Snap Black-and-White Judgments (Book: I Love Brock Turner)

[JudyF]

I found the book to be thought provoking. We live in a world where more hate is expressed in the form of judgment than through any other method. Most people do not commit violent crimes every day, but they will judge someone. It seems to me to be a crime of society to pass judgment on someone like Brock whose real error was firstly that of allowing himself to become intoxicated. It isn't likely that society will forgive him simply because he made stupid decisions. Instead of thinking of him as some dumb human, they jump to the conclusion that he is some kind of evil entity that needs to be locked up for a very long time or receive some other more harsh punishment, likely due in part to their false conclusion that he is evil and will continue to commit the same behavior if allowed to be free to do so. In my opinion, a loving environment of rehabilitation and learning would be much more beneficial to Brock and society as a whole.

The book caused me to reflect on the true nature of love and hate and how society operates under each. I think every reader will draw his/her own conclusions regarding Brock's circumstances based on his/her own life experiences. I personally just don't know how to convince society to learn to separate the human from the action that he took. I think, in most cases, "criminals" are developed as a result of hate (including blatant abuse/lack of love or simple rejection, as hate has many levels) in their lives. Oftentimes, society's hate for the perpetrator continues and this only serves to develop a criminal. On the whole, I don't feel that "society" is loving (though many isolated incidents of love do exist, but often after the fact of a tragedy, such as what occurred in Orlando this weekend when multitudes came out to donate blood, provide support, etc). Hate seems to be the norm at some level (my definition of hate includes greed and the experiences of poverty which can be perceived as hate). Empathy for another's plight, ability to see things from their eyes, is not a societal norm, in my opinion. Therefore, in my opinion, those who seek to punish Brock Turner, those who are upset that he didn't receive a harsher penalty, are in the majority, and this is no surprise. I'm not so sure that unconditional love can exist except at a distance. What I mean is, I may be able to feel unconditional love for Brock Turner, regardless of his actions or the details of his attempted rape case, simply because I was not directly affected. However, if one of my own family or friends had been the "victim", or if he had harmed a child or animal, I would have been less able to feel empathy for him.

If love were more prominent in society on a daily basis (not just in the midst of a disaster or true tragedy), I think there would be less violent crime.

Your book caused me to pause and reflect on these issues and more. Thank you!

[JPGrider]

I didn't judge the book by its cover, and knowing that a portion of the proceeds goes to victims of assault, I knew the title was purposely misleading. That being said, I really do not like reading books like these. I rarely even pay attention to the news. I like romantic fiction where I get to pretend everything is roses and sunshine.

[P_hernandez]

I absolutely made a snap judgement about the book based on the title. Although I was corrected after reading it, I felt like the title was a shock value attention catcher (it caught my eye lol) but also the message is one that, while I see the argument, I can't fully back the concept. The love I have for any person in this world (aside from my children) is completely conditional. Especially when a member of society breaks a law of nature or one of man. There is a passage that directly references murderers, child molestors, rapists and others. I will never be able to give my love to people that fall into that category. unfortunately for this pamphlet, the ideals expressed are a bit unrealistic because we live in a society where conditions exist to keep us safe. I do not love Brock Turner nor anything he represents.

-- 16 Jun 2016, 18:15 --

None of what I said has any reflection on Scott as a writer. He clearly has talent. It's just that sometimes even the best writer experiences a subject that doesn't do the talent justice.

[Heidi M Simone]

Personally, I enjoyed reading this booklet. It left me with a positive feeling and a re-look on what feelings I let consume my thoughts. I would rather choose love and focus on this feeling than to continually to use negative feelings to drive my life.

Mr. Hughes is not trying to say that people who make horrific decisions should not have consequences. He agrees there should be. However, the driving force shouldn't be hate. To be honest, the more focus that is put on hatred, I feel eventually true love sort of gets put on the back burner.

I left a positive review on Amazon and Goodreads. Thank you, Scott, for writing this booklet.

[artemis822]

I was pretty sure that I knew where you were going with the title, and I was proven right.

I'm of two minds.

In the one hand, the rational, empathetic person inside me agrees with everything you said wholeheartedly. Turner is an easy scapegoat, a lighting rod for indignant rage and hatred. As a person, a citizen of this Earth and universe, he deserves to exist and to wish ill upon him feeds more into the perpetuation of violence that we can't seem to get out of.

