For What It's Worth


Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Pesky reviews and how to tame them

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 

It is co-hosted by (Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life  and me) 

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Question:  What do you do when that pesky review makes you work for it?

Answer: In my early days I had a more elaborate system and copious note taking but, in general, I don't really agonize over reviews anymore. They are either in my brain - or they are not. 

My reviews probably reflect that 😜

I jot down a few notes, like character names and places (because I forget 5 minutes after I put the book down), any strong feelings I may have had and that's it. I'm a big post-it note user when it's a physical book though.

When I'm done I set the book aside and wait. Usually in a few days something hits me - a line or general direction I want to go in and I get to it and it takes about 30 minutes to spit that out. Then I come back to it a day later and re-read to (try) to catch mistakes, typos, clarify or add things. 

My ah-ha moments almost always come to me in the shower or before bed. Occasionally, when I've been out hiking. 

The books I feel REALLY strongly about - love or hate - will flow right away. Love reviews are always harder to write though. I'm just a squealing OMGILOVETHIS hot mess and it's hard to convey just what I loved without spoiling. I also don't like looking at books I love too critically because then it takes the joy out of it but I try to be objective and point out things that make it easier for the reader to decide if the books for them.  

Middle of the road reviews can be tough too because yeah, I liked it, but I don't have strong feeling either way. I've been doing the *Notable* list-ish type reviews for those - and to help get me back into the reviewing hang of things. 


It gives me a starting point without having to come up with a more coherent review while pointing out what I liked/didn't like. 

Long-ish answer for basically - I don't worry about it lol 

What are your strategies for difficult reviews or review block?




27 comments:

  1. Yes! Love reviews are hard for me. I tend to gush instead of offering up well thought out reasons of *why* I loved the book. I just flail all over the place. LOL

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    1. I love it BECAUSE I LOOOOVE IT lol

      You want to get into every detail, but then you end up spoiling or boring people lol

      Delete
  2. I like my squeeling hot mess reviews, they are awesome and realy :D

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    1. There's nothing wrong with a squealing, hot mess review.

      My problem is I ramble and spoil things in them. I have to watch myself.

      Delete
  3. I like hearing about your process. I'm the type of person that doesn't wait. I read a book, I get on my blog or Goodreads, and I write how I how I felt. Sometimes it takes me 5 minutes and sometimes it takes me an hour. It just depends.

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    1. It really just depends for me. Sometimes, it's a soon as I put the book down and super quick, other times I have nothing lol and I wait until it comes to me.

      Delete
  4. OMG, yes! Always searching for names. Now I highlight the ones I want to remember while I am reading. I generally talk about how I felt reading the book or if I was entertained. I can usually remember that for the books I read.

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    1. I thought it was just me. My feelings linger after I finish but details are gone almost instantly lol

      Delete
  5. I actually take more notes now than I used to, seems like. I usually review right after I finish- that way it's not hanging over my head lol- but soetimes I let 'em percolate a little. Like the one I just finished- The Echo Wife- that one takes some thinking. :)

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    1. That's interesting! I used to have a notebook next to me while take with pages of notes but now I just jot a few things.

      I haven't truly reviewed our had arc's in so long that I've felt 0 pressure to write anything lol

      I just finished one that I really had to sit with and process for several days.

      Delete
  6. I am a big note taker as well, both for plot points and my thoughts/feelings. I also try to take notes on the narrators if it's an audiobook review. And names - I am SOOOO bad with names. I can't even tell you the main characters in the books I'm reading now.

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    1. I'm started taking on a few (very few) arc's so I wonder if that will change things again for me. I've had no pressure as far as reviewing for over a year now.

      I'm surprised by how many other readers forget names lol

      Delete
  7. Interesting! I try to write all my reviews right away, if I care enough about the book to want to write a review, because it gets too hard for me to remember things as clearly in a few days. But middle of the road are definitely the hardest to review, and I usually just don't if it's not a review copy, or I'll just leave a sentence or two on Goodreads.

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    1. I should do that but most times I don't have a clear direction right away. Then it all of a sudden hits me (most of the time lol) and flows.

      Delete
  8. I write down a few things that I want to remember as I'm reading the book. Makes it easier for me to write a review right after reading the book.

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    1. I used to be way more detailed with my notes but I'm not reviewing as much anymore so I don't worry about it.

      Delete
  9. I feel like I need to outsource them, like just beg strangers on the street to write them for me for like, free coffee and a hug or something. I highlight stuff on my Kindle (where most of my "for review" books are) that I want/need to remember. Make a note here or there. I used to use post it flags on physical books but I mostly just use my notes app now. More often than not, I forget completely and then panic when it's time to write the review. When I write the review, I forget all the epiphanies I had in the shower/before bed, leave the writing until the literal eleventh hour, and then panic word-vomit, and then hit post. It's the actual messiest system known to man, I think?

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    1. But it works for you! You're reviews are very detailed, funny and awesome.

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  10. I do know what you mean about the omg I love this book reviews - they can be super hard because how do you convey the greatness without just giving the book away. But yeah I also do not stress over my reviews like I used to. And I forget names instantly most the time. In which case I find myself scouring the blurb and other reviews just to find names 😂

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    1. I am so surprised by how many other readers forget names instantly! I thought it was just me lol

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  11. I so agree on love reviews. I just want to throw the book at people and scream, "Read the book!" What I've noticed works for me a little bit is highlighting or tabbing. I'll color-coordinate, too, so it's easier to find things. There was this one book that had vivid imagery, so I highlighted one of the paragraphs. When I was going to write the review, I had completely forgotten about that, but when I went to read my highlights, I was like, "Aha!"

    Genesis @ Whispering Chapters

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    1. That's a great system to keep you organized.

      I don't bother with anything anymore because I'm mostly reading for fun these days. Or barely reading so I need as little pressure as possible lol

      Delete
  12. I need to write more notes, or do a mini review after I read a book, because I go from book to book and sometimes I forget things by the time I review. hah

    Lauren @ www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I'm not sure why, but I can go weeks and then all of a sudden a review hits me. But the names are killer for me if I don't write them down lol

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  13. Same about characters and place names! 5 minutes after finishing the book and poof, they're lost forever. I don't really know how to review anymore but I've always done a word vomit on to the screen and hope for the best. It might make my reviews a bit bland but they're my genuine thoughts anyway. I find the books I love the hardest to review because I can't always explain why it just gave me happy feelings or made me think and that's it. Middling reviews are actually easier because you can look at the negatives too and it gives me more to day which is a little weird.

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    1. I really like the more stream of conscious reviews - I can feel the reviewers love (or hate lol) more and it helps me decide about whether a book is for me better than a more polished review.

      Yes! to the middling reviews. It's so much easier to be objective with pros and cons.

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  14. I have a note section in my ColorNotes app where I write down snippets of things I have problems with while I read. I never have any trouble remembering things I love. Ha ha. 😁

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