The title of this post says that all books are bad. At this point, I'm sure millions of fangirls are screaming all around the world, but I'm still not going to take it back, because it's true. Yes, there are books I like, maybe even love. There are well-written books, there are books with good characters, there are books with amazing world-building, etc. And every single one of them is bad.
What do I mean by bad? I mean that no matter how great a book is, there will be someone, probably several someones, who hate it. Sometimes it's me, sometimes it's you, sometimes it's one of those fangirls who have just stopped screaming to give me a suspicious stare. And that's something that all authors and all readers are going to have to deal with.
I don't mean to discourage you from liking a book. Books are great. Loving books is great. Going insane over a book is... okay, I can't say that's great. But if it makes you happy, go for it. Books, whether you're reading or writing, are for you, no matter what all those writing sites might say. Even when writing for a target audience, somehow it leads back to you.? Maybe it's paying your bills, or maybe it makes you happy to see others enjoying your work, but always it somehow makes you happy. Reading a book is also always something that will make you happy (admit it, it feels good to complain loudly about how boring a book is when you don't want to read it). And that is good.
It is my firm belief that there is going to be something wrong with every single book* ever written. Maybe I think that the chapter The Council of Elrond in The Lord of the Rings is the best chapter there ever was (as it happens, I don't, although I often make that claim because if I'm going to have a favorite chapter it amuses me to claim that one), but I still don't deny that it is long, boring, and it's unlikely that anyone would notice if it was taken out of the book.
You're probably wondering what the point of all of this is. It all comes back to my purpose here: reviewing books. I am probably going to be heavy on the negative side of things when reviewing. That's just how I am. But what I'm asking you to do here is understand that we're two different people, and when I insult you favorite book, that's my perception of how it is. I'm not asking you to agree with me, I'm simply sharing my opinion in order to help other people decide whether they're the type of person who would like the book. I'm insulting the book, not you. So when you argue, I ask that you defend the book, rather than counter-insulting me.
*When I say book, I mean novel. If there is something wrong with a textbook, holy book, encyclopedia, dictionary, or any other book of that type, someone other than me is going to have to find it.
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