Hi everyone......
I am noticing that some people are not writing reviews.
They dont write a discription of the story....they just write something like "it was a good book, but I didnt like the ending". That doesnt really tell the us (your fellow readers) anything about the book, or give us a hint if I should maybe go out and get ourselves a copy.
What I do,(since I am not good at coming up with my own dicriptions) is just copy the blurb from the back of the book....or rather I go to Barnes and Noble, or the authors website, and copy and paste it onto my review. then I give my take on the book. Did I like it, what didnt I like, etc.
I also think that the authors name should be on the top line with the title. Some times, I am not sure if it is "The Tao of Sex" is the name of a book, or if I am going to get a sex talk.
Just my humble opinion. Thanx for listening.
Terri
Got Books?
Totally agree.
Totally agree. Unfortunately, some people may not take heed. Oh well.
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
Terri - while I agree with you on the small blurb
which is why I do one, I still prefer some kind of info, as in Good, Bad or Indifferent
to nothing at all which is what some people put
I
like title and author simply because there are a lot of books out there
with the same titles (different lines) and I'd like to know at a glance
whether it's the historical, the Temptation or the Steeple Hill book
There's one Steeple Hill book with a title very similar to one of Lora Leigh's eroticas and I keep going into the wrong blog LOL
We'll just have to keep plugging for more details
Hugs
Sadhbh
May's Member of the Month
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
I'm hoping that those people will
see how some of the others of us are doing it and think, "Oh, that's a good way to do it." But I'm not holding my breath b/c I bet that those people don't even go in to see what everyone else is reading. A few, maybe. It took a couple of months both last year and the year before for everyone to get into their own rhythm.
I prefer all the info on the title line, which is why I do it on mine. Most of my teammates don't do that and I don't want to be bossy so I just let it go . . . but I do like to know at a glance what line something is from.
FWIW,
Penn
Join the 2008 Book (Reading) Challenge!!! It’s for a good cause and it’s FUN!
Come find my teammates and me at The DFWPlus Blog!
my book reviews
What I've been trying to do do with this site is keeping my description to two paragraphs. First paragraph a brief description of the book. so this is what a person sees in preview. Then second paragraph how the book made me feel(whether it was good, bad or ugly). I also try to make sure author, line, publishing date etc is visible in preview, so at least some information is visible in preview for people skimming and not wanting to go to "more". I use back blurbs when I don't want to give away too much of the book. I have some Spice briefs coming up that I will be using the blurb from because they are so short that too much information might give the story away.
Other sources of blurbs might be here at eharlequin, Shelfari, fictionwise.com(ebook seller), fictiondb(membership required).
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page
Oh, and since Katherine included
info on controlling where the preview window breaks, I've been doing that. My reviews have been as short as I could make them, which is about the same size as the pictures that I've been including (again, thanks to KatherineT for her helpful blogs). I know that they're lots shorter than they've been in the past but I'm trying (and failing) to limit my online time. What's funny is that so far it probably takes me as long to do a short review as one of my old longer ones b/c I really have to think harder to keep it short. I expect to get better at it, though.
FWIW,
Penn
Join the 2008 Book (Reading) Challenge!!! It’s for a good cause and it’s FUN!
Come find my teammates and me at The DFWPlus Blog!
In 2006 my reviews .....
were pretty much one paragraph .... Two sentences about the plot .... two sentences about how much I liked / disliked the book .... not sure what happened but by the end of 2006 I was writing two paragraphs ... LOL
I've always written my synopsis in my own words ... and that takes time ..... if I'm on a reading roll the writing part comes easiers (simply a matter the more you do it the easier it gets) ..... but if I'm struggling with "thinking" issues than it's not an easy job and often times I find I'm writing longer reviews to do justice to the author's work
I love it when a review gives enough info. about a book so a person can hunt it down ..... that's why I've always included the series info and release dates ..... so if the reviewers that are only giving their personal feelings on a book could include that information, readers of the review could gloom some information just from knowing it comes from Intrigue or Superromance
I do wish that everyone would put the title and author in the subject/title bar though ....
~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
Preview Pane
One thing that I have started doing in my reviews is to put my score of the book first so that it always shows up in the preview window.. then I write the review and let as much or as little of that show in preview as I choose.
I also like to see title, author, publisher and year in my title lines, so that's what I do.
I'm trying to remember to TAG my 5Star romances.. which reminds me.. I need to go back and fix some of those!
Crystal
100,000 Books Blog: crystalrclass
filling out a form
As someone fairly new to this challenge I would like to say I'm probably one of those people you are complaining about.
In my defense I would like to say it is a little tough getting started and figuring out how to do anything. What I started doing was just filling out the form that this site created for doing a book review entry. Since there is a Title line and an author line I just filled it out that way.
What I am hearing several of you say is that along with filling out the form you would like us to add the author's name to the title line (which is in effect the subject line)?
I think I am beginning to catch on to some of the other complaints, such as doing a little bit of a blurb about protagonists names and brief blurbed on the book. Then a little bit of whether we liked it or not.
I do know that some of the book reviews others have written have sometimes been a bit of a spoiler or have just been too long. After all, I want to spend the bulk of my time reading books.
