Let’s Talk Bookish – Does Having A Positive Message Automatically Make It A Good Book

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well! As it is once again Friday, it is time for another Let’s Talk Bookish edition. Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This weeks topic is a discussion as to whether having a positive message automatically makes a book good.

This wasn’t really a topic that I had considered because I judge all the books that I read individually and use a rating system that helps me to define a rating for my reads. I am more likely to make a book down if it has inaccurate representation because that can be extremely harmful.

If you see good representation in a bad story, do you still consider it a good book? Are you more lenient with an ‘okay’ book if it has an important message?

I don’t necessarily see it as a good book, but I will appreciate what the author has done and the good level of representation that they have included. Since I have started my blog and written more reviews, I have been able to put this across in my reviews and mention any included representation without it taking over my whole review and rating of a book. I also think it depends on what part of the book I have deemed ‘bad/okay’ because if it is a fundamental part of the book, such as the pacing or the writing style, I will rate it accordingly. But if it is down to the characters, then I am more likely to be lenient.

How do you deal with a book that you disliked/hated if you think it still has an important theme?

I haven’t come across this so far in the time that I have been writing book reviews, but I think I will approach it in the way that I approach any other book review that I write. I will go through the positives and the negatives and what lead me to that opinion. I will also mention any representation or themes included in the book, much like I do any other book.

Do you think we should actively recommend books with positive/important messages even if we personally didn’t like the book?

I definitely think we should be recommending books with positive/important messages because just because a book is not to my taste it will be someone else’s taste and I would hate for them to not find out about it because I didn’t mention it. I also think it is important that we allow people to find books that may fit the requirements of what they are looking for. I know myself that I may be looking for a specific thing or trope and just because someone else does not like it, I may love it.

I know my thoughts on this topic are a little bit jumbled up because I think it depends on the book and what has influenced my opinion one way or another. Let me know what you think on the topic in the comments below!