So here’s the thing. I was writing this review the
other day. I had just finished reading the book and I was all, “that was pretty
good!” But then when I sat down to write the review and really started thinking
about the book, I realized that there were a lot of flaws within the story. And
it got me thinking. Would I have enjoyed the book more if I wasn’t reviewing
it? And then Jamie posted this post the other day which got me thinking even
more. Is being a “book reviewer” making me not enjoy books as much as I would
otherwise?
I think it is and that makes me really sad. Because
the concept of this book I was reading the other day was great. It had all the
elements that I love in a good fantasy. It was only when I began to analyze it
that I realized all of its flaws. Did it make me enjoy the book less? No? I
think I still enjoyed it. But it did make me wary of recommending it to other
people. I started this blog to talk about awesome books with people, but
sometimes I feel like this blog has made me harsh and critical which is NOT
what I want. I want to focus on the good things. The awesome aspects of books.
Sometimes books don’t work for me. It could be the characters. It could be the
plot itself. But do I really need to sit here and nitpick every little thing in
a book? No. So I’m going to be revamping my review style. I’ve wanted to do
this for a while anyway. I’ve kind of already started. My reviews are going to
be a lot shorter than they have in the past and they are going to be more about
how the book made me feel than the technical aspects of it. Because I’m tired
of feeling great about a book when finishing and then finding flaws when
reviewing, lowering my opinion of the book. That’s not fun and that’s not what
I want this blog to be about.
So watch out for a new review style and let me know
what you think! Do you guys feel this way about reviewing? Do you think that
blogging has made you more critical of the books that you read? What do you do
to combat this?
I know what you mean, I definitely find myself sitting and thinking about the book, analyzing what I liked and didn't like, and feeling like I have to include all of that in the review. Where normally I would finish a book, think, "that was great!" and then move on to the next book. I think focusing on how you feel when you're reading the book is a great idea. I've been thinking of revamping how I do reviews too, but I can't decide exactly what I want to do. I look forward to the new format!! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteYes, I definitely want to stop being so nitpicky and just enjoy the books for what they are. The style won't look too different, hopefully it will just be more positive overall.
DeleteI think when I really love a book, my reviews are short and I just gush about what I liked. When I don't like a book, I feel like I need to justify it and I end up writing more about what bugged me/technical things. It's a balance that has worked quite well for me - I hope you find yours!
ReplyDelete- Kritika @ Snowflakes & Spider Silk
Yeah, that's a good point. I definitely agree. My "bad" reviews are always a lot longer. I'm sure I will find what works for me eventually. Hopefully soon!
DeleteI prefer to talk about how a book made me feel and my overall experience while reading a book. I've noticed my reviews getting a bit more critical; however, I still don't think they're very technical in nature discussing the writing style and what not.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I think I'll enjoy the direction you're hoping to take your reviews in. I'm excited to read them. :)
I agree and I feel like that's what I did when I started out, but now I feel like I'm more and more critical of books. Books that I thought I liked, but then I find all these flaws with it later. I want to just read a book say I enjoyed it if I did and move on. You know?
DeleteThanks!
Love this idea Rebecca :) I don't feel this way about reviewing (yet - I'm sure it will come eventually though) but I love when people mix up their review styles and make it different!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you don't feel this way yet and I hope you never do! But I do think that blogging has changed me as a reader. For better mostly. But also some things for worse. Hopefully focusing my reviews more on how I feel rather than the technical aspects of the book will help!
DeleteI think that's a fantastic realization! Reviewing actually doesn't make me feel like I'm enjoying reading or blogging any less, but it still is a chore to write them sometimes because even writing "shorter" reviews for me takes like 45-60 minutes haha.
ReplyDeleteI'm also trying to shorten my reviews just a TAD and change them up a little bit to make them easier to read for people who don't want to read long reviews. Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's hard to contain my feelings in a short review! I'm trying to make them more visually appealing though haha!
I had a similar experience recently writing a review for a book I didn't entirely enjoy and the more I wrote, the more angry I got at the book and the writing... But in cases like those, I actually appreciated it because I was stopping to think about how I REALLY felt about the book and really what didn't work for me and I felt like I saw this whole other side that made me really think about things instead of just reading a book and saying "oh it was good but not great"! I'm the type of person who usually doesn't analyze at all so my reviews help me get in touch with that side of my reader's brain haha. When I'm reading a book, I'm so engulfed that I don't think about things like that so reviews make me really step back and think about things! It's also what helps me solidify my ratings because I've actually been changing a few -- for better and for worse (usually worse oops) after I review.
Great post! I hope your new review formats work out well for you and take that disappointment factor out! It's so important to keep enjoying what you're doing <3
Yeah, I definitely have been trying to shorten up my reviews a bit. Normally my reviews for books I loved are pretty short, but for books I didn't like they get so long because I feel like I have to justify it, you know?
DeleteThat's a good point. Writing reviews definitely makes me think more critically. Yay for brain exercise!
It is so important to keep loving what we are doing and that's why I wrote this post and have been writing my reviews a bit differently. It's definitely been helping so that's good!