Reviews: Are We True To Ourselves And The Authors?

I got to thinking yesterday after reading a rather brilliant but blunt review of a well-known and popular book.  When reading a book, do we get swept away by popular consensus or are we true to ourselves?

The book in question has so many mixed reviews that I have been forced to reconsider my rating and my thoughts of the story.  I loved the book and gave it 5* and I must admit to having read it more than once but after reading the contrasting opinions of another blogger I was forced to question my interpretation of the story.  Was the story glossed over in my own mind?  Did I really not see the violence and poor behaviour for what it was or did my mind just romanticise and create the story I wanted it to be?

Can Plagiarism Ever be Conquered?

The indie-writing world has been rocked this week with the news that yet another self-published author has had her work plagiarised but what does this really mean to the book industry as we know it?  

In reality, very little will change.  Book plagiarism has been going on for years and yet still authors are continually finding themselves the victims of what amounts to theft.  Sadly, this news has made me question the authenticity and credibility of all authors.  Can we really know and trust our favourite authors not to plagiarise or do we blindly read on in the hope that the book we are enjoying has not been lifted from another source?  With so many books on the market, the chances of stumbling across a duplicitous book is highly unlikely and this makes all authors fair game to those looking to profit from their success.  We all know that the ebook market is hugely rewarding financially to indie authors with many making a decent earning from book sales, so is it the financial incentive that tempts people to plagiarise or is it more for the fame that comes with the media success of writing a bestseller?   With so many book signings taking place worldwide, and new authors popping up and marketing multiple books within their first year of writing, it begs the question: how many people sitting at those tables are genuine authors?