Review policy

MY REVIEW POLICY

All books reviewed on this blog come from my own collection, unless otherwise indicated. I am not a library user, so books are generally bought from shops, ordered online or have been "mooched" from swapsite BookMooch. I almost never receive books as gifts.

Occasionally publishers, publicists and authors send me books directly, so any subsequent review is marked accordingly. I do not do this to suggest that these books have received special treatment but merely to make my reviewing system transparent.

My policy is to seek out interesting books, including the unusual, or lesser-known, and to write about them honestly. My tastes are eclectic, although I have a soft spot for Irish fiction, Australian fiction, anything set in Venice, New York or Scandinavia, and books in translation, but, for the most part, I tend to stick to literary fiction from the 20th and 21st centuries. I also enjoy the crime genre.

I don't rely on marketing materials to make my choices, although I admit I am a sucker for a nice cover and I cannot resist the allure of those 3-for-2 tables in bookshops. While I keep my eye on publisher websites and hard copy catalogues, most of my selections are based on gut instinct or spontaneous "finds". Sometimes choices will be influenced by a review I have seen on another blog, website or newspaper.

I receive many requests from publishers, publicists and authors to review specific books. I turn the bulk of these down and only accept those books I know I would be happy to buy myself because they have piqued my interest. Occasionally I receive books sent "on spec". Again, I only review these if I feel a deep and abiding need to read them.

Before forming my opinion on a book, I try not to read other reviews (unless, of course, I've already chosen the book on the basis of a review I've read elsewhere). My take on a book should be exactly that: my take -- not someone else's.

My aim is to always write balanced, fair and objective reviews. This means if I don't like a book, I will say so, but I will always provide concrete reasons so that you can see how I came to my decision. Similarly, if I love a book I will tell you why.

I never criticise the author of a book, because I am not reviewing them personally, I am reviewing their work. In any case, to do otherwise would leave me open to libel.

I do not review books in exchange for favors, however intangible. Similarly I do not plug certain books, events or promotions because I've been requested to do so -- any "plugs" are done of my own accord because I genuinely love the title/author/publisher I am "plugging".

Please note that I do not host "author tours" or allow certain authors to write "guest posts" despite constant requests to do so. This is because I want Reading Matters to have one consistent and reliable voice -- my own.

WHY HAVE A POLICY?

Long-time readers of this blog may recall that back in November 2006 I wrote what turned out to be a rather controversial post entitled The pitfalls of receiving free books, or how not to risk your book blogging credibility.

Up until then no-one, as far as I am aware, had really considered the ethics of reviewing books on blogs. It resulted in what I quite crudely dubbed a "shitstorm" but I was pleased it got people talking about a subject that had been troubling me for some time even if they didn't all agree with my point of view.

Today, almost three years later, other bloggers still discuss and link to my original post -- it is quite easily the most visited post on Reading Matters. The ethics of reviewing is a subject that refuses to go away, perhaps because there are now thousands of more book blogs in existence, and publishers and authors have become increasingly more web savvy in using those blogs to promote their titles.

Unfortunately, insidious marketing campaigns and commercial exploitation of bloggers is everywhere. In the light of this, I thought it important to clarify my position and my review policy.

MY COMPETITION POLICY

I occasionally run competitions in which randomly selected winners receive a copy of a specific book. These competitions are always run by me and me alone -- they are not held in conjunction with any publishers, publicists or authors.

Prizes are usually books that I have already read or books I haven't read but don't want to read.

My decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Please note the winner’s name may be published on Reading Matters after the closing date of the competition.

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