Weekly Geeks - All About Reviews

This week's geek challenge gave 3 options to respond to an author's curiosity. Here's the challenge:

Hello Geeks.


Shannon Hale (author of Austenland and The Actor and the Housewife, as well as many other books) recently posted on her blog about reviewing books. Take a moment to go read her post, in which she talks about going beyond saying simply whether or not you liked a book when writing a review.


For this week’s Weekly Geeks, we challenge you to respond to the questions Ms. Hale asks in one of three ways.


1. Find a negative review that you have written. In your post, link to or include the original review and then rewrite it to answer these questions:

* Why did you react negatively to the book?
* What was it about the story or characters or style that hit you so strongly?
* Are you reacting to any fears or insecurities?

2. Write a new review about a book you loved, keeping in mind these questions:

* What was it about the story that resonated?
* Would you have loved this book as much ten years ago? Five years ago?
* Will you keep loving it in the future?
* Where are you in your life that this is the story you wanted and needed?

3. At the end of her post, Ms. Hale posed six questions for those who review books on their blogs or other sites. Write a letter to Ms. Hale explaining your position on each of these questions, then return to her post and leave a comment with a link to your post. And remember her request to speak freely, but kindly and respectfully!

* Do you find that the anticipation of reviewing the book has changed your reading experience?
* Are you rating the book even as you read? Or do you wait until the end to sum it all up?
* Does knowing you'll be reviewing it (or rating it) publicly affect which books you pick up in the first place?
* Does the process of writing the review itself change how you felt about the book?
* What is your motivation to assign a rating to a book and declare it to the world?
* If you review a book but don't rate, why not? What do you feel is your role as reviewer?

I'm choosing option number 3 to respond to

* Do you find that the anticipation of reviewing the book has changed your reading experience?
-No, I started this blog to remember my own experiences in reading, not to influence others in their own reading. I will admit that I struggle in how much I write now knowing that others are reading what I'm writing. I don't want to say too much and give too much away. I would like to participate more in book discussions because of this. There are things I think about the book that I don't write down in respect of not spoiling the book for those who haven't read it yet.

* Are you rating the book even as you read? Or do you wait until the end to sum it all up?
-I wouldn't say I'm rating the book as I read it, I would say I'm reacting to it which is different. I want to write down my honest reactions to books.

* Does knowing you'll be reviewing it (or rating it) publicly affect which books you pick up in the first place?
-I don't think so. I'm pretty honest in what I read (good or bad). There are a couple of books I've read that I wouldn't have picked up had an author not asked me to read and review it, but most of what I write about are books I'm genuinely interested in reading.

* Does the process of writing the review itself change how you felt about the book?
-No. I write my reviews pretty close to when I've finished reading them to stay true to my memories and experience.

* What is your motivation to assign a rating to a book and declare it to the world?
-I don't rate books

* If you review a book but don't rate, why not? What do you feel is your role as reviewer?
-I'm in no way a professional reviewer, I'm a lover of books. The purpose of this blog was to document my experiences in reading.