On the other, as a victim of child molestation, the slap on the wrist conviction he recieved nauseates me. I don't wish him to suffer for the sake of suffering, but it seems that the only way humanity gets a wake up call is in the spilling of innocent blood in tragic events. This same rage that calls for his blood is fueled by the terror of coming face to face with my own attacker a mere four years after he was sentenced.

Checks and balances are supposed to exist in the system. Actions have consequences. The punishment should fit the crime. People keep doing this because the deterrant isn't big enough to make them think twice. Either make the punishment not worth committing the crime or educate people to the point that such actions don't cross their mind.

I do like the book, and agree with the message. Hate is easy, it's a shortcut for rationalizing perceived wrongs, but it is an insideous drug, subtle and addicting. It is a haze that is easy to get lost in, and when you wake up, you find that more has been lost without your knowledge than when you went in.

To love someone in spite of harmful behavior against the world, to forgive is difficult, trying, and less instantly rewarding than hatred.

[Maryannwrites-15]

I have not read the book yet. I downloaded it, then read the sample and the font was so small I could not see the words clearly. I do hope the book is not in the same small font, as that will make it impossible for me to read, and I do like to read a book before commenting or reviewing. Those people that do leave negative reviews without reading do us all a disfavor. How can we trust a review like that. I could say that I don't like the book because of the issues covered, but what matters most in a review is how well-written a book is and how well it speaks to the reader.

So sorry you are getting such negative reviews, Scott. The other criteria I have for reviews is that I will never, ever, give an author less than 3 stars. If I don't like a book well enough to rate it at least 3 stars, I don't leave a review.

Maryann

[katiesquilts]

I did read the book and I do agree with you that we are a society quick to judge but I felt you were only looking at it through the eyes of Brock and not the victim. I wonder how she feels the light sentence he was given, when she will have to be haunted by those memories the rest of her life? I think our society has come down to a privileged mentality if you are an athlete.

" I wonder how she feels "about" the light sentence he was given,...........

Regardless of the grammar, I totally agree with this person's statement. I think there has been too much discussion about Brock and the booklet's comments about forgiveness, and society in general.

How does the victim feel about all this?
This forum just seems like an insult to her.
Let's consider the victim and her pain and feelings.
A woman was sexually assaulted.

THIS.

Honestly, I'm going to be upfront and say that I did not download the book and will not do so. The title honestly gave me such a shock, and even after reading published reviews and getting the general gist, I was not up for it.

I can't tolerate people who act as if a rapist can also be a victim. There's a fine line between forgiving someone and allowing the same act to happen again. Rape occurs because the punishment doesn't fit the crime. People (men AND women) think they can get away with things because to them, the consequences are inconsequential. Worse than that, some of them think that they are entitled to things that are not theirs.

We need to teach them that rules and laws are there for a reason. That if you break them, bad things happen, and those bad things follow you for the rest of your life. It's the same for victims, so in my mind, it only makes sense that it should be ten times worse for the perpetrator.

Also, I'm really sick of getting news about only Scott's books. There are so many forums and emails about his publications, but there are specific rules on other forums that other authors are not allowed to self-advertise. Doesn't seem very fair to me, and I only mentioned it because we were on the topic of entitlement.

[P_hernandez]

I did read the book and I do agree with you that we are a society quick to judge but I felt you were only looking at it through the eyes of Brock and not the victim. I wonder how she feels the light sentence he was given, when she will have to be haunted by those memories the rest of her life? I think our society has come down to a privileged mentality if you are an athlete.

" I wonder how she feels "about" the light sentence he was given,...........

Regardless of the grammar, I totally agree with this person's statement. I think there has been too much discussion about Brock and the booklet's comments about forgiveness, and society in general.

How does the victim feel about all this?
This forum just seems like an insult to her.
Let's consider the victim and her pain and feelings.
A woman was sexually assaulted.

THIS.

Honestly, I'm going to be upfront and say that I did not download the book and will not do so. The title honestly gave me such a shock, and even after reading published reviews and getting the general gist, I was not up for it.

I can't tolerate people who act as if a rapist can also be a victim. There's a fine line between forgiving someone and allowing the same act to happen again. Rape occurs because the punishment doesn't fit the crime. People (men AND women) think they can get away with things because to them, the consequences are inconsequential. Worse than that, some of them think that they are entitled to things that are not theirs.

We need to teach them that rules and laws are there for a reason. That if you break them, bad things happen, and those bad things follow you for the rest of your life. It's the same for victims, so in my mind, it only makes sense that it should be ten times worse for the perpetrator.

