When i was in grad school, i did an m f a, a writing programme. Seminars were kind of instruction workshops where students would bring in their writing. Once you get a few weeks into the semester, it was totally predictable who would like what and why. And can i tell you what, virginia wolf would ha gotten the crap beat out of her in that class including by people who think they love virginia wolf. I'm saying, a, there's bias, and b, there's there's preference.
Also: is it better to send a congratulatory note to someone who deserves it or a condolence note to someone who needs it?