Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts. Originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books, it’s now hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits.
This week’s topic is:
Reviewing Books?
(submitted by Rachel @ A Bookworm in Paradise)
Prompts: What makes you want to review or not review a book? Do you review every book you read? Are some books harder to review than others? Do you review books you disliked? If you’ve ever written a ranty review, have you regretted doing so afterwards? Do you delete reviews that are “outdated” or don’t follow what you think of the book now?
To Review or Not to Review
The major qualifier to whether or not I review a book on my blog comes down to whether or not it’s an advanced readers copy. If the publisher or author has provided me a copy of a book, I feel obligated to review it here. BUT, there are exceptions. I’ve only been blogging three years (in September) so I don’t have a ton of history to look back on, but the only time I haven’t reviewed an ARC I’ve been provided is when I didn’t finish reading it. I will mention it in my my monthly wrap-up, though.
I do review some books that aren’t ARCs on the blog, mostly new releases that I purchased or a backlist book I absolutely loved and feel like it deserves more attention. But I leave some kind of review for every book I read on Goodreads, mostly for my own benefit. I have a terrible memory when it comes to most books, so if I don’t leave a few thoughts, I’m likely to forget what I thought about it. It also helps when I’m compiling those very specific Top Ten Tuesday posts.
BUT, there’s nothing quite like reading a book knowing I don’t have to review it on the blog. I can read with wild abandon and let myself be fully immersed.
There are no words…
Strangely, it’s usually the books I love that I have a harder time reviewing. Those books that are so good, I can’t find the right words to express how much I loved them. It’s especially frustrating when they’re ARCs and I feel even more desperate to convey how much the book meant to me. I’ve found the sooner I write my review after finishing the book, the better the outcome will be. But even then, sometimes it’s impossible, especially without giving away spoilers.
(Book cover linked to my inadequate review)
Sometimes those books that are just okay are also harder to review. Or my reviews end up being on the shorter side. Maybe I just didn’t find enough to discuss or it was so mediocre, it didn’t stick with me, but those instances are few and far between.
No Bashing Allowed
I don’t think I’ve ever written a ranty review. At least not on the blog. I may have left a few on Goodreads, but I always try to be respectful. If I become ranty, it’s usually more to do with the direction the plot or characters took than the writing style. If I comment on the writing, it has to have been really bad—terrible grammar or maybe the author repeatedly told what was happening instead of showing. But unless the book contains something I find problematic or morally wrong, for me it’s better left unsaid. Especially if it’s a new author. I can’t stand the idea of leaving a wholly negative review on something an author has probably spent years writing. (If it’s a well-established author with tons of books, I feel more comfortable voicing my concerns.) If I do leave some kind of review, I try to leave constructive criticism, although that’s not always easy to do.
So far, I think I’ve only had one instance when an author contacted me through Instagram, inviting me to read their novel—which had positive early reviews—but I stopped reading at the halfway point because I felt like the novel needed more editing. I simply messaged the author and said the book wasn’t for me, but wished them the best of luck.
Change is Good
Working on Top Ten Tuesday posts, I often come across old reviews on Goodreads that sometimes leave me wondering what I was thinking when I wrote them. I don’t usually delete or change them, except maybe to correct grammar or spelling. The only time I change a blog review is when I discover something within the review needs to be updated—like a broken link or a picture that’s no longer loading. I’ve never changed or deleted the actual review. BUT, my blog is newer, so I would definitely say I may decide to do that one day. Especially if my opinion of a book or author has changed drastically. I feel like that’s one of the benefits of reviewing on a personal blog, the freedom to review books the way we want to, and the the freedom to change our minds.
Let’s Discuss!
How do you choose what books to review? Let me know in the comments!
Great post! I struggle a lot with trying to put into words how a book made me feel. I really like your point about trying to leave constructive feedback rather than just ranting about everything you don’t like about a book.
Thank you! Giving constructive criticism can be hard, but I try to think of it as a challenge to improve my reviewing skills. 😉
That’s a good idea. Might try that 🙂
I also tend to have a hard time reviewing books I loved.
It’s so hard to find those perfect words when our feelings are so big, right?!
I agree with you about how it’s so hard to find the words for those books that knocked me out of orbit, and I also like to keep it positive. I am not about using my space to talk about the books I didn’t like. It’s a place to hype books I enjoyed. I will admit, I stopped featuring books that rated lower than four stars on my blog even if it’s an ARC, however, I will always review on Goodreads.
In my rating style, 3 stars would still be positive, but just barely. However, I don’t *think* I’ve ever done a review on the blog that’s less than 3.5 stars. I definitely feel the same way as you. I wan’t my blog to be positive, so if I can’t find any redeeming qualities in a book, I won’t review it here. I don’t want to spend the time writing all the negativity, anyway. 😉
3 out of 5 is a decent rating. It’s “it as good” for me.I just want to hype those “great” and “amazing” books, you know?
I haven’t written a ranty review either
It just takes too much negative energy, right?!
I posts my reviews for ARCs and then I pick and choose with the other books I read. I hate to admit I have posted a few ranty reviews. It was for a specific series with a toxic romance everyone raves about, and I just couldn’t not say anything about it. I usually steer clear from doing that.
That makes sense, though! If an author (especially one that’s popular) has written a book with a toxic relationship, they probably already know it’s gonna be controversial. That’s a plot and character situation, not a writing style problem. I think it’s open for a ranty review. 😉
I pretty much review all books I read with a few exceptions. I, like you, Dedra do not review books on my blog that are DNF. I will post on goodreads and NG my reasons for not finishing it. It might be personal preference, therefore not fair to post post on my blog (in my opinion). I also don’t review every book I read to my grandkids unless it is an ARC or a book that I loved. My reviews are not long or technical, so I can usually review them even if I don’t do it right away, but within a couple of weeks at the longest.
You’re so great at reviewing books! I wish I could crank them out faster, but I’m just as slow at writing as I am reading. 😉 Which means I have to be picky about what I review. Glad I’m not alone with not reviewing DNF books. It just feels unfair. Most of the time it does just come down to personal preference for me, as well.
I do not write as thorough a review as others, which means I can do them quicker, but I hope I still get my thoughts and feelings across.
You definitely do!
Thanks.
I have written ranty reviews in the past, but—even when I tried to rant fairly—they always came across as mean. I’ve since deleted them, and no longer post ranty reviews as full blog posts. I do include the occasional rant in my monthly wrap-ups, but in those cases it’s only a few sentences long. As to which books I write full reviews for? Those are usually ones I really like, but more than that it’s books that I want to draw attention to. Sometimes that means I’ll often older books that I don’t feel are getting enough love, or self-pubbed books. I don’t feel a need to always review the books that everyone else is already talking about (though sometimes I will).
Yes! I’ve definitely ranted in my monthly wrap-ups. I agree, it’s important to draw attention to those great books that don’t get as much hype. And I also don’t feel the need to review all the books getting the most hype. Sometimes I’m even a *little* relieved when I don’t get approved for the ARC of a popular book because I know it means I won’t feel like I have to review it on the blog. 😉
That makes complete sense about the ARCs! Sometimes with the popular books I feel that I don’t have anything new to add to the information already out there (and recent) and so I’m less inclined to write a full review.
Yes, same!