bullying

Goodreads on Life Support

by Stefani

I am not quite sure how to start this post because I’m so upset and disappointed. Goodreads has taken the first firm step toward preferential treatment of authors and telling readers to fuck off. Let me start at the beginning.

I discovered Goodreads in June 2011. Previously I had used Shelfari for all of my book logging. Once Shelfari got taken over by Amazon I got sick and tired of having Amazon shoved down my throat 50 times per site visit. When they started requiring that you use your Amazon log in to use the site I was finished. I started looking for something new and heard people talk about this site called Goodreads. I started looking around and I was stunned at what I saw. A whole community of readers and authors who discuss books and communicate and have the freedom to do that in any way they liked. I loved that Goodreads told me that my content was MINE, and would always be mine. They told me that I could curse if I felt like it, that I could put in my review what I wanted to put and no one would censor me. I thought it was too good to be true and for 2 whole years it wasn’t.

Now Goodreads has decided to side with bullies. Bullies who have been banned from Goodreads because of their atrocious behavior, who have accused GR of promoting pedophilia and child pornography, who have issued death threats against reviewers, who are putting together a site SOLELY for the purpose of doxxing and stalking reviewers in real life.  Because GR has decided to take the sissy way out.  They have now decreed that any review, shelf, list, or group that focuses on an author or that author’s behavior will be deleted. Not only that but they decided to just mass delete BEFORE making this announcement and then running out of the office on a Friday to ignore the mass rage that was inevitably going to follow. But they seem to only be deleting things that negatively talk about the author…anything positive stays. Huh, weird double standard there.  Oh, and those authors who continue to spam, harass, and threaten reviewers?  They’ll still get a slap on the wrist and “maybe” get their account put under review. Well hello there Amazon and your authors only focus!

I used to think that Goodreads was a safe place, but if my content isn’t going to be safe there then I don’t know why I would keep putting it there. I mean, I’m spending my time and energy creating content that they use to make money when they aren’t going to respect it, protect it, and give me a safe place to say it. I think I might have to be one of those reviewers that puts the first paragraph of their review on GR with a link to this blog for the rest. I didn’t want to be THAT person because I loved GR, but I can’t trust them with my content anymore.

Maybe I’ll  open up spots for other reviewers on the blog. If anyone would be interested, use the contact page to get in touch with me. I will leave comments open on this post but please be aware of a few things. 1. If you haven’t posted on my blog before I have to approve your comment, after that you will be fine but that first comment might take awhile. 2. If your comment is personally insulting, doxxes anyone, or is in support of You Know Who it will be deleted.

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Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

by Stefani

Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

Published November 16th, 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Author’s website: http://www.petehautman.com/

Photo and synopsis from the Goodreads book page

This can be bought at B&N and Amazon

Synopsis:

Shayne Blank is the new kid in town–but that doesn’t stop him from getting into a lot of trouble very quickly. The other kids don’t understand him. He’s not afraid of anything. He seems too smart. And his background doesn’t add up. But when he walks into the police department to confess to a murder, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems. There’s more to Shayne–and his story–than meets the eye. As the details begin to fill in, the only thing that becomes clear is that nothing about Shayne’s story is clear at all.
Rating (out of 5):

Review:

Having never read a book by Pete Hautman before I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  I had read a review from someone I know who loved it, and it sounded intriguing so I picked up a copy to see if my first impression was correct.  Initially I was excited by this book.  It was being told through the POV of a friend of Shayne’s who knew the story that he was telling to the cops.  This was interesting but not fascinating.  I didn’t really connect with the character and I feel that it made it VERY obvious what was going to happen based on who was narrating and what he said.  But even though I had the horrible feeling it was going to end up exactly like I suspected by chapter 2, I carried on.

I don’t really feel like all that much happened in this book.  The tension level was set at 10 from the beginning of the book, but then nothing really happens and we’re hearing all these extraneous details that I didn’t really care about.  I wanted to know who Shayne killed and why, I didn’t want to know about his friend who wears second-hand suits to school to stand out or the friend’s sister who’s got a penchant for bad boys.  I wanted to know about things relevant to the plot, and the only time I got that was when they were referring to the person who he claims he killed, which didn’t really make it that hard to figure out.  The only way it was ever going to be anyone else is if Shayne is a complete psychopath, which is not what he was portrayed to be.

And it did end up being exactly who I suspected it was going to be, and so the tension in the book never really ramped up again after the first few pages.  One thing I did like about this book was the part about  Shayne’s past and his history.  That was interesting and I really enjoyed it.  Unfortunately that was, quite literally, the very last chapter.  In the end I can’t say that I particularly loved the book, but it was decent enough.  If you are looking for a mystery, this is probably not the book for you since the predictability levels are off the charts.  However, I did find it to be a very poignant statement about bullying which seems to be so prevalent in the youth of this world today.  For that reason I am rating this a 3, not great but decent enough that I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it.