Why I Won't Be Reviewing Books Anymore

So I'd like your input on something, dear readers.

Up until now I've been a very studious book reviewer.  I've talked on this very blog about the importance of reviews and how difficult they are for authors to garner.  So, putting my money where my mouth is, I've done my best to review as many books, movies, and even just goods and services as I can.  Again, I've done that a lot right here on this blog.

But I've also talked about how difficult it is, as an author, to write reviews.  I think it's understood that authors are also readers, and we're also (fairly or not) looked at as a sort of breed of "super-readers."  You should probably really listen to the review of a person who has read and reviewed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books.  But in practice, those aren't the reviews that get shared on book covers.  Blurbs come from other authors.  Paul Tremblay, for instance, got an unsolicited blurb from Stephen King for A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS, and that's been featured on every book he's written since.

I've been asked for blurbs.  I've also asked other authors for blurbs.  And while that whole business is its own kettle of fish, it's made me understand that an author writing a book review is not quite the same thing as a reader writing one.

Discussing another matter with a publisher of mine recently, it suddenly all gelled when he said something along the lines of, "I've never seen an author succeed when he tried to keep being a reviewer." 

And it makes sense.  Are you going to be the guy who's constantly shitting on your friends and peers in order to maintain your honesty and integrity?  Or are you going to be a cheerful Santa Claus, handing out five-star reviews to everybody and sundry, whether they deserve it or not?  Those are really the only two outcomes, and neither one is going to be good for your reputation. 

So I've decided as of now I'm not going to be reviewing the books I read anymore, except for the usual give-and-take of author blurbs.  If you follow me on Goodreads, you may have noticed this already.   I felt it was important to state this publicly somewhere, though, lest Michael Garza, Christina Bergling, Greg F. Gifune, and the other estimable authors I've read so far this year take offense, or think that they are in some special category of "so bad I couldn't review it."  Far from it, in fact.  The books I've read this year have been extraordinary.  I just don't think it's healthy or wise to keep pretending to be some impartial judge of an ecosystem in which I'm so fully integrated.

So, what do you think, gentle readers?  Am I making a terrible mistake?  Can this needle actually be threaded?  Or have you all been rolling your eyes in disgust and wondering when I would finally make this obvious decision?  Let me know in the comments below.  Thanks!