flight paths discussion

How do you review a book
When do you just do a rating
Who is the review for (I know this overlaps with ratings but it is possible that writing and numbers have differing perspective).
And any other how,when,why,what,who,where assessment.

For me I feel both helpless and hopeless at them but compelled at the same time, even if its only (and normally) a few lines.

I have a very hard time writing reviews but I push myself to write something-even if it's just a few words-after everything I read. I always appreciate feedback from people when I do, it keeps me going.

I mostly try to see whether or how much I like it & why. Something short-I found it funny, insightful, loved the writing because it was ornate or simple. Basic observations that might show someone else how they might react to the book (oh I hate ornate writing, for example). I know that it's only my taste but I feel obliged to share it, in all humility, with some sense of what the writing struck in me. I often read reviews by people with whom I disagree & sense if I want to read a book from their review. If they like a book for reasons that usually make me not like something, that's as helpful as if they show me something I might want to read.

I'm crazed with starting the school year & it's way too early for me to be writing so I hope this makes some kind of sense outside my own head!

When I joined GR I made a resolve to post a review for every book as I finish, right away. I also intended going over my shelves and writing reviews for the books I thought most important, because I think the reviews are what makes GR so useful.

In fact, as is already noted, sometimes its tough to find just the right words,and it can seem onerous.
What works best for me is to write a review in the immediate aftermath of reading. It helps to have the book beside me.

Lovely badness has such a nice ring to it, K
why is it easier to express disagreement than praise?

Ellie wrote: "I have a very hard time writing reviews but I push myself to write something-even if it's just a few words-after everything I read. I always appreciate feedback from people when I do, it keeps me g..."

once again I wish for a like button...because I so agree...
Ellie we were writing our comments here at the same time, yours wasnt posted yet when I began,

so here I am, for the third time attempting to review a book about which I feel ambivilent.
It is easier to run off at the mouth than to be concise.

Has everyone had the chance to check out Bird Brians Big Audio Project?http://www.goodreads.com/story/chapte...

this is taking reviewing to another level, big fun.
I havent done one yet due to technical difficulties (poor quality mike)

As to reviews currently, I am trying to think more about my potential audience than just as a keepsake for my memory.

Often I will make notes during my updates.

Thinking about an audience activates my shy button.
Besides, audiences are made up of individuals. Who could ever anticipate or please them all?

To be honest though, since joining GR,I have to admit that there are certain individuals(who shall remain nameless but I think you know who you are) whose reviews have impressed me very much and given me a lot of glee and much to ponder, that inspire me in my writing of reviews.

In the writing though, I just try to give the essence of my experience of the book.Concisely. And, I do think about the author. I want the author to approve of my review. Unless of course, it is an unfavorable review. Then, I hope that author is duly chastisized.

One thing I do seem to do is avoid spoilers, which is probably adding (!) to the brevity of my reviews.

Ice wrote: "One thing I do seem to do is avoid spoilers, which is probably adding (!) to the brevity of my reviews."

and it lets you off the hook from having to write a precis ;-)

It's true: I don't like to have spoilers which means I have to limit my review to general comments about writing style, characters, setting, etc., sometimes quotes that I really like that don't give anything away, and the set-up for the story.

But I like brevity and, even with the above, my reviews can get a little long. I hardly ever read long reviews-too A.D.D. for that!

its interesting to me that some reviews almost write themselves, but that some books almost defy reviewing.
The kind of book that after putting it down, you're still wondering...what was that all about?????

It's true-sometimes I can feel the review while I'm reading; other times, it's pulling teeth or my review ends up embarrassingly paltry. This particularly happens with books that are especially rich, complex. In order to do it justice, I feel I'd have to write an essay (which is way more work than I want to do-or people want to read) so all I want to say, really, is, "Read it" but I know that's not enough.

to say read it or even it was amazing, is almost worse than a spoiler for me...its a teaser...
the reveiw draws attention to the book and needs to convey the Why we should read, or why amazing.
Once I find a hook I can usually spin it

Superlatives in common day usage - has an astounding proliferation devalued their meaning.

Books, they are my passion !

I have just failed to pass my own test on my review for Slow Homecoming Gosh darn, it was sure a terrificly fascinating study.

It was so unique and I was so surprised,having stumbled upon. I have to agree with Ellie that the better the book, the harder to review.

