Monthly Wrap-Up | January 2016

Make Good Art

by Neil Gaiman

Peter and Alice

by John Logan

Sofia Khan is Not Obliged

by Ayisha Malik

Imagining Ancient Women

by Annabel Lyon

Everything I Never Told You

by Celeste Ng

The Tenderness of Wolves

by Stef Penney

Ms. Marvel, Vol.4: Last Days

by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona

Lumberjanes, Vol.2: Friendship to the Max

by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Brooke Allen

Harrow County, Vol.1: Countless Haints

by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook

How the Marquis Got His Coat Back

by Neil Gaiman

This Strange Way of Dying: Stories of Magic, Desire and the Fantastic

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Transformations

by Anne Sexton

Well 2016 got off to a very good reading start - somehow I managed to read 12 books! The hightlight of January for me was definitely Celeste Ng's debut Everything I Never Told You, which may very well end up being one of the best things I read this year.

With the deaths of David Bowie and Alan Rickman - I'm so sad - January was a bit of a crappy month. I know David Bowie was one of the music industry's greats, but to me he's always been the Goblin King; I always remember Labyrinth as a film that my entire family, my parents, my sisters and I, all sat and watched together, and even though it's so '80s and so cheesy, I still love it. Naturally, I had to watch it when I heard the news about Bowie.

I haven't been able to watch an Alan Rickman film yet. I'm still too sad.

Nimona

by Noelle Stevenson

And Then There Were None

by Agatha Christie

Everything I Never Told You

by Celeste Ng

The Tenderness of Wolves

by Stef Penney

This Strange Way of Dying

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Contemporary YA on my TBR

My New Year Resolutions

Should We Write 'Bad' Reviews?

The 'Boys Will Be Boys' Bullshit

My Most Anticipated Releases of 2016

I started a new job in January! (I almost typed jew nob, which I'm pretty sure is something else entirely...) I'm now a Sales and Marketing Assistant at the University of Wales Press, which are an academic publisher. After working in for a traditional publisher I'm pleased to experience a different strand of the publishing industry, and so far it's really interesting! I've been working on building up their Twitter following, and I'm currently in charge of their social media, including Twitter and Instagram - you should definitely follow us! *hintedyhinthint*

I'm getting up earlier and getting in later than I did for my previous job, so by the time Friday arrives I'm pretty tired - if I don't reply to any comments you leave on any of my posts I promise I'm not being rude, and I do read them, it just takes me a little longer to reply at the moment because all I want to do is sleep. I will reply eventually, though, I promise!

My parents and I also went to the ballet in January to see a production of The Snow Queen. I love going to the ballet, and this was such a charming production; the costumes were beautiful, and they had this really cool trick of making the room feel freezing whenever the Snow Queen came on stage. It was a really fun evening!

Mikayla @ Mikayla's Bookshelf talked about Six YA Cliches and Why She Doesn't Mind Them

Beth @ The Quiet People talked about Why LGBTQ Themes in YA Sometimes Make Her Uncomfortable (read her post before you jump to conclusions!)

Catherine @ Based on the Book talked about Shy Characters in Fiction

What did you get up to in January?

Should We Write 'Bad' Reviews?

It's rare that we go into books expecting to dislike them. Unless we're having to read them for school or something along those lines, pretty much every book we pick up should be a book we think we're going to enjoy; we've certainly liked the sound of it enough to pick it up and give it a try, whether we've bought it or borrowed it. Sadly, we can't like everything. Sometimes it's a matter of personal taste, and sometimes the book is just awful for whatever reason, whether it's the content or the way it's written.

So on those occasions when we don't enjoy a book, how do we respond? Should we write 'bad' reviews?

One of the great things about not only bloggers, but people in general, is that, naturally, we all differ. Some bloggers write and share their negative reviews, some write them but don't share them, and some only write reviews which are positive. The most important thing to mention here is that there is no right answer. Every blogger reviews differently, and every blogger has the right to post whatever kind of content they like on their own blog; that's why it frustrates me when I see bloggers apologising at the beginning of a negative review.

When it comes to receiving books to review, some bloggers will only share their review if it's positive because that is what the publisher has requested. I can understand why - you don't tend to see 'it was only okay' on the front of the latest bestseller in much the same way you don't see '90 minutes of my life I'll never get back' on the trailer for the latest blockbuster. As a Marketing Assistant in the publishing industry, I can confirm from experience that publishers are not about to put anything but a glowing review on their website.

Personally, though, I think 'bad' reviews are important. I've written a few myself! I don't think reviewers should feel obligated to say something good about a book they've received from a publisher or an author; we're sent books in exchange for our honest opinion, and if your opinion is more negative than the publisher might like that doesn't mean it's invalid. 

I don't have a problem at all with publishers requesting that reviewers don't post a negative review while the book is being publicised - just because I didn't like a book doesn't mean someone else won't, after all - but once that window of publicity is gone, there's nothing wrong with sharing a negative review.

I think the most important thing about writing a negative review is knowing the difference between giving an honest review and being cruel. I'm a writer myself; I'm not a published novelist, so I'm no expert, but I can easily imagine how it might feel to see a very negative review of something you've poured your heart and soul into creating. Authors must know that when a reviewer criticises a book they aren't criticising them.

Reviewers don't write negative reviews just for the sake of being negative - we want to like the books we read very much! But if we don't we have the right to explain why.

Plus let's not forget that it's in very, very rare cases that reviewers can find nothing positive to say about a book. I can usually find one or two things I liked about a book I wasn't overly keen on, even if it's just something as simple as liking the way the dialogue was written.

Personally, I find negative reviews quite helpful. I sound like such a granny, but these days when I go onto Goodreads the first few reviews just seem to be full of GIFs and exclamation marks and claims of 'book boyfriend 5ever'. Obviously this isn't always the case, but I do see it a lot, and that is not a helpful review. Negative reviews, if nothing else, are honest, and I'd much rather read a fair and balanced review than anything else, because they're much more likely to give me an idea of whether or not I'm going to like the book.

Ultimately, everyone's opinions differ and everyone's tastes are different. It's because of this that we need negative reviews as much as we need the glowing ones. So next time you find yourself having to write a negative review, don't apologise! Your opinion is valid, and I want to hear what you have to say.

It's 2014!

But you already know that because you're all clever.

What does 2014 have in store for you? For me it's what I'm pretty sure is going to be my final year in full time education when I finish my MA in August/September. The impending completion of my MA will also mean that this year I'll be beginning my search for full time employment. Aah!

This year I'm also aiming to complete my current WIP Bloodroot and Bracken. This is my historical/paranormal novel, and extracts of it are going to make up my MA portfolio. I'm thinking of writing some regular updates of my novel's progress here, not only to keep my blog constantly active but also to encourage me on those days when writing isn't coming easily!

Speaking of this blog, one of my New Year's resolutions this year is to make sure I post something here at least once a week. It could be anything from a book review to a personal post to advice for people looking into postgraduate study - anything!

This shouldn't be too much of a problem given that 2014 looks like it's going to be a pretty busy year. Along with my novel writing, MA pursuing and job hunting I also have some work experience in the publishing industry lined up, so that's very exciting! So far I have two placements, and I'm hoping to hear back from a possible third soon.

All three of these placements are in South Wales, where my parents live, until I have the money to afford work experience in one of the publishing houses in London. But the way I see it experience is experience, and I'm really excited!

And, of course, I'm looking forward to what I'm sure is going to be a year of great reading!