Karma♥Bites’s Mercurial Reads

Hey there!  Thanks for visiting my BookLikes blog.  I’m new here as of October 2013, so slowly but surely tweaking, fixing & figuring out where things are.  In future, the below may change into something less ranty and more informative as to me and my reading interests.  But for now, it seems apropos for the current situation.

Thanks again for stopping by. :)

Why am I here on BookLikes.com?

I’m another GR refugee seeking freer pastures.  Although nominally affected by GR’s gradual shift in policies, I object to the same on principle and perceive it as insidious encroachments to unfettered and honest expression of different opinions, whether in a book review or otherwise.  Given the uncertain climate and GR’s refusal to address the concerns of its members (apparently, “shelfies” and snide QotDs are more important), I refuse to provide free content and services so that GR can utilise the same for its profitability and marketing whilst discounting their source.  Because contrary to what Otis Chandler and others have stated in the past, GR is now apparently for “authors and their fans”, not ordinary readers like me.

Explaining the above would take too much space here, so for those curious few who aren’t fully aware of the troubling turn of events on GR these past few weeks, please see these rather excellent posts:

• “Summary of GR’s New Censorship Policy” (Amy or “Ames” on GR; last updated October 4, 2013)

• “Why I’m Upset At Goodreads” (The Moonlight Library, September 24, 2013)

• “Censorship, the Goodreads Debacle, and Mission Incoherence” (Moonlight Reader, September 25, 2013)

• “Carol’s Deletion Experience” (book reviews forevermore, October 20, 2013)

For a literary take, see Emma’s “Why GR’s new review rules are censorship - Some thoughts” (aka How GR’s revised review rules ignore all of postmodern literary criticism; posted September 21, 2013, on GR)

Who am I?

Fiction:  I’m a bully.  A hater bent on ruining the livelihoods of helpless, innocent authors.  A jealous author taking petty revenge.  Or a GR staff/admin abusing my position.  Or a member of a GR librarian gang (yeah, WTF is that about?).  Oh, and apparently a criminal as well.

Fact:  I’m just another life-long reader who wants to connect with other book lovers beyond my RL circle and discover a better way to vet new authors.  I’m a co-mod, with some fabulous ladies, of a wonderful GR group.  And although not the most prolific or entertaining of reviewers, I am/was a top 1% GR reviewer (per July 23, 2013 email) and up until a few months ago, was one of Amazon’s top 10,000 reviewers.  I am/was also a top librarian at GR (altho largely by accident, due to boring but mandatory conference calls at all hours).

I mention the foregoing only to refute some people’s claim that I spent my time on GR “bullying” and “trolling” authors.  In actuality, the stats are irrelevant because they shall go the way of Ozymandias, albeit much quicker. :)

However, in the interest of full disclosure, I should note that I’m on the sidebar of a certain ridiculous site.  I got added because I had the misfortune to encounter a book which I DNF’d rather quickly, and then posted a review which―gasp!―pointed out certain technical and creative defects (e.g., poor writing/proofing and borked formatting, as well as clichéd plot elements).  That review was not “mean” or “spiteful”, but I then had the nerve to get annoyed at the resulting hue & cry from the “author” and her F&Fs (including, I suspect, her parent).  FWIW, given the high calibre of the other people listed on said sidebar, I’m totally honoured to be included amongst them.

TBT, I’ve grown weary of the increasingly distasteful BBA incidents on GR, as well as certain marketing efforts (read: spamming/abuse of members, Listopias, groups, etc), sockpuppet ratings, and other “missteps” by those who can’t be bothered to read and/or follow simple guidelines.  Were I an author, I’d be screaming “STFU, grow up, get a clue, and stop ruining it for the rest of us!”.  But as a simple reader, such nonsense by supposed adults (much less professionals) tests my patience, makes me disinclined to interact with authors, and at times, has all but killed my desire to read books and share my thoughts via reviews.

Frankly, I’d be fine with no more author interaction, even though I’ve “met” some wonderful ones on GR.  But losing my love of reading due to immature nonsense is not acceptable.  Thus, I look forward to a fresh start here on BookLikes and resuming focus on actually reading and sharing thoughts on books with others.  As much as I resist change, the set-up here is quite intriguing and holds untold possibilities.  *fingers crossed*

Oh, and fair warning!  My reading covers a very wide range of genres and subject matters.  So 18+ only, please.  ^.~

* last updated 23 October 2013