Now, we watch Otis laughing all the way to the bank

I saw this news with the rest of the world a couple of days ago, and still don't know quite what to make of it all.  Well, besides thinking that this is an example of a perfectly executed business plan.  Way to go, Otis.

I guess I have two different viewpoints - as a reader (who happens to own a Kindle), and a Goodreads member (who posts reviews containing images, the f-word and lots of potty language).

As a Kindle-owning, voracious reader who uses Goodreads to shelve my books and track my reading, I think this might be a good move.  Accessing GR from my Kindle? FABULOUS! And a feature I've been wanting since I started reading e-books.  Being able to cross-use the two websites from the same place, rather than clicking between them on my laptop, can only be more convenient.

And if the acquisition gives Goodreads the $$ to ramp up their servers and beef up their staff so that we don't see that little bitch in the rocking chair nearly as often as now, good!  

As a Goodreads member, however, I am MUCH less enthusiastic.  

I can put up with Amazon trying to sell me shit on GR, if I have to.  I guess if GR's algorithms were so awesome that Amazon bought the company so they could use them, what do I care?  Same with the 'big deal' book recommendation thingamajig they introduced last year.  I don't use it, but I can see how others would.  Being "spammed" with recommendations for shitty Amazon-only books is hardly different than the self-published authors that have started spamming my inbox on GR with requests to review their books.

(And what the FUCK is up with that, I want to know.  Who is telling these wannabe authors that the best way to use Goodreads is to PISS OFF people they don't know?  They should be told that to buckshot email your book to tons of people based on their reviewer ratings on GR is a good way to guarantee some BAD publicity.)

Nope, my main concern is the community on Goodreads.  I've made some tremendous friendships there, and at times we talk about everything BUT books.  And I'm worried about the reviewing.  There are no filters, no censors  on GR.  You can be witty, serious, funny, profane, doesn't matter.  It is your space to give your opinion about a book you read (or didn't read, according to how you use your space).  And then you get to talk about the book in the comments section.

Lots of folks review in different places.  I mostly write reviews on GR, and in the past year have done some reviewing over at InD'Tale Magazine.  I don't review on Amazon.  The biggest reason I don't is because, well, it's MEAN there.  Seriously.  There are some fucked-up folks on the threads, and I find the politicking, sock-puppetry and posturing absolutely bizarre.  It all seems to be about ratings, selling stuff and a popularity contest.  Not to mention the fact that so many of the reviews are a complete crock'o'crap.  Five stars my ass.  

That was what I liked about Goodreads.  It was for READERS.  For people to talk about books, not for people to sell us books.

That all started to change last summer, when GR seemed to do a 180 turn and started pitching to authors.  Come to GR, they said.  It's a great place to get tons of new readers!  Then all hell broke loose.  Authors spamming, horrible scraps between readers, reviewers and authors, blech.  New rules for reviews, rules for authors, it was a mess.  And not handled especially well by the PTB, either.

In retrospect, maybe we should have seen the events of this week coming, but holy shit, who knew it would be AMAZON that Otis would sell us out to??

My biggest worry about the sale to Amazon is that Goodreads will become just that - Amazon.  That our reviews will be censored, edited, blocked, voted down, hidden and/or deleted.  That the impartiality of the site will be lost.  (I started to say "independence" there but had to change it.  Otis gave that away when he signed the deal.) That the sense of community that makes Goodreads such a great place will be lost.  And the wonderful people that I have met, the ones I "talk" to almost daily, who share with me a love of books and reading that I haven't found anywhere else, will scatter to different websites and blogs all over the internet.

And then what will we do?

In the meantime, I'm buying in to the paranoia running rampant in the Goodreads feedback group and exporting all of my reviews.  I've been meaning to do it anyway, this just gives me an excuse to figure out how to do it.  And then, of course, I can post them here.  :)

Me and Adam Levine (+ 20,000 other screaming fans)

Did I mention that I was at Maroon 5 in Calgary last week?  :)

Review: Heaven Forbids by Karen Ranney

Heaven Forbids, Karen Ranney
1998 Zebra



Adultery.

A sticky wicket in a romance novel, to be sure.  There are readers who won't touch this subject with a barge pole, while to others it doesn't matter in the slightest.  Somewhere in the middle are those who will read it, but insist that it be treated with some sensitivity.   The author then treads a fine line - how sympathetic to portray the H/h?  How UNsympathetic to cast the (wronged) spouse?  Any HEA is never truly that - no one escapes unscathed when this happens. Heaven Forbids is an love story of epic proportion, the type that makes you hear swelling soundtracks and picture that beach scene in "From Here to Eternity".  It is full of desperation and longing, heartbreak and healing.  As a matter of fact, it is fairly old-skool in terms of the writing and the scope of the story.

Kathryn and Hugh virtually fall in love at first sight, when neither of them knows the other's identity.  Of course, the compelling stranger Kathryn cannot forget is none other than her niece's betrothed.  Kathryn is sent as a companion for Sarah as she travels to live with her new husband.  She knows from the outset that she cannot have Hugh.  He is equally as aware of Kathryn; and even more cognizant of his duty to his wife and his clan.

The expression "they fought their feelings" is trite, but that is exactly what they do.  They try desperately to keep their relationship as that between the Laird and his wife's companion, but they cannot.  They are drawn to each other as moth to flame.  It is dark, it is painful, and it is desperate.

There is no villain in this triangle, no shrewish wife or scheming mistress.  Sarah is basically a non-entity (much as happens in real life, I'm afraid).  She simply doesn't factor into the equation, other than for the fact that she holds the position of Hugh's Lady.  The H/h are not bad people.  They do not commence their affair in a trivial way, nor do they seek excuse for their actions.   They are anguished by their choice but in the end the pain they suffer by not being together is greater than the pain they would cause by acting on their feelings.

For those looking for a traditional villain in their romance there is one here (other than the folks in the love triangle).  Set in Scotland around the time of the Jacobite rebellion, there is also war, madness and tragedy, just to round things out.  Nothing gratuitous, everything has its place in the narrative and it all falls together just as it should.

As I said at the outset, when you write a story where the lovers are also adulterous, the HEA can't be full of sunshine and flowers.  It needs to be realistic and not insult the reader.  The best ones are bittersweet, as happiness gained at another's expense should never be treated lightly.

A super-angsty, old-skoolish read with a noble Hero and a strong heroine.  If you can handle the adultery,  Heaven Forbids is more than worth the time to read.  Ms. Ranney has done a superb job.

4.5 stars

View all my reviews on Goodreads