Nancy
sheandeen@gmail.com
Hey Nancy - I hear you on spending most of the time reading
books
I mean of all the people hanging around the blogs, you can be sure that Mary Kay and I agree with you on that one 
- I haven't consulted her but I don't think she'll contradict me 
but if I want good recommendations (and if it weren't for the blogs I wouldn't NOW be a fan of JR Ward, JD Robb, Nalini Singh or have converted other people to the charms of Evelyn Vaughn, Catherine Mann or Cindy Dees) I have to be willing to put just a little effort into saying what I liked and didn't like and which book it was
As with everything else in life, what goes around comes around
Part of what I enjoy is the discussion and the comments, but if I don't make them on other people's blogs, they won't make them on mine
and it is kind of difficult to comment on even as fascinating book as the Bible when all you have to go on is
"The Bible - various authors"
People don't have to agree with me when I dislike a book, but if I don't say anything, they can neither agree nor disagree
Hugs
Sadhbh
May's Member of the Month
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
kick in the pants
I took my kick in the pants on this one and added more information to my last book review. I have made a goal to myself to make my March reviews more informative. Adding the author line within the subject is definitely something simple enough to start doing, and the rest will come with time. But heh, I don't mind the kick in the pants whenever I get lazy!
A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
Sheandeen,
As far as your reviews themselves, I just went to your part of the community and you're putting something in most of your reviews. And you're noticing what others are doing and coming to various parts of the community to see what else is going on, which a lot of the new people aren't. On the upside, they're getting our book numbers up (though our numbers need to get lots better). But those of us who spend time here do like a little interaction with each other.
As I said in my first or second post above, it took us all a couple of months to get used to the blogging in prior years and this year we're all getting used to the new system, so even those of us who have been around have some learning curve. Reading what others have written and stealing what you like is a part of that learning curve.
I wouldn't worry about your reviews -- they're longer than mine (I'm still a bit worried aobut mine but . . .). Especially don't worry if you start adding the line and date released info
.
Penn
Join the 2008 Book (Reading) Challenge!!! It’s for a good cause and it’s FUN!
Come find my teammates and me at The DFWPlus Blog!
don't mind the kick in the pants either
I know I'm getting better at figuring out what needs to be done. I promise to try...
just bear with me (and others's like me) as we go through our learning curve. I do like looking around and trying to figure out what everyone is reading. I'm sure I'll find some new favorite authors
Next week I head back to work, so I won't have as much time to look around
Of course that's one good way to shut me up
Nancy
sheandeen@gmail.com
RE: MORE INFO PLEASE...
Excellent point Be!
"I went to a FIGHT the other night...and a HOCKEY GAME broke out!! "
HockeyDET@comcast.net
I think...
people will settle in more and more as they get comfortable. Let's face it, some of the regulars from last year aren't comfortable with it yet so I can imagine the vastness would be intimidating to someone new!
Having said that, I do like having the author's name as well as the title but frankly the publisher distracts me as it is just sooo much on the line. However, I did put it on my last review since it seems you guys want that there....
The D2K Paranormal Junkies 2008 Challenge Blo
wow,
Thank you guys for all of your responses. When I made the post, I had just finished reading a bunch of "reviews" that just had a few lines, and contained no information.
I know some of you guys are new, and are still trying to get your bearings, and it will, take some time.
I know I am not a writer, so I always copy the back of the book...I just know if I write in my own words, than i will start giving out spoilers.
I have never put the publisher in the title line, mostly because I think it clutters things. But I dont have a problem with those who do put the publisher there.
I also like to blog the book right after I finish (or as soon as I can, since I cant blog while on the bus or otherwise away from a computer. I dont want a big back up, then try to get everything done at once.
Terri
Got Books?
I'm not complaining
I'm not complaining about anyone's style of book reviews.. those of us who did it last year (and some the year before) have just over time figured out what WE most wanted to know. With regards to publisher, the only reason I include that is so the reader doesn't have to go to Amazon.com to figure out where to get the book. I personally like knowing right away what series line or publishing house a book is coming from as it helps me to categorize the type of book in my head...
Those of you who are new, take heart.
We are just thrilled to have everyone participating. It makes it more fun.
Crystal
100,000 Books Blog: crystalrclass
adding publishers
I always put the publishers' names in; I believe it's part of their copyright priviledges. Since I don't limit myself to Harlequins, it's necessary to differentiate each publisher. Some of my favorite authors write for other publishing houses. This is my second year doing this and I've loved meeting everyone online. I'm still having some problems with this year's format however.
Hi All!
I was one of the "lazy" ones last year who would periodically list books read - usually to catch up on my blogging. Normally those were books I rated average, so I didn't think anyone was really missing anything. So now this year, since listing is a "no go", I am having difficulty keeping up with blogging and my personal life (yes, I do have one!) .
To shorten things up - for the average book, I'm just putting in the title, author & publisher in the subject line, filling out all the other boxes & tags, putting in a picture, copying the blurb and then a few short words on my impressions and my ratings.
For the really good ones I do write more and there have been a couple of really bad ones that I've been vocal about too! I love the pic thing this year and being able to put in our own breaks. I like the whole blurb to show in the preview, that way the reader can choose to read more or not, but at least they have an idea as to what the book is about.
Since my on-line time is limited I really do like to see author & publisher or HP line in the subject line - it certainly helps me decide if I want more info or not.
Bye for now!
~ ElleJay - Team member of Novel Obsession
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the pleasure is having lots to do and not doing it!