Friday, August 15, 2008  When Authors Obsess Over Reviews by
Amateurs  The Washington Post (online version) has a feature
from this Sunday's edition up already and it should prove to be
a thought provoking piece for those who write book reviews for
various websites. I do sincerely try to be fair in every review
that I write and I don't make a habit of taking cheap shots,
although I imagine it's happened more times than I realize or
intended. In fact, I've had some nice comments from some of the
authors I've most criticized saying that they appreciate honest
reviews and can see the point I was making - and then they
usually tell me why they think I am wrong. Fair enough, that,
and I very much appreciate their willingness to discuss their
work with someone as anonymous as me.  Author Chris Bohjalian
admits to being a little obsessed by the reviews of his books
over at but, thankfully, he still has enough of a sense of humor
to laugh at the absurdity of some of those "reviews." ...there
are few worlds as barbed