Call me what you will, but I am not impressed with book reviews that use obscenities. I find them annoying...like a mosquito buzzing around my head.
Some of the language I've encountered while working on a project...
Example: "This book was zombie-fucking-tastic! ..."
Example: "Holy. Fucking. Shit. ...Anyway. I'm not quite done, but fuck! is this book good. I can't believe I actually thought of giving up on it once. It's SO GOOD..."
Really?!
Perhaps the reviewer believes that employing such language will earn them more views or even cred?
Do I think they should be censored? Absolutely not.
The fact is: I scroll right past these reviews and don't even bother reading the rambling rest! (A form of self-censorship that doesn't infringe upon the rights of anyone else.)
It just all comes down to the credibility of the reviewer...
/end rant
@#$% YES!
ReplyDeleteThanks for @#$%ing reading, Bradley!
DeleteI @#$%ing love your blog. I am going to pottymouth recommend it to everyone.
DeleteMuch %&#@ing appreciated.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI see that Bradley has practiced self-censorship. ;)
Delete@#$% interesting blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks for @#$%ing reading, Amy
DeleteIt's been happening for a while....I'm glad you are addressing this concern. I feel we are down spiraling and our standards are sliding.....I would like to hear from others who feel that there are positive aspects to the use of this language that was considered acceptable in private but generally considered in poor taste when used in public discourse.
ReplyDeleteI applaud GoodReads for not practicing censorship by removing these reviews; however, at the same time I am quite concerned: a book could be a perfectly clean and safe read for someone, yet by browsing the reviews a person could be lead to think otherwise. When I see things like "zombie-fucking-tastic" I think: "What kind of book is this?!"
DeleteI certainly don't think it does any favors for the author or the publisher.