I am not an author in the strict sense, as I have no paperbacks published yet. All my work is digitally published.

But I am a reader. I haven’t read thousands of books, but I read. Of late, after discovering the world of Goodreads, I am reading happily because I can read and write a review. It is like a game for me – obsessively keeping the GR updated.

What brings up this question?

There was a short story I read and reviewed. The review was termed harsh by a random GR user and it was accompanied with a rather snide comment on myself as an author.

I should have ignored it, but I couldn’t. I failed to notice what the problem was. Since my review mentions ‘beautifully written’, ‘need to read more from this author….

So I googled the same question.

Google brings up a post where authors review in circle and praise each other. This is not the same case.

Should I, as a reader, not give my honest opinion on the books, for fear that people will treat my books the same way?

I know the answer, but would like to hear from others.

Shabana Mukhtar