Seven Deadly Words of Book Reviewing

[gervase_fen]

...listed here at Paper Cuts. I will plead guilty to

poignant

,

compelling

, and

intriguing

, but have always eschewed

eschew

. I quite liked comment number 17 too.

Edited to add:

I have a pile of small shelf review cards on my desk, and I keep promising myself that I'll make time to write thirty words or so to recommend books for work. The problem is that if I'm lazy about it I will reach for "compelling", "intriguing" etc (and "page turner", "engaging", "subtle" and "readable", bugbears in some of the comments. Then again, I've been tempted to put "Readable - unlike my handwriting" on a review card several times.)

Comments

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

One feels that Mr Dicks's "cliches are cliches because they work" cry would not be received sympathetically here.

[gervase-fen.livejournal.com]

However, Terrance is pretty much in accordance with Wilson Follett's prescription as quoted in the intro - "The best critics are those who use the plainest words and who make their taste rational by describing actions rather than by reporting or imputing feelings.”