Greg over at The New Dork Review recently asked the question about if it was worthwhile or not to review an obscure book he didn't like which kind of lead to a discussion about if one should review every book they read, regardless of their opinion or how obscure the book may be. In an effort to put in my two cents worth, or like 5 dollars worth since I guess my 2 cents are over in his comments (I don't understand money), I thought I'd continue the conversation here.*
Do you feel obligated to review every book you read? Are there any types of books (crappy, obscure, boring) that you won't review?
Personally, I don't feel any obligation to write about any particular book or in any particular format. I started this blog as a means to get back into writing, since I'd mostly let that skill atrophy since college, and I picked book blogging because that was the topic I was most interested in and I figured I read enough I wouldn't run out of topics. I'm not being paid for any reviews so I certainly don't feel any responsibility to review everything I read. All the books are ones I'm reading for my own enjoyment.
Having said this, I do write about all of the books I read. I'm spending my time to read it so I figure I may as well write something, be it that I like the book, don't like the book or the book makes me think of some more interesting topic. Not having something to say has never stopped me from prattling on before, and I'm not letting it stop me now. But this is a personal choice and I admire the bloggers that are able to resist posting when they have nothing to say, even if that means skipping a review.
Going beyond what you do with your own reviews, what do you like to see from book blogs you follow? Do you want bloggers to review everything? Do you want them to only review the books they liked? Do you want them to avoid reviewing obscure titles?
*This is a nicer way of saying "I'm stealing the topic Greg already wrote about over at his blog, and if you want the original you could just go over there and see what he says."
Thursday, April 7, 2011
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Comments by IntenseDebate
Do you review everything you read?
2011-04-07T09:03:00-04:00
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Adam · 727 weeks ago
I know a lot of people who don't review books they couldn't finish or books they didn't enjoy - this baffles me. The point fo book blogging (for those making a type of "career" out of it) is to spread the word about books - all books. If you found a book to be poor, you want people to know about it, right?
Now, if you are just blogging for fun, and really not trying to inspire people to read and/or to guide people toward meaningful or time-worthy books, then maybe it's not as important.
I do try to review every single thing I read (*qualifier - every book I read - not magazines, etc.) because I want to share with my readers the "good" and the "bad" - and why I felt a certain way.
Laura · 727 weeks ago
I haven't been doing this whole book blogging thing for very long though, so I guess if I come across a book I literally don't want to talk about, I might just blog about feminism or something else instead!
Sarah · 727 weeks ago
I think the only times I sometimes skip reviewing a book is if it's part of a series and I don't want to ruin spoilers for those who haven't read the first book yet.... but even now, I think I'll just stick a spoiler warning at the top and go for it.
What I don't get is bloggers who only blog about books they liked... it leads to the impression that they automatically like everything they read, which is just phony. Plus, sometimes writing a review about a book you didn't like is more fun that writing about one you do. *evil grin*
Karen · 727 weeks ago
Jenna · 727 weeks ago
When it comes to other blogs, I always want to see some negative, or at least critical, reviews. Only writing positive reviews is not only boring but does a disservice to a blog's readers. I think people want to be warned about bad books before investing time and/or money. That's why a lot of bloggers read reviews as well
Also, I absolutely enjoy reading a review about a book by an obscure author. Reading about the more popular new releases that have the biggest push in terms of marketing on multiple blogs can get repetitive. There really is only so much that can be said.
Thomas at My Porch · 727 weeks ago
More than anything, however, I prefer reviews that are personal and give us a little insight into the blogger's life. Otherwise I find reviews kind of boring.
SarahReads2Much 43p · 727 weeks ago
Brenna · 727 weeks ago
rmanwill 4p · 727 weeks ago
One more point, I read a lot of things that I would consider to be outside my primary blog focus. I review mostly literary fiction and some non-fiction, with the occasional YA. But I read some stuff that just doesn't fall in those guidelines and I don't think would be of much interest to my readership. Why waste the time reviewing something that few people are going to read anyway? I don't flatter myself in thinking that everyone's going to read every review I write.
Beth · 727 weeks ago
I think responsibility to review is only relevant if you're talking about someone who has a book blog but never blogs about books. For the most part it's what you want out of the blogging experience and, of course, to fulfill any expectation you've created with those that follow your blog.
I'm up for most titles. I like being introduced to new authors through the bloggers I trust.
I 've noticed that sometimes reviews don't really generate much discussion. Sometimes that gets me down when I'm thinking about reviewing a certain title. However, I know I'm guilty of doing it too.
Bev · 727 weeks ago
It's also been extraordinarily helpful to me. With my middle-aged, aging brain, I would, in the past, see a likely-looking book, think it sounded interesting, take it home and discover that I'd already read the darn thing. I remember more when I actually write about it.
petekarnas 39p · 727 weeks ago
Diane · 727 weeks ago
llevinso · 726 weeks ago
But I definitely do not understand bloggers that only write about books they liked. I need to see all sides and won't trust them as a reviewer if they just love everything. And personally I think some of the reviews that are the most fun to read (and sometimes write) are the ones where they didn't like the book. For myself, I find that sometimes I have the most to say when I found the book to have a lot of problems.
Chelle · 726 weeks ago