woman with a latino last name so I took my purchase elsewhere.  My one right as a consumer is that I can choose whom I give my money too.  If a writer complains that her readers shouldn’t share books with friends, then that is a writer who will not get my dollars.  Over the years I’ve shared many a book and that person went on to purchase more books from that author.  To you it may seem harsh ,to me it’s exercising my consumer rights.  This is the internet age and opinions and blogs spread quickly.  We all, are responsible for our words and actions.  I guess it’s time to pull out the big girl pants. 

    I’ve spent a great deal of money with BN both online and in local stores and that too will come to a screeching halt.  If they pick and choose whose reviews they choose to allow to be posted then I’ll go elsewhere.  No where on the BN site do they state they will not post reviews before a book is released.  This leads me to believe they want to be free to manipulate reader opinion and cash flow particularly in the case of an author like Evanovich.  I was told once that SMP and Evanovich sells 13% of her books online with 40% of that going to BN.  Is that worth alienating customers?  It appears so.

    Sarah,
    I recently discovered Goodreads.  However I have some concerns about the security.  Last night I received a message from someone wanting to talk books but I realized it was a phishing scam when they asked for my gmail password.

  15. Willa says:

    Count me in as another annoying harsh reader who won’t purchase any books from an author who publicly states something I oppose, find objectionable, or who just plain annoys me in turn. I just can’t bring myself to buy something by them. Authors might not like it, but it’s not going to change. What a person says publicly has repercussions.

  16. Nora Roberts says:

    Every reader has the right to choose—what books to buy, what authors to read. Certainly they have every right NOT to buy.

    Readers have opinions. So do authors. Agree or disagree.

    I’m simply of the mindset that it seems harsh to boycott an author (one the reader may very well enjoy) because of that author’s opinion on a particular subject.  I never said annoying. I said it seemed harsh to me.

    But I’d never argue with any reader’s right to do so.

    Certainly everyone—including authors—has to own the opinions they express in public. I have no problem owning mine.

    I guess I can (and do) disagree with objections from my colleagues regarding used books without their objections pissing me off. I can think they’re wrong on this particular issue and still respect and enjoy their work.

  17. Willa says:

    Ack, my first “annoying” adjective in my last post was awfully passive-aggressive. Eeek! *embarrassed*

  18. Arethusa says:

    This is completely off-topic, by the by.

    I’m not sympathetic to creators who seek to limit the means by which people can legally obtain their work. Encourage one to buy new, certainly. Swoop in to criticize one’s purchasing habits without any knowledge of the person’s financial situation or location in regards to book availability and give the impression one is knocking bread from someone’s mouth as he/she trembles on the verge of starvation?

    I guess I’m too jaded by the starving author stories (of this kind). Whenever I see them I want to wrap them all in a bundle and drop them over at Booksquare. Do publishers get any of this, maybe someone gets on soapboxes about possibly imbalanced share of money on the product, or do they just think of new ways to charge the audience because we’re a less united front?

    It’s at least heartening to see that the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) isn’t on board with this stuff. I’d rather this “modest duty” had been placed on used stores—for-profit outifts, for heaven’s sake—rather than poor libraries. I’ll have to look it up some more but according to the IFLA site these “renumeration” payments aren’t even considered to be royalties.
    http://www.ifla.org/III/clm/p1/PublicLendingRigh.htm

    Edit: Are these libraries paying extra on the visual and audio material they have too?!

  19. Nora Roberts says:

    Let me say, again, I’ve got no problem with used books. In fact, I see a pretty strong pro side when it comes to used books.

    I agree, authors don’t know the readers’ financial situation, and I think it’s unwise to criticize the reader for buying used (regardless of the reader’s financial situation.) But some authors have VERY strong opinions against the used book market. I think they should be free to express those opinions and state their reasonings.

    At the same time, it’s doubtful the reader knows the author’s financial situation. Maybe it is fairly grim.

    But I just see all this as completely irrelevent. It’s not the author’s job to worry about the reader being able to afford enough books to satisfy her. It’s not the reader’s job to worry about the author’s financial status.

