If you're not participating in the book challenge (aka reading challenge) please tell my why

Penn, I don't know if everyone feels that they are capable of writing a meaningful review and I suspect some are just suffering from writer's block.  I also think I need to create some form of more standardized template for the reviews to make the structure seem less intimidating.  That way folks can maybe just rate a book by clicking on a one to five star/heart system and then can come back and fill in their remarks later. BUT....

Just so you know, we'll be pushing our reviews vis RSS onto the book and series detail pages shortly.  Maybe once folks figure out that their reviews will be featured elsewhere on the site, it will stir their creative juices.  This also means that when we write our reviews it's the first 200-300 words that will be edited and pushed to the book detail pages and we'll need to put OUR thoughts and review copy up first and save the back cover copy for later on in the second paragraph.  Otherwise it will just be duplicated copy on the book pages and not real reviews...make sense?

Jayne 

 Jayne said:
Just so you know, we'll be pushing our reviews vis RSS onto the book
and series detail pages shortly.  Maybe once folks figure out that
their reviews will be featured elsewhere on the site, it will stir
their creative juices.  This also means that when we write our reviews
it's the first 200-300 words that will be edited and pushed to the book
detail pages and we'll need to put OUR thoughts and review copy up
first and save the back cover copy for later on in the second
paragraph.  Otherwise it will just be duplicated copy on the book pages
and not real reviews...make sense?

Sorry but no I do not understand what you are telling us.  I don't know if I am the only one but I am definately confused.

I'm with you Ellen, not sure what that means. I like to write my reviews my way which is sometimes short sometimes longer. Telling people they might get creative juices flowing might also intimidate some that are not comfortable writing. I'm a reader not a writer and do not aspire to become one. I do agree with Penn that if you joined the challenge you should at least be listing your books.

OK Jayne, that's much clearer.

Yes, it doesn't make sense to read tons of plot summaries attached to books but when reading blogs , I like reading plot summaries first if they are  there. 

I think I am getting hit on all sides with review format changes.  One place I review suddenly wants me to rewrite 200+ old reviews to make them "different" than any other place.  Not likely I am going to do that and give up reading.  At least here I had the option of writing more off the cuff and varying the format according to my mood/fatigue level, or the individual book.

Thank you Jayne for simplifying what you meant. I understood what you said the second time around. You have to realize I grew up in a time when technology was black and white TV!!

And I like the idea of having a set of stars or harlequins to choose from to rate a book provided there is an explanation of what each represents. 

here, because you asked a very good question but it still hasn't been answered by the people of whom you asked it

For the non-reviewers out there, I'm one of the ones picking up your slack as I've blogged 495 of the 504 books I've read so far this year, so yes I understand that it takes time and effort and that it's difficult to find the words and find different words for all those entries

but when you're a readaholic like me, the worst possible scenario is wanting to read and not having access to books, so every time my energy flags I think of all those families we're helping and drag a little bit more energy from wherever it's gone

it doesn't have to be a long review, there are some reviewers who just do the basic title and author and there are others who practically rewrite the book and then there's me somewhere between the two extremes, but I'd like to point out that nobody expects us to be great at expressing ourselves, we're the READERs around here, not the writers

so Jayne's contribution is good for those who want to use it, and she can do what she likes with our reviews once they're up to extract what she needs for other parts of the site, if that's going to increase interest and reading. I can understand individual reviewers not wanting to change the system they've developed that works for them, and I have faith in Jayne's ability to work around that

My "advice" is very basic, don't worry about the logistics, just read and blog to let us know what great books we shouldn't miss, or what incredibly mediocre ones we don't want to waste our time on - though I'd venture the opinion that few of those will be Harlequin publications

Don't worry about what it sounds like, don't worry about being nervous, don't worry about the size of your TBRs (unless you don't have one, in which case maybe you could let people in here know you're book-deprived), because worrying takes time you'd be better off using to read (and blog)

Some books are so great you want to talk about them, and sure, feel free to gush for hours in a blog because that's a positive time use, but unless you're inspired to write books about books, then don't spend more than 10% of the time it took you to read the book blogging about it.

I mean how do you think I find all this time for reading? I don't waste time worrying

Now FF has been hassling me to read the book she paid for and send it on, so I guess I'd better get on with it

Have Penni and I managed to convince the lurkers among you to review the books you've been reading since January?

but it would be nice if the format was tweaked in the ways that the regular bloggers have all suggested (and been repeatedly told that "it's coming") before other changes are made in the review system.  The idea of ratings, fine... that isn't the issue for me.  But no, Katherine T, I don't put a headline of sorts to my reviews and that is an aspect of Amazon that frankly I hate as I waste more time trying to come up with that one line than I do writing the entire review.  *sigh*  All I can say is that it seems to me like one of the things that made eHarlequin unique to me was the sense of community and that aspect seems to be disappearing in a quest to resemble more of what Amazon already does quite well. 

