So, on Mastodon last night, I saw someone say something along the line of “I couldn’t finish this book, I’m so sorry. No hate on the author, it’s a great book!”

This pissed me off.

I read a lot. I read many books that are good, many that are bad. I DNF books all the time because they’re not something I want to finish. Never, not a single time, did I think about putting out a public apology to the author because I couldn’t finish their book.

First off, the author doesn’t care if I DNF their book. They got paid already. Second, there’s nothing wrong with not finishing a book. There’s also nothing wrong with saying, publically, that you don’t like a book. If I want to say a book sucks, that’s my right as a human being. Sure, there’s a line there. I shouldn’t say “this author is a terrible person and should die.” That’s too far.

But if I want to say a book is bad, I can do that. If I want to say that the author isn’t a good writer, I can do that. I can shout it from the fucking roof tops if I want to.

Why has it become such a bad thing to have a negative opinion and express it? People are so sensitive to that shit these days, and it really bugs me. It’s hard to respect someone who has to be told they’re ’the shit’ all the time. If you’re the type of person who can’t handle someone else’s negative opinion on you, then you’ve lived a very sheltered and privileged life. You’ve also missed out on becoming a complete person. You’re soft.

That’s my opinion. I get to have that. I can say it out loud. If that pisses you off or makes you cry, I’m sorry. Not really, but if that’s what you need to hear, then fine. I hope nothing truly bad happens in your life, because if you cry after getting insulted on the internet, you’re not going to be able to handle life’s true hurdles.

I don’t want to be the old guy who says “Kids these days…” and then go on a rant about how the current generation is a bunch of pansies, but I apparently that’s where I’m at in my life. How do you grow up expecting to hear nothing negative about anything? This is the “everyone gets a trophy” shit coming back to bite us in the ass. A kid can’t be seen as a loser because it might hurt their feelings. Well, guess what? Just because you got the damn trophy doesn’t mean you didn’t come in last place. You’re still a loser. And before you get offended, I was the guy in last place most often in school. I was the loser. You know what I did? I took that as motivation to not come in last the next time. It was a learning opportunity.

But back to books. FFS.

Authors who put their work out there expect to get criticized for them. No author worth anything expects everyone who reads their novel to love it. If they don’t have that expectation, then that’s on them and they’re in for a very large wake up call.

The thing is, people have come to expect negativity to come with constructive criticism. And that is useful and should be a thing we strive for. But it’s okay to say a book sucks and leave it at that. There will be those of you reading this that say: “Just say nothing at all, your negative opinion serves no use other than making the author feel bad!”

I. Don’t. Care.

I get to have that opinion. Even if I offer no reason for having it, I get to have it. Just like you had the right to write your book in whatever fashion you wanted. We’re equals here.

Now, this doesn’t mean you should go out and be an asshole. I can say a book is bad or that it sucks or is terrible, and not attack the author. I can say the author has grammar issues without being a douchebag. I can say I don’t enjoy an author’s writing and will never read one of their books again. I can do those things and not be an asshole.

Sigh.

Anyway, I think I need to end the rant there. I’m just really unhappy with the way people on the internet seem to be so damn offended over everything. If you’re offended at everything that passes you, then nothing is actually offensive. There are truly offensive things out there, save your damn outrage for those things, and leave me the hell alone.