The next time you read a book review keep an eye out for these no-nos. Actually, this article has made me paranoid about reviews I've written in the past. I don't think I've committed many of the seven deadly words but if I have, may the gods of book reviewing forgive me...
From The New York Times:
lyrical: Reviewers use this adjective when they want to say something is well written. But using the word loosely misses the sense of expressing emotion in an imaginative and beautiful way. Save lyrical for your next review of Wordsworth.
poignant: Something you read may affect you, or move you. That doesn’t mean it’s poignant. Something is poignant when it’s keenly, even painfully, affecting. When Bambi’s mom dies an adult may think it poignant. A child probably finds it terrifying.
More here.
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