Book Lair discussion

Hello everyone and welcome to my humble abode.

I am Ana, from Portugal, 32 years of age and I am single.
Right now I am working as a part time receptionist while trying to complete a 1 year course that will hopefully open new doors - getting a job in this economy is hard business.

So even though I don't gain a lot of money that does mean I have more time for my favourite pasttime - reading!

Joining GoodReads awakened a love for reading that had been somewhat dormant. It was something I enjoyed but didn't make a priority. Now I go out of my way to not only find the time to read but also post my opinion on the book, which is quite new to me. And it's so much easier to find recommendations for books!

I never knew people offered books in exchange for reviews. That was a very good surprise.

So, my current reading goals are to finish the books on my r4r shelf and then move on to the ones on my real bookshelf at home.

In the past month or two I have started reading more than 1 book at a time. It's a challenge, but since they are completley different genres there isn't a possibility to mix them up in my head. Just need more than 24 hours in a day!

My new blog, created and developed between February 19th and 21st of 2015: https://anaslair.wordpress.com

My reviews posted before I started this topic:

Storberry: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Last Overseer: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A Hollow Dream of Summer's End: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Up The Tower: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I Devour, Therefore I Am (I Waited for So Long To Be Free, #1): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Heir to the Amulet: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Fireflies: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Perfect People: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Man Who Turned Into Himself: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Shining: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Three Impostors and Other Stories: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My Soul to Take: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Call of Cthulhu: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Girl with All the Gifts: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Coincidence: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Swarm – A Zombie Thriller: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Smoke and Mirrors: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A Hollow Dream - Eternal Autumn: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

What Had Been And Wasn't Anymore - A Short Story:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Doctor Sleep: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A Lovely Machine: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Best Jokes Ever!: 100% Hilarious!: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sacrifice: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Cemetery Tree: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Haunted Mirror: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This sound interesting. But why are you saying that it's more directed for an American audience?

Anyway, I found you review very clear, and it seems to give a clear view of the strenght or weeknesses of this book. I'll have to read it to see if I have the same opinion as you in this book!

But your review makes me think of one think I have mixed feelings on: should we put spoilers or not in a review? i.e. are we writting reviews for those who have read the book or those who haven't yet?

I admit I am using some from time to time, but I'm never sure if it's a good thing or not. I have this feeling that a perfect review should be meaningful without those. What do other think on this subject?

Just because of the referrences and especially the scenario. I have no idea what it's like to live in a farmhouse with a barn and animals and stuff nor have I ever been to or even seen one from afar at all. Heck, I have never even lived in a house, so no idea what a basement is like, apartments are all I have known all my life! So when the author is describing all the nooks and corners of those places I can't really relate. It is described very well, no doubt about that, it just doesn't speak to my reality.

I will always hide the spoilers when I post. In my experience, I want to read reviews when I am unsure on whether the book will interest me or not. I think a lot of people do that too. It upsets me when a review gives too much away, I want to discover that stuff by myself, know what I mean? Whereas if you write it but hide it between spoiler tags, then people have the choice to read it or not.

I do think you should read it. If you take a look at all the other reviews the general consensus is that it was a chilling book. I didn't dislike it! I don't know, can't please everyone the same way I guess. And I guess I'm a bit hard to please... It's tough to satisfy me when it's a subject that's not exactly new. I love discovering new worlds, new things, new characters. I think that if the author would have done what I mentioned at the end, given the vampires a whole new dimension, I would love it a lot more. One thing I can say is that he is awesome and I only hope he's not upset at me for the review, I didn't want to be unfair but it was my honest opinion... And I do remember some stuff from the book from time to time, which is always positive :)

Concerning reviews, I too read them when I am unsure of a book. The thing is, I get really frustrated when I see the start of a sentence, and the rest behind a spoiler tag.

I do use them because it is really useful to get your point accross, at least to those who have read it in the first place. But my question is this: do I want to make potential readers go through the same frustration I go through? If I am writting for potential readers, why do I even bother to mention spoilers (even if behind a spoiler tag)?

Oh yes, completely understandable. Sometimes even whole reviews are hidden because the whole thing is a spoiler! Pretty frustrating. I feel that people who do that want to discuss the book more than review it, which kind of defeats the purpose.

So I think that a good review is one that overall does not give too much away of a story but contains spoilers whenever the reviewer wants to get a point across that cannot otherwise. That's what I try to do anyway. I would like to think I achieve a good balance. What I tend to do is give the general impression and then in the spoiler I specify what I mean with examples.

But you make a good point, I should probably not start a sentence and then hide the rest in a spoiler, might as well hide the whole thing!

It's nice to "meet" you Ana!

Pleasure, ms Kandice!

