Making lists, checking them twice.

This post has existed in draft form for…well, yikes, almost two full years. Something came to light yesterday, that made me come back to it. And you, lucky readers, get to read my thoughts.

As I’ve mentioned before here and elsewhere, I do have a list of authors who, in my opinion, behave badly.¹  And, since my time, emotional labor, energy, and money, are limited, I quite simply refuse to even try their work. It’s still, at least in this small area, a free country.

By the same token, I have a much, much, much longer list of incredible people who are authors who will always get my support.

Are we having fun yet this year?

For the love of all that’s pretty, can we stop any time soon?

No, of course we can’t.

Not only is the egregious imbecility that is Ellora’s Cave suing a blogger and reviewer for putting together verifiable facts and having an opinion on them still going on.

Not only is TiNut back and still spewing its peculiar brand of legal advice.

We had Jaid Black flouncing off twitter because it was not regulated enough for her. Imagine, people had the nerve to tell her how much of a fucking racist transphobic misogynistic asshole she is.

The nerve, I tell you.

Remember that “book review Taliban” tweet?

(Edit at the end of the post)

Anyone on twitter willing to share this, please do feel free.

A while back I had bought the digital edition of Kathleen Eagle’s This Time Forever because Willaful reviewed it over at Karen’s and said it was very good.

I have only read a couple of Ms Eagle’s books, and while I liked one a lot, the other was sorta problematic for me. So I saw this one, remembered how much Willaful sang its praises, and one-clicked it.

Weeks go by, and then I find it while scrolling down for something to read.

Then I open the file and see that this version is published by Bell Bridge Books.

Guess who owns that publisher?

Deborah Smith, she of the “book review Taliban” slur.

Thinking time – why I blog, why I review

Today is the third anniversary of Her Hands, My Hands.

(Lest some readers be confused, all posts predating January 3rd, 2012 come from elsewhere.¹)

At different times since 2008, when I first started reviewing, I have written my thoughts on what reviews mean and who they are written for. Like many other bloggers, I’ve struggled with whether or not to accept ARCs and commit to post reviews on specific dates.²

2014 was a very challenging year for book bloggers, and many of them have either closed their doors or quietly gone private. Their voices will be missed, but honestly, who can blame them?