I’ve written four books, and all of them have received some very good reviews and some fairly terrible reviews.
It comes with the territory of subjectiveness. This isn’t mathematics, where an equation either works or doesn’t. Reactions to writing are 100-percent opinion. Some love, some hate, some are indifferent. It is what it is.
That said, I hate—hate—hostile reviews. I haven’t received many (knock, knock), but when in doubt (or when you’re feeling unjustifiably cocky) go to Amazon, where everyone is free to post their own. Among the dandies about my work:

By | J. D. Wooden![]() ![]() |
I’m very surprised to get such a badly written story from Jeff Pearlman. Maybe he should stick to short articles in Sports Illustrated…
It doesn’t matter what your opinions are on Roger Clemens or the state of MLB, this book was badly written, extremely ambiguous, the author drew conclusions from unrelated evidence and conjecture, used personal opinions and generalizations as facts (sometimes even when the information was obviously false or disputable), and from paragraph to paragraph the author would contradict his own opinions and statements. I wouldn’t recommend anyone spend money on this book.
Conversely, as a fan of baseball I did appreciate “reliving” The Rockets life, career, ups and downs, and some of MLBs biggest moments. Pearlman obviously hates Roger Clemens, which is fine: it’s his opinion and his book, I respect that. But basically the author took advantage of an opportunity to bad mouth a person (and then turn around and celebrate him at times… hmm).
In conclusion, I also hate steriods in pro sports, I hate cheaters, but I also hate bad writing. Don’t waste your money, just go Google the stats and stories.
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By | Edward D. Turner “lostsessions”![]() ![]() |

By | Mets Fan![]() |
This team is a microcosm of the real world and there are companies out there that make the story of the 1986 Mets pale in comparison.
Yes, Gooden and Strawberry could have been Hall of Famers, but they were strong at baseball and weak at life. This makes them human, not tragic.
We do love to put people at pedestles, simply to knock them off and watch them fall.
The 1986 Mets are my favorite team of all time. They had heart and they went into the season with the highest of expectations for them, and won.
What more did you really want from them?
Spend your money on a book with an ending that you don’t already know.
• “Roberta Silman in the Boston Globe is a moron. How do some people get to review books? And give the plot away.â€
• “Now any idiot can be a critic. Writers used to review writers. My second novel was reviewed by Ann Tyler. So who is Roberta Silman?â€
• “Girls are taught to be gracious and keep their mouths shut. We don’t have to.â€
• “My single bad review in my hometown. This is a town where a barking dog is the second top story on the news.â€
• “No wonder there is no book section in the Globe anymore – they don’t care about their readers, why should we care about them.â€