And so the terror begins again. I think I was lulled into a false sense of security by the generally positive response to The Epigenetics Revolution. A lot less sharing the love once it came to Junk DNA, A Journey Through the Dark Matter of the Genome. Some really negative reviews. I try to follow the advice of an old friend of mine viz "Did the bad review come from David Attenborough? No? Then who cares?" but I am not as thick-skinned as I'd like to be.
Happily, none of the reviews suggested I'd got any of the science wrong. Quite a lot hated the way I used the phrase "junk DNA". And a number took the approach of "If I had written this book, I wouldn't have written it like this." Which I don't find all that helpful but I do find kind of funny.
So, what to do? Should I link you to these reviews in the spirit of full disclosure? Probably I should but I'm not feeling inclined to be that masochistic. But if you enjoyed my first book, I really think you will like the second as well. I mean, cats with opposable thumbs and Dutch people who have to wear mittens, what's not to love?
Chin up, Ness, chin up.....
PS Though it's very exciting to be told your book is going to be featured as Book of the Month, and to answer the questions to accompany the review, you do feel a bit sad when the published review is very negative and drives you to drink. Yes, I'm talking about you, BBC Focus magazine. Sob.
PPS Thank you Peter Forbes, my step grew lighter.