… and why we think that is ok. We recently got a comment about a review of a book that The Right Honorable Harpy Eagle did not finish, but had a lot to say about. Even writing the review was called out to be very reprehensible. We think differently.

Even DNF’ing (Did Not Finish) a book is very difficult for me, the Lady Duck Of Doom. Often, I feel the need to skim the rest of the book so I can say I have “finished” it. This year, I actually managed to put a book away that I really, really did not like. I was incredibly proud, and vowed to do it again. It is an incredible freeing feeling. In this case, writing a review seemed very pointless to me, as I had no feelings whatsoever about anything in this book except that it wasn’t for me. And I was far too lazy to write a review that’s essentially “It’s me not you”.

But sometimes, it is more than “It’s me not you” that makes you not like a book. Sometimes, there are serious issues with a book. Sometimes, there are so many small details that are just wrong, or just not your cup of tea, that you don’t want to finish the book. These issues can be of all kinds, for example representation, logical or timeline flaws and inconsistencies, racism, or just another sci-fi written by a man with only male characters except for one scarcely clad female hologram. These might not be the issues other readers have with the book, but these are your issues.

So are you essentially forbidden to have an opinion about this book, just because you did not make it until the end? It does not make any sense to me. Are you required to invest time in something you already know you do not like to earn the right to have an opinion? In my opinion, no. And in our small blog, we are absolutely allowed to write about it. Of course, you are free to disagree, but it won‘t stop us 🙂