    It’s the author’s job to write the best book she can (with the hope, undoubtedly, that readers will flock to the bookstore and buy it). It’s the reader’s choice to buy or not, and where to make the purchase.

    As I see it, writer’s job; reader’s choice. That’s the way of the world.

    Used bookstores are perfectly legal. So are yard sales and flea markets.

    I personally feel libraries are a continuing miracle.

  20. Arethusa says:

    Oh, I’m not out to restrict anyone from giving their opinions. And I’m at least happy to note that for PLR in some countries (well Canada, which is the only one I checked for selfish reasons ;)) the money comes from the government rather than the libraries.

    The first draft of my comment, actually, was about how my relationship as a reader is to the book first, last, always because I’m not running a Support The Author business (*once those books lower in quality I bail). One thing that I see as an uncomfortable side effect for the authors and readers together online dealie—especially for the romance community in which persons from the two groups are buddies—is that this (professional? dunno what to call it) relationship becomes blurred and one becomes worried that innocent critical book commentary get blown up into vendettas…but I thought I’d come across as a cold bitch.

    So thanks for saying it in a nicer way. 😀

    (In the interests of upholding this site’s reputation as a Nora Roberts Butt Kissing community: after a long break I picked up your Angels Fall to see if I was still burnt out. (I’ve read your books since I was, like, 12 or something.) Au contraire it sent me combing through your back list for rereads and books I hadn’t read along with the purchase of High Noon. So thank you very much because I’ve been having a hard time with romance books lately; and for being so professional that you’re one among a few authors online that I don’t feel I have to tip toe around when it comes to their writing.)

    *This isn’t strictly true. There are authors I’d buy from during the weaker creative times because their better books have earned them that grace (but it IS borrowed time). I can’t explain why I still buy Shannon McKenna.

  21. francois says:

    I like to support my favourite authors by buying new (and also because I can’t wait to get their books!). But after hearing authors (or indeed anyone) whining about how their job doesn’t pay enough, I wonder why they don’t get another job instead because they’re probably not suited to working in the arts. Imagine how much more authors would be paid if all the people that thought it didn’t pay enough actually gave it up. A worldwide writer shortage could do wonders for the ones left.

    A writing career has a lot of positives about it as regards location, hours and personal expression. If the negatives outweigh the positives for you, for goodness sakes don’t whine to your customers. Why not try a boring office job like the rest of us? It sounds like the secure financial package would suit you better. Sure it would be nice if you got more money for writing – wouldn’t we all like to get more money for our jobs, regardless of moral issues, the contracts we’ve signed and general good sense?

    [sorry, this sounds like I’m talking at someone in particular – honestly not. This is a general rant!]

  22. Lesley says:

    I read the ARC of Fearless Fourteen and wrote a less than favorable review of the book at BN which was removed from their website a few days later along with the other less than favorable reviews. My review did not reveal any spoilers, nor did I attack the author in any way. My only comments were regarding my disappointment in the plot and humor of this particular book.

    My issue with the disappearing reviews is this: If a online bookseller allows prerelease reviews, allow all of them. Removing reviews of those who have read the book and leaving up

    reviews

    of those who have not read the book and rate the as

    excellent

    is misleading, and the practice is discrinimatory.

    The situation with BN has me outraged, and calls into question the validity of excellent reviews of other books. I can also say that I will now spend my book buying dollars elsewhere.

  23. Lesley says:

    UGH. Sorry about the poor formatting. It will be better next time!

  24. Nora Roberts says:

    Personally, I don’t think my butt gets kissed nearly enough. Here or anywhere. I call for more butt kissing.

    But I’m delighted you enjoyed Angels Fall.

    ~But after hearing authors (or indeed anyone) whining about how their job doesn’t pay enough, I wonder why they don’t get another job ~

    I agree with this, particularly with the ‘or indeed anyone’ because—at the risk of annoying some readers—it doesn’t engage my sympathies to have a reader say they’re voracious, they love, love, love to read….but they’re on a budget, they can’t afford, they have a limited income.

    Buy used, that’s your right—I won’t complain (have never complained), but I don’t need (or especially want) to have this justified to me—anymore than I need to have an author complain about her finances.

