Re: [lace] Re: Book reviews
I didn't say anything about the review books as "donations" - My remarks evidently are misunderstood. So sorry to have taken up everyone's time.. back to lacemaking On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 2:50 PM, wrote: > > > -- Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
Re: [lace] Re: Book reviews
<> If the book has been given in return for writing a positive review, shouldn't there be a disclaimer? I have always been under the impression that the review was being written for the benefit of those subscribing to the magazine, not as a "paid" advertisement intended to benefit the author and possibly the club library. If those people who pay for the magazine are not the intended beneficiaries of the review then they should realize this. In fact, perhaps the review should appear on a page designated for advertisements or the editor could "box" the review, with a notation that "this positive review was written in return for a copy of the book to be put in our librar y". Arguably, a book donated with the explicit requirement of a positive review should be returned, unread, to the author or major book publisher with a note about the journalistic integrity of the publication. Otherwise the readers of the publication have no reason to believe any of the reviews. The ruse of trading a book for a positive review only works when the readership thinks the process isn't rigged. The reader places greater trust in the review than in an advertisement because they believe a review is impartial and written for the benefit of the reader. An advertisement has less impact. When the author suggests that the book is being donated in return for a positive review, the answer should be, "We cannot promise a positive review. Do you want us to return the book, or would you like us to review it?" I would imagine most authors would prefer to have the free exposure of the book in the content area of the magazine rather than none, as in "there is no such thing as bad publicity." Even a negative review often contains information in it that may signal that the book would be of interest to some readers. Likewise, the presence of the book in the library is a form of exposure in that it allows readers to evaluate it themselves and buy it if they think it suits their needs. Of course, if the author doesn't want to take the chance of a poor review, but does want to inform the lace community of the book's existence, there is always the option of paying for an advertisement, properly understood to be an advertisement, instead. If people think that the content of the magazine is not being written for the benefit of the readers why would they pay to subscribe to the magazine? You don't pay to subscribe to an advertising circular. Devon - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
[lace] Re: Book reviews
Hello Jane and everyone The examples you've given, Jane, are presented in an objective manner, offering the potential buyer an *informed opinion*. Disadvantages such as expense to purchase and ship aren't a fault of the book, but should be pointed out of course, as useful information for the reader. That isn't being negative! By the way, I'm quoting correspondence from several lace book authors and one major book publisher regarding writing a positive review in return for having their book(s) in the library. That brings me to remark that if one purchases the book outright, one can write quite a personal review, taking a negative slant if appropriate, of course saying so as the owner of the book. For books sold for charity, it is nice to buy one's own copy, and write a review to encourage others to purchase. On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 10:45 AM, Mousie wrote: > An honest review gives the pros and the cons, otherwise you might just as > well copy the notes from the dust jacket or publisher's publicity. > > > Like I say, if the reviewer finds that the book merits a lot of negative > comment, it would be unfair for the group to keep it in their library. > > > -- Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
[lace] Re: book reviews
Hi All, I appreciate hearing about new and old books. I do buy from time to time and find the book reviews from lacemakers very helpful. The books are very important to making lace. One of the best tools we have here in the U.S. of A. where the guilds are spread so far apart. My thanks to those who take the time. Susie Morris, IL - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003 - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
