This week our topic was chosen by Jessirae from Words, Pages and Books and she wanted us to talk about what we like to see in a review. So as always my video has turned into something much more negative and I ended up talking about what I DON'T like to see in reviews. But in my defence there is 3 things I like to see in the video, I figure that balances it out and makes me look like less of a witch. Anywho, watch on:
So, what do YOU like to see in reviews? What do you not like to see?
Thank you for watching!
Ahhhh, I completely forgot about the Golden Globes until I saw tweets for it. >___>
ReplyDeleteI like links too because I read reviews on the phone/iPod a lot of the time and I don't like having to manually type it out. (my phone's buggy so highlighting doesn't always work..)
Ratings are definitely crucial because sometimes I just want to gauge if the book is good (especially if I know what sort of books the reviewers like) and don't want to dive into the review first because it may influence my opinion.
Yep, I basically don't follow blogs that don't have a rating, because it sounds kind of selfish, but I don't benefit at all from that. I like to see the rating. It's the on thing that's gotta be there for me. Sometimes, when I think about following someone, I just look through some reviews and their ratings and it's easier to see if we have the same taste in books if they have a rating. And just as you said, is it a five or a four? I want to know.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, links for sure, especially to goodreads. If I love the sound of the book, I want to add it to my TBR pile. Also, I immediately close the review if I see the whole plot being summed up there. Like.. I don't mind mild spoilers, but why suck the fun out of reading for me? I read to get lost in a book and discover these plot twitsts by myself. I don't need someone to tell me what's gonna happen and when. I know a lot of the synopsis' are very spoilery, but with contemporary novels I don't mind so much, I know there aren't that many original things you can do to them, but with paranormal/sci-fi/dystopian books I often find that less is more. Keep the suspense in a mystery and then a few hints, not the first 1/2 of the book.
Ok, lol. This just turned into another discussion. Oh, I don't know if you've done it before on Book Buzzers, but you could discuss what you like and don't like in a book synopsis. Yes? No? Maybe? Ha.
Anyway, have a lovely week to yourself, too!
Yes! Links are a must. I tend to ramble on in my reviews, but OMG sometimes I come across ones that are like five million pages long and I'm like 0_o I try to keep mine as short as possible while still getting my point across. I like ratings too. Not necessary, but I do enjoy them. And dude!! You look cute as ever!!
ReplyDeleteYour hair! :-p
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't have purchase links. Oops. Maybe I'll add that when I move.
Guh! Reviews that are summaries are the worst. Some really popular bloggers do that all the time. Sigh. I've done that for a couple ridiculous books, but I snark it as I go.
Mine are so long. Oh no! You hate me! Though I've seen some that are like twice the length of mine, and I'm like "this isn't your dissertation." Yikes!
I didn't used to have a rating, but added it because they can be nice to see.
I agree with most of what you said. Sometimes I'll get lazy and omit the buy links, but I'm trying to be better at including them.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the actual reviews IMO, I like to see a mix of what the book is about and what made you love it. Sometimes reading the summary isn't enough for me, they don't always seem the greatest at selling the book for me, or they seem to be vague.
I like a review to showcase parts of the book and then tell me what you found appealing about the book. I really can't stand reviews that just state your feelings or why you connected to characters blah, blah, blah.
I also love including quotes from books, and like you, I too, like the rating systems included. I too, don't like to read long reviews and reviews that have to explain every character in the book. I try to keep my reviews short and to the point, but if I'm emotionally charged about a book sometimes I can go off.
I like to incorporate my opinion with a short summary, because that's what I also like to read about :p
ReplyDeleteWhat I want to see is:
-Link to Goodreads.
-Blurb.
-Cover.
-Some information.
-Rating.
I also love quotes or a short excerpt :)
I'm not sure if I want long or short reviews. Some people just have a flowing, good writing-style and in that case, I don't mind a long review :)
Hehe I don't always read blubrs either. ;) But I agree, reviews that are summaries of the book aren't at all helpful to me. I do sometimes like a brief description of what the book is about so I can follow the review, but that's usually as far as it goes. I don't need to know what actually happens And yes! A link to Goodreads is a must! Otherwise, I am unlikely to add it to my list at all. Great response, Jenni!
ReplyDeleteI also like links to Goodreads :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I like to see book covers and blurbs above (not below) the reviews! Including ratings would be nice.
I usually don't mind the length of the reviews, although if it's very long, I'd tend to scan and not read every paragraph.
