Welcome to Thoughts for Thursday! This feature is our outlet to talk with you about whatever we currently have on our minds. It might be bookish, it might not! Now for this week's thought:
I Wear Genre Goggles
Are you more critical of some genres than others? Put another way, are there some genres that you love so much that, when reading, you find yourself more accepting of flaws? I think I do this when reading Fantasy - overlook things that I may otherwise criticize in another genre. I call this phenomenon my "Fantasy goggles" - similar to the concept of "beer goggles", my love of Fantasy makes books appear better than they are.
If I had to wager a guess (because I am too lazy to look up actual numbers) I would say that I rate the majority of fantasy books that I read at 4 or 5 stars. Granted, the majority of my ratings in general are 3 stars or above but I definitely find myself being kinder to Fantasy. It's true that I genuinely enjoy these books if I am giving them that rating but I often find myself reading more critical reviews and conceding to that reviewer's points. Like, "Yeah, I could've done without that insta-love" or "It was definitely a slower-paced book" and "I couldn't find the plot either" ... "But I still loved it!"
Does anyone else find themselves doing this? If so, which genre is your Achilles heel? Is there anything wrong with genre goggles? Did I just destroy all my cred when it comes to Fantasy? (Did I have any to begin with?)
If I had to wager a guess (because I am too lazy to look up actual numbers) I would say that I rate the majority of fantasy books that I read at 4 or 5 stars. Granted, the majority of my ratings in general are 3 stars or above but I definitely find myself being kinder to Fantasy. It's true that I genuinely enjoy these books if I am giving them that rating but I often find myself reading more critical reviews and conceding to that reviewer's points. Like, "Yeah, I could've done without that insta-love" or "It was definitely a slower-paced book" and "I couldn't find the plot either" ... "But I still loved it!"
Does anyone else find themselves doing this? If so, which genre is your Achilles heel? Is there anything wrong with genre goggles? Did I just destroy all my cred when it comes to Fantasy? (Did I have any to begin with?)