Also, I'm really sick of getting news about only Scott's books. There are so many forums and emails about his publications, but there are specific rules on other forums that other authors are not allowed to self-advertise. Doesn't seem very fair to me, and I only mentioned it because we were on the topic of entitlement.

This is honestly everything I did not know how to say lol. So often the criminals are the ones who are sensationalized and personified and the victim gets lost in the celebrity of the ones committing horrific acts. This title shocked me completely. I can only imagine how the victim would feel if she were perusing Facebook and someone who knew someone who knew her liked it and she would have to view that image and all the terrific comments people were making.

She more than likely would not take the time to read anything about it, or see any logic behind the insensitive title; no matter how short the pamphlet is. Scott is talented and has a media presence, but this crime and Brock's celebrity and name, are not the forums to get the message of love out. Even after reading it and comprehending what the actual point was, I still had a hard time seeing Scotts pov. It is what it is, though. I just hope someone is out there helping her heal.

[angelsfantasy26]

I finally finished reading it today and it really opened my eyes. I will admit when I first started reading it that it threw me off at first but I just kept reading. What amazes me is how much the book made me realize that I am just like most everyone else, I see things in black and white and don't even stop and think about what ifs or whys. I think that this book has really opened my eyes. I will probably never look at things the same way again! Thank you for the eye opener!

[Scott]

Out of curiosity, to which charity do you intend to donate, if you do not mind divulging?

@MsEwoldt there was a vote that just ended earlier today. The winning charity is RAINN.

I'm sorry if I made it seem like I was saying that anyone who doesn't agree with the sentence or who doesn't love Brock in the sense of wanting to give him a hug is self-righteous. That's not what I meant. I'm sorry for not being more clear. I'm sorry for making you feel that way.

How can you call someone that hates a bad person a simpleton? i for one think that hating terrorist and rapists and child molesters, ect. ect. Is a smart thing, as long as you do something about it [...]

@erezb1994 Thank you for your response. You say "as long as you do something about it". What are you going to do? If what do is work to protect victims or would-be victims, then we are acting out of love not hate. If we work to take care of and help victims, then we are acting out of love. So if you don't agree with the message of acting out of love instead of hate, that means you don't want to do something else (i.e. something out of hate), then what is thing? And what is the benefit of it? I suspect that you and I actually agree more than we realize. This is not a good place for it, but I would love to talk to you more about it and learn more about your thoughts.

This essay style booklet is a gracefully written, non-inflammatory exposé of...well, the hate in our hearts, or the hate in which we indulge for who knows what reasons. I found it to be a pretty straight-forward, but rather difficult to disagree with, logical explanation of why and how our culture loves to hate, and spends a lot of energy doing so. I felt pretty personally convicted to think more deeply, not so much about snap judgments about books, but about everything. I rush to say: most especially everything that comes my way via social media. The book's title is sneaky! It's not a defense of Brock, nor an indictment (neither of the victim.) I take it as a call to take responsibility to love, if we want to live in a culture that does not run on an engine of hate. Wonderful, simple work of art.

@WrenBrown Thank you so much for reading and for your kind comments.

Other than that, good philosophical writing.

@sometimes Thank you very much for reading and your compliment.

Scott, I didn't want to quote your previous post, since it included so many responses to other members' posts. You did mention that there is one person who gets your books in order to rate them 1-star as some form of revenge. I wonder if the person is posting multiple negative reviews on Amazon from different email accounts. If he/she is so laser-focused on you, it's not a far stretch to think so, considering you said you receive constant, hateful emails.

@bookowlie It's quite possible. I'd love to develop an alternative to Amazon that has more reliable customer reviews. No system will be perfect, but there is a lot of room for improvement. For now, we have our professional review team which provides that amazing service of much more reliable reviews.

Hi Scott, I'm halfway through the book now, will finish it soon. It's sad that the old adage is still prevalent in our society "Don't judge a book by its cover" which people are obviously doing, I gotta admit though when I first saw the title it was like, hmm I hope he's not going where I think he's going, so I started reading. If more people took the time to check it out first without making snap judgements they would see, that in fact, you can't judge a book by its cover!! I will let you know what I think as soon as I'm finished. Thanks Scott!!!

@purplepeepleeater You are so right. I think it is fitting to have a title that inspires that reaction because the book addresses--I hope--the issue of our tendency as human being to jump to conclusions and then holding those conclusions with destructive passion.

I was a bit taken aback by the title but went on to read the book. Can't honestly judge it if you don't read it. I found it to be very honest look at how people react to crimes and make decisions about others they do not even know. It made me take a look at myself and find I am guilty to of being judgmental without all the facts at times. I did like the book and posted a longer review on Amazon also.

