WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS LANGUAGE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL READERS.  READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Book reviewers, myself included, often use the same old phrases/clichés to describe books.  But what do we really mean when we use them?  Here’s a look at decoding book reviews and the people writing them.  (Note that these are just generalizations intended for comedic purposes.  The styles of individual book reviewers vary.)

Phrase #1: “This book is amazing!”

Interpretation: I do not own a thesaurus and I’m on a deadline.

Phrase #2: “A literary masterpiece…”

Interpretation: This is a book that will make you look smart and sound smart when you talk about it but will bore the hell out of you and anyone unfortunate enough to listen to you talk about it. Continue reading →