I do like the idea of making the box optional for those who want to participate in the feed and therefore not forcing everyone to do so.

My "advice" is very basic, don't worry about the logistics, just read
and blog to let us know what great books we shouldn't miss

Thanks Sadhbh, and I guess to answer Debi, I know there are outstanding "issues" with the changeover to our new boards, but those aren't something that are simple fixes.  I'm going to concentrate on the small wins just now, and to that point, I'm trying to increase participation in the Challenge and fulfill our committment to the NCFL.  I didn't  think there would be a problem with showing potential bloggers the best practices of our existing bloggers and getting them excited about joining in with us.  I'm not asking folks to completely change their review process, nor am I trying to ape what is going on at any other commercial e-tailer.  This proposed feed of our reviews is:

A.   Nothing more than taking what we have and showing it to  more people in other places on eHarlequin.com on our bookstore pages.

B.  Simplifying the review process by adding in a couple of more fields to fill in similar to the Author Name field and the drop down menu for the Book Series field.  

That's IT, pinky swear....nothing devious about it!

Jayne

This forum discussion is a perfect example of why I love this site so much.  I enjoy reading the blogs and reviews, because everyone has their own opinions and viewpoints.  Just so long as we don't lose eHarlequin's wonderful creative 'personality'....

To be honest, I like doing my reviews my way.  I don't care for too much conformity as it inhibits individuality (which is sorely lacking in so many places these days).  But if I'm not mistaken, what Jayne is suggesting isn't that everyone has to follow a formula, but that she's proposing a method for those who can't or don't want to write a review, so that they can at least display (using the stars) their rating.  It's got to be better than clicking on a review and finding nothing but blank space - which happens a lot.  Or worse still, a review not being entered in the challenge at all.  I realize not everyone likes to write.  So I'm all for making it easier for some folks - the more the merrier - just as long as I can still write my own reviews, and that we all have a choice in the matter..... 

I would hope ratings are optional and do not hurt a certain book if someone chooses not to rate a book. I hate giving book ratings. I hate looking at ratings on Amazon and RT and other places. One thing I like about the current format is that it let bloggers choose. If someone wants to do ratings, great, but if someone doesn't, there is also room for that style too. One of the things that I absolutely detest about Amazon as a review site is this battle of ratings and I think it encourages a sort of atmosphere that makes that site unpleasant while this site is more pleasant quite frankly. Yes, one difference is the different group of people here. I much prefer a one sentence comment than a rating which is VERY highly subjective. I do not necessarily want to follow someone else's rating system.

Yes, tweak to encourage new people but do not tweak over the good things that makes this site uniqe and special in some attempt to make it easier--when it was not a problem in the first place. We already have a group of dedicated bloggers who are here for whom these changing formats are making it less appealing, not more. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water as they say. Yes, encourage new people to come aboard but please don't alienate those of us who are here either. It's not that I think there is some hidden plan but in this call for more, more, more bloggers, I do think maybe some of the beauty of what we already have is getting overshadowed and people are rushing in with tweaks to make other people write blogs in a certain pre-defined way now that would make us all adhere to some format that is their choosing, not the individual's. Penn was saying people could write short reviews---great, let them but now I am hearing ratings and stars and how to organize the blog into sections etc. Suddenly dedicated bloggers who do not fit the profile of what some people want  are being sort of asked to fit someone else's idea of what they should be doing. I think both groups deserve respect and consideration. I don't ask people to write reviews like I do and I like the variety and flexibility here. I think one of the best things about last year's Challenge was how it said that our blogs were as individual as we are. That in itself was one of the most inspiring messages for women and for me. I was new to the community and that was what snagged me in ---I really believed that no one would try to force me into some predetermined idea of what reading should be. If you want to rate, great but don't make people. If you want to write short reviews great. But don't presume everyone wants a form that encourages what you want.  A change now in midstream should also accommodate current bloggers. Can't we have mutual respect and a flexible form for everyone? I do review elsewhere and I am swamped with books I need and want to read and I just do not have time to change my writing style again to fit a new form and slow down my reading pace even more.

Ah, the whole ratings piece. I don't rate books, but wait a minute, maybe I do. LOL

I do use a 'Thumbs up!', 'Thumbs up.' nothing at the end, or 'Thumbs down.', or 'Thumbs down!' And I suppose someone could equate that to a 5-1 type of rating system. But to me, the thumbs up or down really highlights that this is a subjective, how it impacted me type of rating. In other words it is a qualitative system. A numbered rating system (or hearts, stars or harlequins) seems more of a quantitative type of system.

One says this person liked it a lot, a little, felt neutral, didn't like it very much, really hated it. Where the other seems to imply a general measure of worth to all readers.

My explanation may be as clear as mud, but to me they say two different things and maybe the numbers are not supposed to, but I still think they convey or more measurable statement of worth. In reality two different readers can feel very differently about a book so my 5 might be someone else's 1 or 2. But that really says nothing about how good a book it may be.

Okay, I will stop now. LOL