@ChrisKauf Thank you so much for reading, for your comments here, and for your review.

I almost passed on reading this one because of that very reason.... but I hate judging that way so I took the chance!!! I'm glad I took it, I thought it was very thought provoking and made me look in the mirror.

@HStanley Thank you!

I finished the book about thirty minutes ago, and then immediately jumped on Amazon to give you a positive review. In my opinion, your points within the book are correct! The negative reviews are from people who can't handle opinions that don't match their own.

@LivreAmour217 Thank you for reading, for the the review, and for your comments here.

I don't blindly use him as a scapegoat, because he did it meaning he's not a scapegoat. Being a scapegoat means you didn't do it, but Brock did... So hatred is warranted and much deserved!!!

@erezb1994 It depends what "it" is. A lot of people seem fundamentally upset about the broader problem of the thousands upon thousands of rapes that occur each year and a justice system that allegedly gives inconsistent unfair sentences, giving some non-violent people long sentences and than rapists a slap on the wrist, ultimately releasing dangerous violent people un-rehabilitated to harm yet more victims. That is a problem that Brock alone did not cause. So my point is that we scapegoat him for that kind of thing to excuse our own inaction to fix problems like that and like the 18,000 who starve to death every day. If it is a reasonable reaction, I wouldn't call it hate. It only seems like hate to me when it is unreasonably put on a single person particularly as way of excusing our own fault. So to anyone who says he--or whoever is the alleged scapegoat of the day one day--is not a scapegoat because he is very guilty of something, I would ask that person, what have you done to stop rape? What have you done to help victims? Is there more you could do but don't? Are you perfect? If not, why not work on yourself instead of hating some single guy on the TV? Why not try to behave more lovingly by doing more for charity or to help victims instead of spending any time or resources doing whatever hate entails?

I did read the book and I do agree with you that we are a society quick to judge but I felt you were only looking at it through the eyes of Brock and not the victim.

@terrilyn_2000 Thank you so much for reading. I'm not sure how I looked at it though the eyes of Brock at all. I'm not doubting you. I would like to know more about that, if you don't mind.

I read the book and posted a review on Amazon. Although I did not make this comment on the review, when I first read the book I was shocked. I thought you did a great job presenting the fact that love is hard and it take work, while hate is easy and it is too often our first response. I appreciated your perspective and the courage it took to say what you said.

@thomaslaw3 Thank you for reading and for your comments.

I think everyone looks for the one statement in a conversation that differs and fights against that when in reality there was an entire conversation you were in agreement with, but people focus on the one difference and blow it up.

@bookfix_blog That is so true! That's kind of what I like about the title. If someone is ready to not give me the benefit of the doubt but get really upset or even maybe hate me over a conclusion jumped to on 3 words I said, then I'd kind of rather that misunderstanding occur right off the bat.

I totally understand, given the circumstances, why people gave the book a one-star review without downloading/reading it. I nearly did that myself. But while I appreciate the message and I think Scott was very brave to do something like this in the first place, the whole episode hits too close to home for me to be objective.

@LizByr I am very sorry to learn that it hits close to home for you. I wish I knew a good way to help victims more than just throwing some money at a charity. I wish I could write a book that would make that all better or anything like that. If you have any ideas, I'm all ears, but I understand I'm probably out of my league there.

I loved the book. I loved it because it is about love and the battle against hate. Orlando has shown us the power of hate. War shows the power of hate. Who stands up for love? Jesus and your sister are right. Love is the only way to live without going absolutely insane. I am a Christian, and while I think his punishment is too light, we all know that if he spent a long time in prison he would be raped repeatedly. Probably for the rest of his life. Is that justice? No. That is hate.

Thank you for this book. I'm going to force people to read it

@steve40004 Thank you for your comments. Can I just take a moment to note it is not everyday one hears the phrase, "Jesus and your sister are right." :p But they are, yes.

Hi Scott, and thanks for you email.

This is one of those situations where I have to read the book before commenting on it. I will get it from Amazon, and I'll reply in a few days. Needless to say, I am interested in this debate you're having, and hope you don't take negative comments from other writers too seriously. It's all part of the writer's trade.

I'll contact you when I'm done. Thanks for the invitation to comment on your book with this forum.

Harvey Havel

@"Harvey Havel" Thank you for reading. I hope you like it. Please do let me know what you think.

As an old debating coach of mine used to say, "You have to be careful that in the midst of making your point you do not talk down to your audience. Talk TO them not AT them." In this case I felt I was being talked at rather than talked to.

