09th
May
May
Writing a review is serious business. Not only do you
have to be able to write your thoughts down,
but you also have to be honest and
still keep it as kind as possible. I mean you don’t want to destroy someone’s
work. And not to forget, your review must be fun to read. This is not as easy
as it sounds!
So which reviews are the best?
The reviews I think are the most fun are the ones that
are honest, funny, insightful, enthusiastic, kind although the book is not for
him/her and don’t have any spoilers in them. I just hate spoilers, so when a
review has a spoiler it’s not fun for me. I try to make my own reviews like
that as well. Sometimes I think I do okay, but most days I keep on wanting to
improve my reviews. Which is okay with me since I’m a perfectionist and rarely
think something I do is so good it doesn’t need improvement. It makes me want
to keep on learning, and try things differently sometimes.
are honest, funny, insightful, enthusiastic, kind although the book is not for
him/her and don’t have any spoilers in them. I just hate spoilers, so when a
review has a spoiler it’s not fun for me. I try to make my own reviews like
that as well. Sometimes I think I do okay, but most days I keep on wanting to
improve my reviews. Which is okay with me since I’m a perfectionist and rarely
think something I do is so good it doesn’t need improvement. It makes me want
to keep on learning, and try things differently sometimes.
So when do you write the review?
I have been reviewing my books for almost three yearsnow, first only on Goodreads and since two years on this blog. I always write
my reviews as soon as I can. In the beginning I wasn’t even able to start a new
book until I wrote the review of the last book I finished. I was just so scared
I would forget important stuff that I would stay up really late just to write
my review. Now, I don’t mind starting a new book before I wrote my review. But
still I try to do it as fast as possible. At least in the first twenty-four
hours after finishing the book. I feel like my reviews are the best if my mind
is still completely full about a book.
But is it really? Isn’t better to think about a book for
a while to really get to the bottom of your feelings about a book?
a while to really get to the bottom of your feelings about a book?
What do you think? What is the best time to write a Review?
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Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always! Facebook | Instagram
I've started trying to write reviews as soon as possible after finishing. So I tend to write them within a couple days, but then I usually end up editing them numerous times over the next few days to few weeks once I've had more time to let the book sink in, depending on when I post them (since I stop editing once they're posted on my blog). But I also write down my thoughts right after finishing books, so, even if I don't get the review written right away, it's usually not disastrous as I have my notes to remind me of what I liked and disliked 🙂
And my favorite types of reviews are ones that explained *why* they liked and/or disliked the book, the specific things, since that's what helps me decide whether it's for me or not. Not everyone has the same taste, so even saying, "I liked the characters," is not as helpful to me as saying, "The characters were so realistic and flawed." I don't mind if someone writes a negative review, but I won't even read cruel ones anymore. Great discussion 🙂
Taking notes definitely sounds like a great idea. Especially if you’re not able to write your review right away. I need to remember to take notes more.. I always seem to forget!!
Editing reviews is definitely something I do too, but more because I like to write sentences differently or because I think it doesn't make people as enthusiastic as I would want to! 😀
Reviews that explain the 'Why' are definitely great ones!!
Thanks for stopping by and joining the discussion! 😉
I used to feel the need to write my review before I could move onto the next book, but that has changed over the last several years. I wish I could say I was good about getting to them right away. I used to be. Now I sometimes go without writing a review for longer than I would like. My least favorite part of review writing is the start. I have such a hard time knowing where to start–knowing what to say. I try jotting down thoughts and then working around it to form the review. That seems to work best for me. But just getting to the point where something is on paper can be such a challenge. Especially if it's a book I don't really feel I have a lot to say about it.
I do sometimes take notes, although not as often as I used to. They really do come in handy. My preference is to make a list of what I liked or didn't like right after finishing a book so that it will help me with my review writing when I get to it. It doesn't always happen though.
Ideally, I think I write my best reviews if I don't put them off too long. Maybe a day after finishing the book so I have a chance to think about it and process through my overall thoughts about it. If I rush into review writing, the high I feel from the book may not be reflective of my final thoughts of the book. I may love a book directly after finishing it, but when I really start thinking about it in the next day or so, I realize I didn't love it quite as much as I thought I did. The flaws become more clear, or what have you. Or the reverse could be true. I may feel a bit disappointed upon finishing a book, but after giving myself time to think about it, I realize how truly great it was after all.
The start of the review is definitely the hard part. I usually don't have a lot of trouble starting.. but it is the part that takes me the longest time to think about. It sure can be a challenge.
Writing a review a day after finishing in the book, sure sounds like the best time to write one. My reviews written within a day are mostly my best ones.. I think. But still.. I like to write down at least a view things before starting my new book. LOL!! I should definitely start making notes.
Thanks for stopping by and your input! 😉
I need to write a review asap as I read a lot of similar books and it's too easy to get plot elements mixed up! Or I forget stuff I loved etc… I have – in the past – gotten significantly behind on a couple of occasions but now I actually don't let myself read if I'm too far behind. I find that reading 3 books a week allows me to mostly keep up and I only ever get a book or so behind.
I completely understand. I'm always afraid to forget things about a book, or mix things up. But writing down a review right after finishing is kind of hard sometimes, since I would be up way to late just to write it. But especially when you read three books a week.. writing down the review right away sounds like the best option.
I usually write my review right after I finish the book, and that's what I prefer to do since it's all fresh in my mind. There is something to be said though for letting it percolate a while before writing, but for me it feels good to get it done. 🙂 Especially before moving on to another book.
It definitely feels good to have your review done. And when I write my review right after finishing a book, writing down my thoughts makes it complete somehow. And I suppose I could always add a view things later on.. Hmmm.. Dilemma! 😀
I used to write them IMMEDIATELY following (if it wasn't too late at night). Now, I'm more lenient. I have a notebook next to me while reading that I write reactions and thoughts down, so when I go to write it, I reference that. I haven't waited longer than like 4 days to write a review, though. Sometimes, I like to wait to get my thoughts together lol
Molly @ Molly's Book Nook
I definitely like the idea of the notebook. I tried that in the beginning, but somehow I stopped doing it. But I do remember it being very helpful with my reviews. I definitely should try it again. 😀