newsletter<\/a> subscribers subscribers sent me an unsolicited copy of his self-published nonfiction book. He included a note asking me to review it on Amazon.<\/p>\nHe didn’t ask me if I’d review it before mailing the book. I wish he had, because it’s not the type of book I read, so I’m not qualified to review it.<\/p>\n
But there I was, holding a book that was part memoir, part rant, and all awful.<\/p>\n
Much of the content, while important to the author, was irrelevant to the book\u2019s topic. In addition, because there were few paragraph breaks in the text \u2014 imagine a book with page after page of text with no white space \u2014 it was hard to read.<\/p>\n
So I didn’t.<\/p>\n
“Did you read it yet?”<\/h2>\n
The author kept hounding me for an \u201chonest\u201d review, all the while reminding me of how much that review copy cost him to print and mail.<\/p>\n
I eventually read several pages to get a feel for his style and content. Then I scanned the rest to confirm that it was a book fueled by a vendetta and not by a need to help others. When I felt confident that I had seen enough to write an informed review, I did so.<\/p>\n
I focused on the positives \u2014 his passion and topic knowledge \u2014 and gave it a three-star rating instead of a more honest one-star assessment.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t the glowing five-star comment he expected, so he sent a scathing e-mail about me to his friend . . . or\u00a0 \u2014 imagine \u201cDateline\u2019s\u201d Keith Morrison asking this question \u2014 \u201cDid he?\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nThe author sent his cranky message\u00a0to me by mistake! Ha!<\/p>\n