    Both complaints are, undoubtedly, perfectly true and reasonable. Just not relevant to me.

    But I do think if it’s generally considered okay for readers to use this rationale, it’s pretty much okay for writers to whine about their dented income if that’s the reason for their opinion. Not smart, imo, because the writer has something she hopes to sell. The reader is the one she hopes to sell it to. And whining (or whatever term you use) tends to piss the reader off.

    I once debated, extensively, with another writer about used books. She was extremely angry with me by the end of it because I had no problem with the concept, and boy, she did. I never got was she was so angry because I didn’t agree on this issue. I wasn’t angry with her, and could—on some levels—at least see where she was coming from. She could not see where I stood, on any level.

    And now that I’ve written all this, the light dawns. It’s not a hot button for me. It’s just a fact of life. But it IS a hot button for many authors and many readers. And hot buttons get the blood up.

    So . . . carry on.

  25. Arethusa says:

    I agree with this, particularly with the ‘or indeed anyone’ because—at the risk of annoying some readers—it doesn’t engage my sympathies to have a reader say they’re voracious, they love, love, love to read….but they’re on a budget, they can’t afford, they have a limited income.

    Definitely agree with that, too. I don’t know what would possess me to tell the author anything unless I was in fan girlish mode and wanted to express me true devotion a la “I ate ramen noodles for a month so I could buy all your books in hardcover!” or something. In that case I wouldn’t be looking sympathy…just giving TMI. 🙂 It’s not an issue.

  26. GrowlyCub says:

    Not smart, imo, because the writer has something she hopes to sell. The reader is the one she hopes to sell it to. And whining (or whatever term you use) tends to piss the reader off.

    That’s exactly it.  Many would like to declare the reader-writer relationship equal, but in reality readers are customers and authors are salespeople and it’s just never a good idea to make a customer feel bad about their buying decisions.

    I agree it’s harsh not to buy books by authors whose online behavior one doesn’t like, but that’s just the way I’m wired.  Once the author has put his/her foot in in a significant enough manner, I cannot divorce their behavior from their works any longer.  I know plenty of readers for whom this is not the case.  In a way I envy them, because I’ve lost a number of authors over the 15 years of my internet reader-writer experience whose past books I enjoyed tremendously. 

    spamword: theory39 No, not a theory, I make it a practice.

  27. But after hearing authors (or indeed anyone) whining about how their job doesn’t pay enough, I wonder why they don’t get another job instead

    Well, 99% of the authors I know do have another job.  They’d like to make more from their writing so they can quit that day job and write full-time, and I certainly count myself among that number.  Other than Nora, I wonder how many full-time writers are here?  I’m certainly not—after about 50 hours a week at the “real job,” whatever I make off my books is a bonus for me.  I sure as hell don’t make my budget around it.

    Bitching about pay is everywhere.  I hear it at the grocery store, at work, in line at the gas pumps, on the radio, read it on blogs, etc.  Seems like people in the arts get an especially bad rap for doing it, though.  Does anyone stop going to their doctor, for example, if they overhear the nurse complaining that she needs a raise and management isn’t about to cough one up?  Go to a different grocery store because the checker gave TMI on her bills while ringing up your toilet paper and bananas?  I doubt it.

    But since authors *do* get this kind of reaction, I think they’d would be smart to keep their financial frustrations to themselves.  Big girl panties on, my finances = my business and no one else’s, and move along. 

    On a semi-related note, have any other authors noticed how many people think it’s okey-dokey fine to ask you how much you made off X or Y book?  What the hell’s with that, anyway?  Last I checked, they weren’t offering information on their Christmas bonus to the general public and it’s considered bad form to ask, yet apparently that’s out the window for authors.  Huh?

  28. Willa says:

    This is almost entirely off-topic, but I LOOOOOVED the Stephanie Plum series at Hot Six, with High Five and Seven Up, etc. being almost as hilarious. The books were just hysterical!

    After about book 8 the humor felt more and more flat to me, sadly, and Lean Mean Thirteen felt like it had been written by a very bored JE zombie clone, with all of the humor fizzled and gone, the characters pale shades of their former selves (shedding a tear for Plum and co.).

