And as with many things in life, here comes the rub...within twenty-four hours of my review I had two comments beneath it, comments from people who had given it a one star. To my knowledge, no one has ever done that for one of my reviews before, but who knows, maybe they have and I never noticed. One reviewer went so far as to actually suggest I was paid to write the review. And before you think, "Oh no she didn't," I assure you, oh yes, she did.
Normally, I am a mellow, positive, calm and happy type of person, but what many people don't know is that I am a firstborn, alpha, type-A female. Oh yes. It's true. And I have worked hard on myself because of that. Much of my life is spent in a calm, happy state of un-confrontational bliss because that's how I prefer to roll. I will admit though, today--for a few brief moments--I rolled over.
I've read more books than most people can dream of in a lifetime. Many left me tired and sleepy after the first chapter. And I put them down, and I didn't pick them back up again. Yes, I suppose I could leave my own negative review, but that's just not my style. I would rather build up writers who I do enjoy by leaving positive reviews. If others want to leave a 1, 2, or 3 star, I respect that, just as others should respect me for mine. To each his own. And the truth is, I stopped caring about what people thought a long time ago (hence the life of peaceful bliss), but I still feel bad when I see someone else brought down by another's negativity.
As I sat back today and gave the harsh words toward the author of the book the two seconds it deserved, I couldn't help but think about how sad it is that some people are so vicious toward others. How did they come to be this way? Is their life so meaningless that anger is the only road left to turn to? Did they grow up in the wilderness without parents so they were unable to learn about common courtesy and respect? We all have so much to be thankful for and so many opportunities to lift others up instead of bringing them down. You can leave an honest review that's less than glowing without sticking a fork in the writer and declaring that they're done. It's something to think about. Don't you think?
