Last week actually turned out to be a pretty good reading week for me. I completed Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks and then I read The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel in two days. It is really rare for me to get through a book that quickly these days but the format combined with my enjoyment of the story made it a quick read.
This week I'm hoping to read Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti, although I haven't started it yet. I would love to start it today but I think grocery shopping, laundry, and other household chores are going to take most of my day.
A recent post over at J. Kaye's Book Blog discussing writing book reviews has me thinking about my reviews and if the information that I am providing is meeting the needs of my readers. I would love some feedback - what do you like to see in book reviews? Is the information that I provide at the top of each review sufficient or would you like me to include the ISBN as well? I have been trying to write my own little book blurb - are those working or would you rather see the blurb from the back of the book or listed on Amazon? While I am not going to totally change how I write my reviews (because then it just wouldn't be MY review :-) ), I want my reviews to be as user-friendly as possible. Please let me know your thoughts on writing book reviews, I'd love to hear them!
This week I'm hoping to read Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti, although I haven't started it yet. I would love to start it today but I think grocery shopping, laundry, and other household chores are going to take most of my day.
A recent post over at J. Kaye's Book Blog discussing writing book reviews has me thinking about my reviews and if the information that I am providing is meeting the needs of my readers. I would love some feedback - what do you like to see in book reviews? Is the information that I provide at the top of each review sufficient or would you like me to include the ISBN as well? I have been trying to write my own little book blurb - are those working or would you rather see the blurb from the back of the book or listed on Amazon? While I am not going to totally change how I write my reviews (because then it just wouldn't be MY review :-) ), I want my reviews to be as user-friendly as possible. Please let me know your thoughts on writing book reviews, I'd love to hear them!
I have been thinking about this for my own blog as well. It seems, based on the first page of J. Kaye's comments at least, that I'm the only person who likes longer reviews. Hopefully mine aren't too long for readers!
ReplyDeleteAs for the book blurbs: I HATE it when bloggers copy the book blurbs from amazon, Barnes & Noble, the back of the book, etc. If I wanted to read the publisher's blurb (which is what most of those are), I could look them up myself. I want to know what YOU think is important enough in the book to blurb about.
Lawral, thank you so much for your feedback! Based on that post, I have also been wondering if my reviews are too long. I just love to talk about the book and my reaction to it so short reviews are hard for me to write ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy reviews are sometimes long and sometimes short; I let my reactions to the book guide me. Sometimes I enjoy the discussion that begins AFTER the reviews even more.
ReplyDeleteI just finished Benny & Shrimp. Enjoy!
nomadreader, I would love to get some more discussion started on here!
ReplyDeleteI like it when a reviewer conveys the mood of a book because I like to know if I am picking up something light and frothy or something with melancholy overtones.
ReplyDeleteDani, I agree. Speaking of publisher reviews, I usually avoid them because I find them to have too many spoilers. Often, their plot summaries go to the middle of the book or beyond. I really like for any plot summaries to set the basic stage and not cover more than a 25 pages. I tend to skip most plot summaries on blogs unless I know they're bare bones as well.
ReplyDeleteDani, thanks for that thought. I'm not sure I've done a very good job of conveying the mood of a book but it is certainly an aspect that I will think about now :-)
ReplyDeleteAngela, my guidelines are here
ReplyDeleteMy basic layout is consistent from one review to another as you'll see from my site. My main principle is not to spoil the book for others, at the same time as writing some hooks to intrigue. I often write less about the story than they'll find out from the blurb, and I generally try to point to things the blurb ignored. I try to point people to places where thay can find out more - e.g. reviews by others, information about the author etc.
Kerrie, you have a fantastic blog! It is too bad that crime fiction is really not something I read. Your guidelines were really helpful and some of the best I've seen. I need to get something like that written up here. I also really want to change the overall blog layout but I haven't gotten around to that yet either. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love your reviews the way they are. I don't add the ISBN and all that stuff either. I figure someone can look it up easily on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteI do use a blurb but I mainly use http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk, I like theirs the best and will add in other bits if I want. I think the best reviews are the ones that come from the heart, so definitely go with your own style and you can't go wrong.
Thanks Bella :-)
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