@Mike_Lang Thank you for the feedback. That's good advice. I didn't realize I was doing that. I will work harder in future writings of this nature to talk to the audience not at them. Perhaps I made that mistake because in some ways I was describing an attainable perfection (of behavior, and thus like I was a teacher talking to misbehaving kids). But I meant for it to come across indeed from a peer who is probably more imperfect than the reader. I'm talking from the bottom of the ladder I want us to go up, and I meant for it to sound like that, so I'm very sorry it didn't for you.

People really shouldn't judge a book by its "cover". I think that the discovery made is a beautiful and true one that we all need to realize.

@sugardrop15 Thank you for reading and for your comments.

In my opinion, a loving environment of rehabilitation and learning would be much more beneficial to Brock and society as a whole.

@JudyF I want to highlight the above sentence because I think the above sentence is the type of wise conclusion we come to when we consider it out of love. And Ii's not mainly for the sake of people like Brock. One of the problems with a hate-focused criminal justice system is that it is focused on the hate instead of on protecting victims. Loving people want to help victims and protect would-be victims such as by not release non-rehabilitated violent offenders for just one example.

Your book caused me to pause and reflect on these issues and more. Thank you!

@JudyF Thank you for reading and for wise comments.

I didn't judge the book by its cover, and knowing that a portion of the proceeds goes to victims of assault, I knew the title was purposely misleading. That being said, I really do not like reading books like these. I rarely even pay attention to the news. I like romantic fiction where I get to pretend everything is roses and sunshine.

@JPGrider Totally understandable. Unfortunately, I don't think you will be getting much sunshine romance from me.

I will never be able to give my love to people that fall into that category. unfortunately for this pamphlet, the ideals expressed are a bit unrealistic because we live in a society where conditions exist to keep us safe.

@P_hernandez You are more than entitled to your opinion. I do just want to point out that I agree with conditions to keep us safe. I agree like with the following condition: 'If you sexually victimize someone, you go to jail.' So I'm fully supportive of hurting Brock and people like and doing harsh things to him to keep people safe. Absolutely. One of my biggest concerns with hate is that than our focus is on hating and doing hateful things instead of focusing on loving things like helping victims and protecting would-be victims. I just want to be clear: I'm not saying let's go kiss Brock and let him out of jail. Really, if anything, I'm saying 3 months is too short and hate is at fault. Hate is what we do instead of doing what we need to do to make the justice system protect would-be victims such as by dealing appropriately with violent crime.

[quote=""P_hernandez"]None of what I said has any reflection on Scott as a writer. He clearly has talent. It's just that sometimes even the best writer experiences a subject that doesn't do the talent justice.[/quote]
@P_hernandez Thank you so much. That is very kind of you to say.

Personally, I enjoyed reading this booklet. It left me with a positive feeling and a re-look on what feelings I let consume my thoughts. I would rather choose love and focus on this feeling than to continually to use negative feelings to drive my life.

Mr. Hughes is not trying to say that people who make horrific decisions should not have consequences. He agrees there should be. However, the driving force shouldn't be hate. To be honest, the more focus that is put on hatred, I feel eventually true love sort of gets put on the back burner.

I left a positive review on Amazon and Goodreads. Thank you, Scott, for writing this booklet.

@hsimone Mr. Hughes? :p But seriously thank you so much for reading, for understanding so well what I mean, and for your kind comments.

I was pretty sure that I knew where you were going with the title, and I was proven right.

I'm of two minds.

In the one hand, the rational, empathetic person inside me agrees with everything you said wholeheartedly. Turner is an easy scapegoat, a lighting rod for indignant rage and hatred. As a person, a citizen of this Earth and universe, he deserves to exist and to wish ill upon him feeds more into the perpetuation of violence that we can't seem to get out of.

On the other, as a victim of child molestation, the slap on the wrist conviction he recieved nauseates me. I don't wish him to suffer for the sake of suffering, but it seems that the only way humanity gets a wake up call is in the spilling of innocent blood in tragic events. This same rage that calls for his blood is fueled by the terror of coming face to face with my own attacker a mere four years after he was sentenced.

Checks and balances are supposed to exist in the system. Actions have consequences. The punishment should fit the crime. People keep doing this because the deterrant isn't big enough to make them think twice. Either make the punishment not worth committing the crime or educate people to the point that such actions don't cross their mind.