    So, question: What series/books/author can I go to for hilarious, laughed-so-hard-you-cried stories? Romance, mystery, I don’t care what genre, but I really miss laughing so loud dogs barked in sympathy next door.

    Any suggestions?

  29. Randi says:

    I think there is a disconnect from the author’s pov about used bookstores, and it is this: readers who LIKE an author, personally or just written works, go out of their way to buy new when they can afford to, because we like to support our authors. We readers KNOW you make your living off of writing, and I think (maybe I’m wrong), that the majority of readers really would like to support their authors.

    But new bookstores don’t always carry a full booklist. i.e. For months and months, I couldn’t get a CT Adams book at B&N;. They just weren’t carrying her, or maybe they were just selling out really quickly. So, I went to amazon and bought them used. However, I really like CT Adams and will buy her new WHEN I CAN FIND HER. Or, when Keri Arthur came our with her Riley series, I really wanted her backlist. But no ones sells it. It’s not printed anymore. So I had to buy it used. Is that my fault that a backlist doesn’t get reprinted? and should I, the reader, abstain from reading a backlist simply because it isn’t printed anymore? Likewise, I have not been able to find High Noon, by Nora, or the earlier Gregor books. ANYWHERE.*grumble* I’d like to give Nora some royalties, but if my only option for getting backlisted or new books, is through a used bookstore, a yard sale, or Vincent Du Paul, I’m gonna buy it there.

  30. Melissa says:

    So, question: What series/books/author can I go to for hilarious, laughed-so-hard-you-cried stories? Romance, mystery, I don’t care what genre, but I really miss laughing so loud dogs barked in sympathy next door.

    Any suggestions?

    Jenny Crusie would be a good place to start.  Especially “Manhunting”, “Anyone But You”, “Welcome to Temptation” and “Agnes and the Hitman” (co-written with Bob Mayer).  All four titles had scenes that made me laugh out loud, and were so good that I bought archival copies (new!) as well as reading copies.

    Julie Garwood’s “The Secret” had funny scenes between the heroine and her best friend, especially when they were children. The opening chapter made me laugh out loud in the bookstore, and convinced me not to wait to buy it.

    I’ll check when I get home and see if I can find a few more for you.

  31. Sarah W says:

    On a semi-related note, have any other authors noticed how many people think it’s okey-dokey fine to ask you how much you made off X or Y book?  What the hell’s with that, anyway?  Last I checked, they weren’t offering information on their Christmas bonus to the general public and it’s considered bad form to ask, yet apparently that’s out the window for authors.  Huh?

    I work in a library and people ask me all the time how I got the job, how much I make, and how can they get the job. I once had an elderly man ask who I knew and what I had to do to get my entry level job when his daughter couldn’t get even an interview. I was a bit flabbergasted—I hadn’t been working there long and wasn’t used to that question.  Some people just have different considerations of what is tactful and appropriate!

    Personally, I’d like to advocate some of the great ways libraries actually support authors—frequently we have lots of back list titles that can satisfy ravenous readers and we introduce new readers every day. As a librarian, I’ve frequently been asked “do you have anything good to recommend?” Not only that, but a lot of libraries offer space for new and local authors to publicize and gain feedback. This summer we will be having a first time YA novelist visit some of our branches to talk with our teens and get their responses to her novel. Certainly this means we will be acquiring more copies for our system, and likely teens who are lucky to meet the author will go out and buy her book.

  32. Willa says:

    Melissa, thanks for the recs!

    I love Crusie’s early novels; Getting Rid of Bradley is so funny and so cute. Her later works don’t affect me as much, unfortunately. I’ll have to give her collaboration books a try.

    And I’m putting your Garwood rec on my immediate list, thank you! Sounds very promising!

  33. Erik Chase says:

    I’m not big on review sites, I like reading the book first then seeing what other people have said about the book.  I think the reviews can affect what you think about the book prior to reading and during.  Let your mind think for itself, that’s what I say!

  34. Jablonski says:

    With all due respect, i before e except after c. Thus, “shrieking” not “shreiking”.

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