Each book has a life of its own in each reader. Writing a review means sharing that unique view with the world to invite a collective dialogue.
When we write a review because a book has touched our inner self, we set in motion a set of thoughts, ideas and interpretations. We are inspired to share something that awakened after the read.
Books can be sources of new ideas; they can ignite our imagination in unpredictable ways and enrich our views on different matters. Reviews allow us to share our unique perspectives. They can conjure up disagreements and elicit thought-provoking questions. They can become the roots of interesting discussions.They can also help us to fathom that despite our differences we can also have something in common.
If nobody wrote or read book reviews, we wouldn't have the possibility of sharing our fascination and the enrichment of our minds after the reading experience.
Writing, reading and discussing book reviews is about celebrating our diversity.
What do you think?
I write reviews on every book I read and post them on Goodreads. It's a compulsion. As soon as I finish a book I just can't rest until I've posted my review! Sometimes I'll just rate it and then go back in later to write the review.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Karen. One of my New Year's resolution for 2012 was to write a review of every book I read. Writing a review helps me to gain a deeper understanding of what I read. It is a very interesting process. I never use Goodreads, but I should try it.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally rubbish at writing reviews - I tend to either say "oh wow, fab read" or go the other spectrum but I if I ever don't like a book, I always to keep that to myself - don't like spreading negative energy! I don't think I have the intellectual capacity to deconstruct my reading matter in a thoughtful and intelligent way though! Take care
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I don't like to write negative reviews either. In fact, I tend to review books that I like. This does not mean that I never wrote a negative review, but I try to avoid them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog, Julia. I review books sparingly, and won't write a negative review. If I don't like a book, I try to forget it as fast as possible.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I won't rave over a book unless I really think it's great. So I reserve my 5-star ratings (or whatever the highest rating is) for those 5-10% of books I come across that I feel are exceptional--the A's and A+'s.
If I enjoy a book and think it's worth someone's time and effort to read, but is not one of the best I've ever read, I'll happily give it a B rating, which means "above average" in the best sense of the term.
The purpose of the book reviews I write is geared towards a thought-provoking experience. I like to stress what the story awakened in me. I think books can make people connect through the ideas and thoughts that they evoke. So writing a review is not so much about judging in my opinion. It is about connecting with others.
DeleteI do read reviews, but I don't necessarily base my decision on a book on them. Speaking of reviews, it looks like Amazon is pulling a TON of reviews by people that didn't purchase the book through Amazon.
ReplyDeleteI think if you write that you received a complimentary copy for review, you're safe.
Yes, I've heard that, thanks. I like to write reviews because I am interested in learning how others interpreted the same story, to know what their own reading experience was like. I may or may not agree, but I like to know what others thought about the same story I read.
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