Does the book fairy exist?

It might be the cough medicine I’m taking, but I’m convinced strange things have been happening on Goodreads.

For those of you unfamiliar with Goodreads, it’s a social cataloging site for booklovers (readers & writers alike)

Authors can list their books for readers to find, read and (hopefully) review. There are many thriving communities, discussing a wide range of topics – whether you’re a Harry Potter fan, or have a penchant for the Classics, there’s a group for you.

However, as with most things that seem too good to be true, there is also a darker underbelly of trolls. The kind of people who take pleasure in leaving one star ratings without a comment, or even worse with the inexcusable comment of “I didn’t read this book”.

But this week I think I’ve come across the Book Fairy, or at least someone who wants to send positive vibes rather than spread evil poison.

The Book Fairy is leaving 4 and 5 star ratings willy nilly – all without comment. Could she possibly have waited to post all her ratings in one go, one the same day, or is she simply seeking to restore some balance?

We’ll never know, that’s for sure.

Regardless, these ratings – while much nicer to see 4 or 5 stars – still don’t attract new readers, If you’re anything like me, seeing a whole swarm of ratings without any comments doesn’t sway the decision to read that book one iota. Comments (or reviews, whatever you want to call them) don’t have to be long and no-one expects glowing reviews every time – so if you enjoyed a book,  tell everyone why. Conversely, if you didn’t enjoy it, feel free to say why also. You never know, your review might just be the one that helps a reader find a new favourite author – or you just might highlight something that helps a reader to avoid buying a book they most likely won’t enjoy. Either way it’s a service to the book-loving community. Not every book suits every reader and not every reader suits every book.

In the meantime, thank you to the Book Fairy for prompting me to write this post. I feel another swig of cough syrup coming on …and maybe it’s time to curl up with a good book too.

Thank you for reading 🙂