Figured I would include all my reviews in that first post.
Freaky order though. Doesn't seem to be either alphabetical nor by date. I try ordering by date but for some reason GR puts reviews together with all the other books I haven't even read -.-'

I finished the Soul and the Seed and posted my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I hesitated a lot between 4 and 5 stars but the fact is I enjoyed the first third/half of the book a lot more and was very disappointing in the ending so I will still with a chubby 4 :)

Also, when I give a 5, it's usually for books that stay with me for a long time and that I will want to reread in the future.

Well, I figured I would read a short story before I get started on my next book. The author asked me to review this one and one other. This is my review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I always feel so bad when I cannot give a good review. But then again I do emphasize I am always completely honest when I write.

I ended up not giving 1 star that I felt was fair because I felt bad. Meh.

Well today is a great day!

I finally bought a Kindle Paperwhite :D
Second hand and 1st gen, can't afford the newer ones but hey! I finally have a Kindle Paperwhite and can read books without tiring my eyes so much! Woohoo :D

Not a fan of the software though. I had no idea that it was all black and white, for instance. Also, one thing I have always missed is not being able to sort by file size. Sometimes I am in the mood for a short story but with the gazillion books I have I don't know which are short and which are longer books.

Oh well, at least battery lasts longer and it has the spiffy technology to read outdoors and be easy on the eyes, so I am very happy ^_^

Ana wrote: "Well today is a great day!

I finally bought a Kindle Paperwhite :D
Second hand and 1st gen, can't afford the newer ones but hey! I finally have a Kindle Paperwhite and can read books without tirin..."

Congrats! I strongly suggest you sign up for Book Bub so you can get all the deals. They only send you the deals available on your device, so you don't have to waste time sorting.

I hope you love your Paperwhite. :D

Well, it looks more like a newspaper to me than a book but I am enjoying it so far. I haven't actually tried reading a book there yet because I want to be done with the graphic novel first.

I've never heard of book bub, will try to look around :)

BookBub does not yet feature deals in this country. We’ll notify you when we begin supporting your area, but until then you'll receive deals from the United States, some of which may be available in your country.


Well, scratch that one off the list xD

Aww.. I'm sorry! You get an email each day with between 3 and 7 ebook deals. Sometimes they are $.99 for a significantly higher priced book (uo to $19.99) and sometimes there are actual free books available for a very limited time.

They only show you deals compatible with your device. I had no idea it mattered where you were. It's the internet for Pete's sake!

My thoughts exactly.
I had noticed that with Amazon before. People say books cost 0.99$ but to me they cost 1.22$.

Discrimination, I tell ya! :P

That's ok though, I have plenty of books in my shelf (both real and virtual) waiting to be read :)

I And You by Beverly Garside

Finished a graphic novel, you can find my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

I finished another book, The Reckoning. You can find my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've been browsing your reviews. I feel like a voyeur...

Oh my *blushes*
Thank you for checking them out! :D

Regarding country limitation on Amazon, it's because quite often, publishers gets the right only for one (or more) countries and almost never for the whole world.

But wouldn't that mean they would not be able to sell them? Instead it's just more expensive...

I think that the more expensive thing has to do with Whispernet. When you live abroad, data is more expensive? Each countries do not have the same dataplans? I do not buy Kindle books so I am not very familiar with all this, but I think I've read something along this explanation (and this is one of the reasons why I don't want to buy Kindles).

I have heard of Whispernet but I don't know what it is. I thought that everything being online, countries wouldn't matter. It's all sent electronically... As for dataplans, not sure if that is what you mean but I login to my own wifi network when I use both my Kindle and my phone with Kindle app... I just can't figure out what could cost more. Oh well, still plenty of free stuff out there to read :)

Well, I just read and reviewed my first Netgalley book, Seven to Die. I'm feeling a bit self conscious for being the only one in that site to give it a 2 star rating. Everyone else seemed to give it 4 or 5 :S

Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Hey guys, if you are looking for something different to read, here's a children's book from a new author that put me in a really good mood :)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

FINALLY done with Hear me scream.

Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

*rubs temples*

Billy Tabbs (& The Glorious Darrow)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of :

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review on : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Glad I am finally done with it. Can't remember last time it took me so long to read a book...

Review for , The Professional: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ana wrote: "Well today is a great day!

I finally bought a Kindle Paperwhite :D
Second hand and 1st gen, can't afford the newer ones but hey! I finally have a Kindle Paperwhite and can read books without tirin..."

I noticed you said about sorting into file size, I can understand that but you can create a collection to specifically for short stories and pop them all into that.

For My PW I only view my books via the collections I have created then I always know where to go when I want to read something.

Regards Graphic Novels, not something I would read on my PW but definitely view via the free kindle app for my PC.

Yep, I just realized I can create lists, I wonder what the Collections feature was eheh. I have now sorted my books into r4r, Netgalley and Quickies, which are the short stories. I probably missed a few but at least from now on the books will be sorted.