You have a lovely week too :)
Well, I don't have ratings on my blog, and here's why: I often notice that visitors (I've been guilty of this too) will often simply leave a generic comment about the rating. I get why most like it, this is just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't like in a review is when the reviewer judges the character and not the writing, if that makes sense. Like, picking apart character flaws, and why they don't like the character, as if real life people don't make the exact same mistakes. Also, reviews that are basically just summaries.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Oh, sbout the ratings. I, in no way, am bothered by blogs that do have ratings, almost all do. I'm just sharing my reason for not having them.
DeleteI can totally see what you mean about the ratings, Andrea. I think it does, in a way, make it easier for someone to leave a bland comment without having read the review.
DeleteI totally agree with the ratings part. I find that happening as well, but I don't really mind whether or not there are ratings because like Andrea said most blogs have ratings, but I think it's nice if there's a rating. It's not going to bother me if there's not one.
DeleteI'm guilty of judging a book by its characters... The way I see it if I really don't like the main character and if I find him or her extremely annoying, it makes it harder for you to read/get through the book. I generally read half way to 3/4 of the book before I decide if I like the character or not, since I figure about 150 pages is enough to get to know your main character.
Just my thoughts on that. :)
Jenny@YAN
Ohh! I definitely do not like long reviews. This is horrible to admit, but if someones review is abnormally long - I won't read it. It's just one of those things I do, and I know I'm guilty of the occasional long review... but aren't we all?
ReplyDeleteAnd rating systems are something I just started using and I need to update how they're portrayed on my blog.
Loved hearing your thoughts on this topic!
Omg, I am totally guilty of the overly-long review. I have so many FEELINGS to impart, though! Heh.
ReplyDeleteI am with you on summaries not being necessary though. And I like links and ratings, too!
Such a cute vlog. Your hair looks awesome!
Wendy @ The Midnight Garden
PS--We're actually doing a blog post soon on how we review, so we'll have more on what we like/don't like there. ;)
ReplyDeleteI also forgot about the Golden Globes and heard Amy Poehler and Tina Fey were spectacular. Can't believe I missed it!! >.<
ReplyDeleteI am recently struggling with reviewing. Sometimes I worry my reviews have things in them that readers don't like, such as, am I summarizing instead of talking about what I liked and didn't like?
I always include a rating, but I think it's so hard to rate books sometimes. There have been times I've had to really think it over, and even then I tend to second guess myself. Not all the time though.
I'm really glad this topic was chosen as I'm having a rough time right now and have been thinking about asking for some advice.
I don't like reviews that are a summary of the book either. Like you said, if I want to know what the book is about I'll read the blurb. Also with summaries, people sometimes give too much away. My thing is if it's not in the blurb, it's a spoiler. So if a review is a summary of the book, I'll skip it. And if the reviewer is constantly summarizing books in their review, I stop reading the blog altogether.
ReplyDeleteI need a rating too. I look for the rating first before reading a review, then read the review. It doesn't matter if it's a number or a letter rating just as long as there is a rating.
I hate summaries for reviews! I've read a few of them where the whole thing is recap and then the last few sentences are the so-called review. I do include a synopsis and THEN my review.
ReplyDeleteSometimes my reviews get long ... I think that happens mostly when I write the review right after finishing the book. Of course, I've seen some that are CRAZY long, and that's just too long for me.
I like ratings, too ... though I do like having an enjoyment rating over whether or not the book was good or bad. I mean, there could be books out there where the editing is atrocious and there are things that made me totally mad, BUT the book still had me turning the pages, totally into it. Does that make sense?
Kristin Wiig and Will Ferrell were TOTALLY funny! I loved that bit!
Happy (late) Monday to you! I'll wish you a happy next Monday -- then I'm ahead of the game. :)
This is amazing !
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said, especially the links. Not only do I hate having to manually search for it myself, sometimes there's multiple books with the same title and then you have to scroll through to find it. Lately what's been irritating me the most is when reviews pretty much summarize the whole book by dissecting the characters, relationships and story. By that point I already know who the characters are and who ends up with who. I don't want to read the book by that point because well, it's pointless. Except for a few bloggers who I know won't recap the story, I don't tend to read reviews for books that I really want to read. My *perfect* review is one that's decent sized (no five paragraph essays); has links, summary and cover; and talks more about the book as a whole (style, pacing, etc) vs. character's personalities.
ReplyDeleteI am with you. i don't need the cliff notes version of the book. I need an opinion. All too often i have weeded through a ridiculously long review and have not found a single opinion. Great video.
ReplyDeleteHaha, long reviews just have me skimming through the paragraphs as well, I just don't feel like reading that much! Also, I don't have ratings, but I've been on the fence about it for a while. It's just hard for me to smack a number on it sometimes, but I still do rate them on Goodreads...
ReplyDelete