Bird Brian wrote:
send me your address and I'll send it ..."
That would be wonderful but even better, why dont you deliver it!
You did say you would be up here in the spring and its gettting ready to be spring. Don't we have a date?

Lovely to anticipate....
My overactive imagination immediately placed you strolling into the bookstore half an hour before shift change...in one scenario I recognize you right away by your bright plumage. In the other scenario...well there's lots of room for varation....!

this would seem to be the place to review my thoughts on Miss Nobody.
its been several days since I finished it but in some strange way I feel like the book wounded me somehow.
before getting into it, I'm wondering if anyone reading this has read the book, or has any intention to in the near future?
or is there a better place for discussion of books that disturb?

I think this is a perfect place for books that disturb.

I'm curious-in what ways did Miss Nobody disturb you? There are ways that merely upset me and ways that open me up, intellectually or emotionally.

Sometimes a book disturbs me in a positive way, as in disturbs my current assumptions about whatever and forces me to reexamine an issue.

just rereading this thread, and while I still find it interesting, its disconcerting that those who left GR around the time of the amazon takeover, their comments have been deleted too. I remember especially fondly Kinkajou Bird Brian and Her Royal Orangeness. And quite thrilled that me Ellie and Ice are still flying, and that we have been enlivened further by new members and the occasional dedicated lurker.

I miss Kinkajou and HRO. And I too am glad we're still here-though we haven't heard from Ice for a while.

Are you there, Ice? And How are you?

I'm glad this thread was revived. I hadn't seen it yet. There isn't much I can add.
I enjoy reviewing books. I'm not sure who or why I write them. It's fun to try to put my thoughts in order (without spoilers). Also, after some time passes, it's sometimes helpful in reminding me of some details of the book.
I find some reviews very helpful and hope that my reviews will help someone in return.

I agree that some books are easy to review and others not. Sometimes the best books get the most stingiest of reviews. The easiest reviews to write are those for books I really didn't like much.
The reviews of a series eventually become not much more than "another good adventure/time with XXX".
Other reviews never seem to end; there's so much to say. LOL!

I also didn't realize that posts are deleted when members leave.

Rating a book is hard for me. I do not finish books if they are not good (imho), therefore, a finished book gets almost top marks all the time. Books are like friends to me, they are each different and contribute different things to our relationship. It is hard to rate one friend over another. There are times, of course, that I would rather be with this friend rather than that one, but when I have a pot luck they are all invited.

Like Mary Anne, I rarely finish a book I don't like so 3 stars is generally my lowest rating with 4 the most likely. I don't mind rating the books but 5 is for basically life-changing experiences, 4 is outstanding, and 3 is for merely enjoyable.

I like writing reviews but I don't think mine are particularly good. They help me rethink what I read a little but I don't usually take the time to make them really interesting. I always feel the pressure to go back to my reading. Like you, Petra, I find the best books the hardest to review; they would take a long time to do any justice to and I hardly feel up to the task. Also I find poetry hard to review, which is too bad since I read a fair amount and it would probably help me read better if I could analyze or describe it better.

I enjoy reading other people's reviews. I find yours, Petra, to be consistently interesting and informative. I'm glad you enjoy writing them!
What about you Magdelanye, you always have interesting comments on what you read but I rarely see reviews from you. Or am I somehow just missing them?

Ellie! I don't agree with your rather self effacing brush off of your talents as a reviewer. You write great reviews! They have encouraged my reading!
I'm disappointed though that you haven't discovered mine. Its true that I am constantly behind.. I have the beginnings of many and a few just about finished, but its true for me too that reading takes precedence. I did post a few dozen in December and I still hold off posting as read until I've done the review. I'm not sure my method is working.
As for Petra, I have always learned something that I'd previously missed when reading yours. You have such a lovely eye for detail, and far more patience than me.
Above all, I note from both of your comments that we have more in common as to our approach than might be forecast by our different lifestyles. And like both of you I rate high because I'm quite picky about my choices.

As for Mary Anne, you expressed here some of my secret feelings.

...... back from the lands of the north !!
Just some observations ..... ratings are personal yet we make them public, they are helpful to both others and ourselves and reflect the diversity of our community both in length and content. This being a sentence often longer than my reviews !

Welcome back Ice! Where in the north were you?

