Justine Larbalestier

reading, writing, eating, drinking, sport

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Most common and annoying review cliche of all time

“With its [blah blah] and [blah blah] [Blah Blah] is sure to [blah blah].”

I just read a whole bunch of reviews (mostly of crime books) and I swear to you every single one had that sentence in it.

“With its romance and wit Pride and Prejudice is sure to appeal to readers of all ages.”

C’mon, reviewers, think of something else to say! Also say it differently. Do not bore me.

That is all.

Posted by Justine at 19:27, 30 July 2008 under Ranting, Reading | 13 Comments »

Comments

  1. Brent Says:

    *chuckles* Come, come. If reviewers could actually write well, they wouldn’t be stuck writing reviews now would they?

    July 30th, 2008 at 8:53 PM

  2. Chelsea Says:

    Okay, Brent. I know a ton of amazing authors and writers who either review now or have reviewed in the past. I’m assuming you’re not a reviewer, and don’t know how much time and patience it takes to come up with something genuine and unique about every book you read. What you said was insulting and judgmental. I’m a reviewer (albeit unpaid), and I’m not “stuck” writing anything. I do it for the joy of reading, as I’m sure 90% of us do.

    July 30th, 2008 at 9:33 PM

  3. Hillary! Says:

    Which is why I prefer blurbs.

    July 30th, 2008 at 9:49 PM

  4. Mary Elizabeth S. Says:

    “With its unusual fairies and cool characters, How to Ditch Your Fairy is sure to fly off bookstore and library shelves and flutter around people’s heads all across the country.”

    See, when you put it like that, it’s not so bad.

    ~Mary

    July 30th, 2008 at 10:01 PM

  5. 5. Justine Says:

    Chelsea: Absolutely. That’s why I don’t review. Too damn hard.

    Hillary!: There are just as many crappy blurbs as reviews. If anything they’re even harder to write.

    Mary Elizabeth: Gah! Kill me now!

    July 31st, 2008 at 2:15 AM

  6. Ned Says:

    This cliche is like another cliche on acid.

    July 31st, 2008 at 6:39 AM

  7. Serafina Zane Says:

    Now I want to post a review without conjunctions. This sounds sort of impossible.

    July 31st, 2008 at 9:36 AM

  8. Jedi Says:

    With its commonness and annoyingness, this review cliche is sure to be the most boring review cliche of all time!

    July 31st, 2008 at 10:12 AM

  9. The Compulsive Reader Says:

    I’ll admit it, I have written a couple of reviews like that, and then promptly deleted them and kicked myself because of this very reason. I agree with you, and this is part of the reason I hate reading reviews myself…too many succumb to this form. A bit ironic, huh? But I implore you all to keep up with fresh and new reviewing styles day after day and then tell us it isn’t hard to revert to the cliches.

    And Chelsea, you said it.

    July 31st, 2008 at 3:30 PM

  10. Liviania Says:

    Eek! Now I’m going to be reading over my reviews to see if I’ve done this.

    I do admit that I’ve noticed certain words I’m overly fond of since I started reviewing regularly. It’s tough to break myself from that standard vocabulary.

    July 31st, 2008 at 3:36 PM

  11. Chelsie Says:

    First off, that is kind of annoying… I don’t *think* I do that, but I could be wrong.

    And thank you Chelsea for saying that, so I don’t have to… if I’d have done it I would have been much more rude than that.

    July 31st, 2008 at 9:55 PM

  12. lenore Says:

    Hmmm… it’s possible that I once used this phrasing. But now I sure hope not. Time to go through all my reviews with a fine tooth comb…

    It is a challenge to come up with fresh things to say after you’ve written a lot of reviews – and reviewers who can pull that off do have my highest respect.

    August 1st, 2008 at 5:31 PM

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