What I'd really like is to view my books on gr by genre. I'd like to create shelves for Fantasy and Dystopia for instance but it's going to be hell if I have to open each book to view its genre :S

Oh That's easy, just have Goodreads on your PC and search the book on there to find out the genre, it is a little time consuming but you can make highlight certain books that you would like to read soon.

I have two collections for that a "Want to Read" for those that I was really interested in reading and a "randoms I have not read" for those that I have thought looked interesting but don't mind waiting to read.

Just been looking through some of your reviews. I like how you write them without spoiling the plot, You have made me re-evaluate how I go about reviewing. :)

Yeah I know but the books I am talking about are already in other lists, so I have to open them one by one and the genre is usually on the right side of the book page.

Oh wow thank you so much for the compliment! I do make it a point never to reveal too much because that's one thing I really dislike when reading reviews and at times even makes me not want to read the book anymore. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!

You are welcome.

Whilst I do put in the plot line I tend to only put information about the story that is contained within the first 20-30 pages depending on book size. I like how you summarise why you have given a particular book those star ratings. I tend to rely on the actual star meanings as in 1 star really didn't like it. 2 stars it was ok...etc. but perhaps I should explain

My Bad I read about creating shelves on GR as you wanted to do this on your PW...It is a tad time consuming creating shelves but if you create all the shelfs first then every now and then just go through 5 or 10 books and shelve them into genre that way you will not sicken yourself.

Yeah most of my reviews are the impressions I got from reading it, not really what the book is about, the synopsis usually takes care of that.

I made an exception on my latest review for and revealed too much but only because I felt it was really important to explain why I was giving it such a low rating. It made me feel bad because the author asked me to review it and I just couldn't like it. :(

Yeah, I wondered why people had so many shelves when I first joined GR but now it makes sense eheh.

I don't think you should feel bad for not liking a book, I think it is best that there are some "negative" reviews as it is a cold day in hell if we all liked the same thing and conversations would be obsolete. Nobody is going to appeal to 100% of the population.
If done sensibly as you seem to do you put your thoughts as to why you don't like something then I would say it is constructive feedback, the author then can either take the feedback to alter something in their writing or leave as is, if you are not their target market. I know I do need to adjust a couple of my harsher reviews to put into context as to why I marked them low.

I understand and agree, it's just that sometimes it's hard to draw the line between being completely honest and just outright mean. I didn't mean to sound mean but I felt I had to say that to be fair. I already left out other stuff cause I felt mean. It's different when the author has contacted me and/or if they are new authors. If I don't know them, I will not hold out. If I do, I always wonder about their feelings and whether my negative review will influence them badly, especially if it's something that just because I didn't enjoy doesn't mean others won't...

I personally use the "negative" reviews to confirm I really want to read a book, I find them somehow more sincere. I do not let them put me off a book, but if done correctly they will highlight some things that I may not agree with and make me read the read the book to see if I agree or disagree.

That's a really positive way to look at things :)
It's very rare that a negative review will prevent me from checking out a book if I like the premise, unless it's the general consensus in other reviews.

I feel the same way about negative reviews. I try to avoid actually reading reviews before beginning a book, but will look at star ratings.

I also agree that often the negative reviews are more sincere and well thought out. There are those few exceptions like "This book sucked." or "I want to poke my eyes out after wasting my time on this!". LOL

Yeah often times I wonder how honest positive reviewers are or if they know the author or something, especially in my latest read. I just can't see what they're saying, how it's so awesome and whatnot.

I do skim through reviews before reading a book but since I have such a big waiting list I end up forgetting what I had read by the time I get to the book so it doesn't influence me much. :)

Obviously I have a big ol' TBR pile and no rhyme or reason to how I pick what I read next, because I made a little list of what I wanted to read in December and yet began a book NOT on that list!

I'm tempted to be more strict with myself, but like you said, I read for enjoyment, fun, escape, and if I inflict rules on myself it becomes more like a chore than a joy.

Completely understandable. Once I am done with my review requests I am not sure how I will pick what to read.

Depending on my mood, I will try to pick a book that has been on one of my shelves for a long time. Fortunately I don't get personally asked to review books, Probably because I am not really that thorough and I don't really like to be put on the spot, I much prefer to go with what I want to read.

Well, I didn't get asked either, I went to specific group forums here on GR where authors ask for reviewers and asked to review their books. Only I asked way too many of them and now I have a hard time keeping up v.v Especially since I discovered Netgalley as well.

This last book I read was actually the only one I had not asked to review. I wanted another book by the author but apparently it's not done yet so he asked me to review this one.

Tip: If you are browsing a book you think you may like, scroll down till the bottom of the page and see what topics in discussion forum feature them. Chances are you'll find some where the author is asking for reviews :)

That's what 'add the book' in a topic feature does btw, it adds the book to that list of topics where it is discussed.

Well wonders never cease, I have learnt something new. Thanks Ana.