I do like the book, and agree with the message. Hate is easy, it's a shortcut for rationalizing perceived wrongs, but it is an insideous drug, subtle and addicting. It is a haze that is easy to get lost in, and when you wake up, you find that more has been lost without your knowledge than when you went in.

To love someone in spite of harmful behavior against the world, to forgive is difficult, trying, and less instantly rewarding than hatred.

@artemis822 What an intelligent response. You express yourself very well.

If the goal is to harshly punish offenders to generate a deterrent effect to prevent future violent crime, then I think that isn't hate. It's a means to an end. But then those creating those policies needs to spend thousands of hours you getting the science and statistics to figure that out and strategically use that methodology to get the results if possible. One of my favorite speakers and writers is Dan Ariely. He has quite a bit of interesting work in the behavioral economics of cheating and what deters it in controlled experiments. It's very interesting. I recommend checking out some of his work. It's interesting not boring, at least when presented by Dan Ariely.

I have not read the book yet. I downloaded it, then read the sample and the font was so small I could not see the...

@Maryannwrites-15 I am so sorry about that. The font should be adjustable, I think. Please do let me know if is not.

Honestly, I'm going to be upfront and say that I did not download the book and will not do so. The title honestly gave me such a shock, and even after reading published reviews and getting the general gist, I was not up for it.

I can't tolerate people who act as if a rapist can also be a victim. There's a fine line between forgiving someone and allowing the same act to happen again.

@katiesquilts That's not what the book is about, and that's not what I'm saying. I agree there is a fine line between forgiving someone and allowing the same act to happen again, and the book makes that clear, I think.

***

Thank you everyone for reading and for your time!

-- 16 Jun 2016 08:50 pm --

I finally finished reading it today and it really opened my eyes. I will admit when I first started reading it that it threw me off at first but I just kept reading. What amazes me is how much the book made me realize that I am just like most everyone else, I see things in black and white and don't even stop and think about what ifs or whys. I think that this book has really opened my eyes. I will probably never look at things the same way again! Thank you for the eye opener!

@angelsfantasy26 Thank you so much for reading and for your kind comments! It doesn't seem like you are like most people at all. You seem very open-minded.

[terrilyn_2000]

Sorry Scott... I meant the book dealt with how the public was quick to judge him. As I said I think our society allows and seems to look the other way when athletes commit crimes.

[Scott]

Sorry Scott... I meant the book dealt with how the public was quick to judge him. As I said I think our society allows and seems to look the other way when athletes commit crimes.

@terrilyn_2000 I agree.

[bookowlie]

One thing I have learned from doing the Official Reviews here is to appreciate a book, or at least aspects of it, even when I don't always agree with the content. Is the writing style good, the format, the plot and characters (in fiction), the flow? Did the author get his points across in a clear and meaningful way? It's true that not everyone is going to like every book. It's also true that many well-written books are not universally liked and many poorly written books are not universally disliked. Sometimes being noticed is half the battle, considering there are so many self-published books out there that are ignored.

[gali]

One thing I have learned from doing the Official Reviews here is to appreciate a book, or at least aspects of it, even when I don't always agree with the content. Is the writing style good, the format, the plot and characters (in fiction), the flow? Did the author get his points across in a clear and meaningful way? It's true that not everyone is going to like every book. It's also true that many well-written books are not universally liked and many poorly written books are not universally disliked. Sometimes being noticed is half the battle, considering there are so many self-published books out there that are ignored.

I agree. There were many books I disagreed with and still rated high due to their style and other factors. A book that makes you feel strongly about the subject matter is a good one in my view.

[P_hernandez]

One thing I have learned from doing the Official Reviews here is to appreciate a book, or at least aspects of it, even when I don't always agree with the content. Is the writing style good, the format, the plot and characters (in fiction), the flow? Did the author get his points across in a clear and meaningful way? It's true that not everyone is going to like every book. It's also true that many well-written books are not universally liked and many poorly written books are not universally disliked. Sometimes being noticed is half the battle, considering there are so many self-published books out there that are ignored.

I agree. There were many books I disagreed with and still rated high due to their style and other factors. A book that makes you feel strongly about the subject matter is a good one in my view.

Even though this particular book had all of those positive things going for it, the subject and content was something that was just too much for the general public to digest. Most people didn't even get past the title. I don't think Scott did a bad thing by voicing his opinion or attempting to get people to understand a difficult concept. I also don't think the people who couldn't get past the concept of unconditional love should be labeled as "haters" or accused of being ignorant or whatever else. Feeling strongly about a book is good, yes. But I don't think this strength is exactly what was hoped for lol.