I have a hard time with lengthy reviews, it has to be someone whose writing and opinion I highly respect for me to spend the time reading. GR can so easily take over my reading life, that I can end up with no time to actually read books.

That being said, I do find reviews helpful. Sometimes, if I'm having difficulty with a book I'm reading, I'll check out some reviews to help me along.

Why, thank you! I sometimes feel that my reviews are rambling. I'm happy to hear that they are informative.

I enjoy reading all your reviews as well. I spend a bit of time every day on the Home page here, scrolling through everyone's reviews. I've found many a good title this way.

I have a fair number of 2-star ratings and a spattering of 1-star. There are books that I'll abandon but not usually (those don't get rated either). Sometimes I get far enough into a bad book that I'm determined to finish it just so that I can rant in a review. :D

Lengthy reviews just happen on their own (I recall my review of Infinite Jest). The words just spew out. Other reviews are like pulling hen's teeth. The words just won't come.

Ice, where in the North were you? I'd love to travel North one day. It must be beautiful.

Anyone else have a hard time with the 5 star system? It feels weird to me to give a truly amazing piece of literature and a book that’s a little more low brow but that I really enjoyed the same 4/5 star rating.

I am guilty of reading a ton of good read reviews for a book but am terrible at writing my own.

the 5 star system drives me to distraction. If you read my profile, it outlines my 7 star ratings. just 2 more options separates the 3s from the 4s

I don't have trouble with the 5-star system. I do sometimes feel that there could be a distinction between a 5-star work of brilliance and a 5-star work of emotion and/or entertainment but I think that can be mentioned in the review. I've sometimes said things such as "a fun story", "a romp", "just fun" in a review.

I can't bring myself to give 5 stars to a book I felt was just fun next to a work by Virginia Woolf. Usually, I'll settle for 4 stars, which I still consider high praise. And that's only if the book was extremely enjoyable even though I consider it lightweight. Books that are just ordinarily fun get 3 stars which I still think is good. I almost never finish books (or get very far into them) that I think are less than 3 stars.

Of course, my daughter says I'm pretentious when it comes to reading. She may be right. On the other hand, life is short and reading time is valuable. I wish there were a parallel system: one for light entertainment (which I also think of as important) and one for more demanding reads. Oh well, hopefully, as Petra says, the reviews themselves clear this up.

You bring up another point, Ellie: the unfinished books.

I don't rate a book if I don't finish it.
I'll sometimes finish a bad book just so that I can rate & review it. These are usually audio. Bad audio books are usually more tolerable than a bad print book for some reason. These get 1 star, books I truly do not like.
A 2-star book is one that is "meh", take it or leave it type stories. They usually have a point or two on the good side and yet still don't come together well.

I don't rate unfinished books either. I usually stop if a book is uninteresting. 3 stars is my rating for books that were entertaining enough to finish but nothing I would write home about. But it skews my ratings; it looks like I generally give 4/5 stars to almost anything I read since obviously the ones I stopped reading are not represented. And there are plenty of 2 star books around! There's just so many better books to read, or at least books I find more interesting.

Interesting about the audio. I can't figure out how to download audible to my phone so I haven't been able to listen to any books. Maybe next year!

I'll sometimes finish a memoir if I'm very interested in the writer even if the book's not so good.

Sounds like my 2-star ratings are your 3-star.
To me, a 3-star is a book I liked throughout but without the depth to give me a good memory of the story over time. The story is average, often-told, etc. There's just nothing special about it but it's a decent read. I guess some call them "beach reads" (if I understand the definition correctly): light, good but nothing special.

its tricky
i like Petras definition of a 3 but if you made that 3 a 4 with 5 being more than just a decent read, elevated by a unique twist or an especially endearing character or feature, 6 being extremely good but not quite Virginia Woolf.

i tried to copy my 7 point system but it didnt work. its on my profile

a half hour on the computer where more is possible.
Here it is
a note on my 7 point rating system

7) is the highest standard: a book that is not only exceptionally well written but also inspiring or deepening, a book that is adored

6) adored with flaws

5)extremely well done, provocative and original

4) a fairly good read, quite interesting, diversion

3) an unpleasant read

2)poorly executed

1) toxic

there may well be permutations on this but i think it allows a more accurate scoring. (less)

My one 1 star read was absolutely toxic. I love your system. It allows that special place for the perfect (as perfect as is humanly possible) book that is both brilliant and life-changing.