Google Alerts found this gem for me: Review: Tall, Dark & Dead and Dead Sexy.
A line at the end made me laugh out loud. Though this reviewer is British*, it could have been written by a Minnesotan: "you could certainly do worse [than read these books]."
To which I reply: Uh... wow. I feel extra warm and fuzzy now. Although to be fair, the review, up to that point, is really quite nice. And, in context, the whole bit about doing worse is really quite positive. Still...I feel like calling my publicist and yelling, "Stop the presses! I need that tag line on the cover my next book: 'Could do worse!'"
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*By "British", I meant to say Australian. Oops!
8 comments:
Hey, be more positive, you should focus on this phrase instead - "I can’t wait to get my hands on the third novel in the series, Romancing The Dead"!
I did notice the rest of the review was quite positive, really, I did. The phrase just struck me as funny. Maybe it's a Minnesotan thing. We hear "Can't complain" a lot. :-)
Been a becoming-Minnesotan and oft-sarcastic critic long enough to say, I think:
Minnesotans and reviewers both (and the rest of us, heh) could stand to think once in a while about the distinction between 'damning with faint praise' and 'praising with faint damnation.' And just saying 'hey, a decent read, if not Mark Twain.' I mean... who expects to be Mark Twain, or even really wants that responsibility? But a little professional thinking-twice courtesy, goes a long way. Review the reviewer.
-CJD
You say the reviewer is British?
For him (or her), "you could do worse than..." is the functional equivalent of jumping up on a table, tearing off his shirt and whirling it around, while gyrating his hips and shouting, "Oh YEAH! Best book EVER!"
Good point, Bill!
Just to clarify, the reviewer is Australian.
From an Aussie, "You could certainly do worse than ..." is a compliment. Don't sweat it.
Thanks... I changed the post to reflect the correct nationality of the reviewer. And I'm glad to hear it's still a compliment.
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