tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post1375340505159586377..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: When You Accidentally Recommend a Bad BookUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-20832055262467811092017-07-16T09:20:22.265-05:002017-07-16T09:20:22.265-05:00I liked the book and gave it a good review but you...I liked the book and gave it a good review but you nailed it with, "... it didn’t deliver on the way the book was marketed." David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-44837304042909035082017-07-16T08:28:36.645-05:002017-07-16T08:28:36.645-05:00Hey, Scott -- I had the same disappointments with ...Hey, Scott -- I had the same disappointments with the book (especially with the marketing, I'd expected some kind of Bond-like figure in there) but still enjoyed it. It's interesting, especially with the information in the afterword, to consider the paths Westlake must have taken to get from the screen treatment with Bond front and center to the book here, the artistic choices he made. And I still enjoy Westlake's prose, of course--he just makes so much of it look effortless.<br /><br />Still, I can understand--especially with a book club--how tough it is to navigate that giant gulf between expectation and what's actually in front of you. Still, I think there are benefits to reading a book that no one's read, everyone discovering it for the first time. In a worst-case scenario on the alternative side: I've been in book clubs where someone recommends a book they've read and love only to find that everyone else in the group HATES it--an awkward meeting to be sure. <br /><br />Thanks for perspectives here, both on book clubs and on the Westlake itself!Art Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02409008167752619352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-15359643490487718072017-07-16T06:53:39.749-05:002017-07-16T06:53:39.749-05:00This happens in my book club all the time. We assu...This happens in my book club all the time. We assume because of earlier books that a new one by an author will be good--and it turns out to be a lesser effort. Or a book which has little to discuss. We never seem to learn that it works best if someone has read the book. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.com