Review Rut Anyone?
Lately I have found that reading series it makes it hard to write reviews. I don't want to spoil earlier books for those who haven't read them, and I really don't want to be repetitive. For example, The Walking Dead is a great series and I am really enjoying it, but sometimes I feel like everything I want to say about a volume I've already said. Same thing with the Last Apprentice Series that I have been reading. Each book has the next chapter of a larger story, but it seems tough to really review these books like I would something that stands alone. The Lincoln Rhyme series from Jeffery Deaver is a series but each book is pretty much its own story so it makes it easy to review it without giving away spoilers.
One of my friends has a great idea and she reviews a couple of Graphic novels in one post. This allows her to get right to the point and keep the reviews short and sweet. I like that idea but right now, most of what I'm reading is graphic novels so that would cut out a weeks worth of reviews for me. Plus, sometimes I jut have a lot to say. I still really like her idea and maybe one day I will go to a similar format.
At this point you might be wondering if this whole post is just to fill a slot for the week. Well, it kind of is. I have had three reviews that I have needed to write for books I have finished but I just haven't had the drive to do so. No I am running out of scheduled posts and need to get back to writing. This whole topic has spent a lot of time on my mind and I wanted to see if I was alone on this. If you're reading this and you are a blogger then have you ever let books stack up than need reviews? Does it work better for you to sit down and write a bunch at once, or do you find it better to put the book down and write it? I do tend to forget somethings about the story and what I thought as time passes between reading the book and finally reviewing it.
I have heard a couple people I know who write notes as they read a book so they can write a comprehensive well thought out review. I have tried that but I am not very good at it. I either get so wrapped up in a book that I forget all about taking notes, or I spend more time looking for things to take notes on that I do paying attention to what is actually happening in the book. What do my fellow bloggers out there do to get themselves out of this reviewing rut? If you have read my posts in the past, what would you change about them? I may have only been blogging for just over a year now but I am anxious to adapt and make my blog something people enjoy reading.
I'm looking forward to seeing if this drums up any discussion. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section.
As you know, I have started reviewing books for NetGalley. I actually do take notes as I read. Not during the reading, but once I have stopped reading for the day. I'll jot down a thought or two, write a sentence of introduction, or a paragraph about something that struck me. One of the beauties of digital books is that I can highlight a passage that I want to remember and take a screen shot. As for series books, well I am having a bit of a problem with that. I am currently reading a book that is 26th in a series. For people who haven't read any of the books I am going to have to write a brief introduction of the character, and yet for avid fans like me, I don't want to be repetitive. It's tricky. I can appreciate your reviewer's block.
ReplyDeleteSince most of the books I have been reading lately are audio, I usually finish them at work. I just don't have time to take notes when that happens.
ReplyDeleteSeries are really hard for the reasons you listed. I'm glad I'm not the only one who falls into this rut.
I am in a total rut. Maybe though I have been blogging a long time and that's what it's all about. I have a lot of family things going on and that put blogging and reading on the back burner. I don't have review ruts but I do have blogging ruts. I mean... coming up with discussion posts and unique posts drives me nuts sometimes. I don't want to get down to one post a week but I might. At least for a while. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteWhen I do review.. I write it right away though I may schedule it to go up later. That graphic novel post is so easy for me. I just can't write a whole review about a graphic novel so by doing it that way is really helpful. I have seen people who read a lot of books do that too. I don't read enough books a month though to put mini reviews of books on a post.
I can understand family coming first. That's how it should be. I try to write my reviews right away but sometimes that just doesn't work. Especially if I finish an audio book at work. I also like to have several scheduled so I can relax a little about trying to finish up some books.
ReplyDeleteI can write a decent review about the comics so that isn't my problem. It just gets harder and harder to write a review for a series I think. It is so hard to not include spoilers and I try to leave those out. I hate spoilers and feel a review should be able to still be written well without them.