Okay, so one of the things I decided to do this year is review every book I read, including some of the ones my book club did last year. I like to think on them a little bit before writing them, so they don't always get done right as I finish reading them.
It's a fun thing to do for me, sort of like writing a book report in school---without the terrifying act of presenting it to the class. All those eyes staring at me. Forget it.
Still, I want to make sure I'm honest. These reviews are as much for me, to hone my writing skills, as they are for the author and especially the readers. I'm not going to lie because I'm worried about hurting feelings. I will never bash another author. I try my best to counter any critique or criticism with an attribute of either the story or the writer themselves. Especially as I start reviewing indie authors that I have connected with via Facebook, I would like to make it clear that I will do my best to present any book I read in a positive light (hopefully the story makes that an easy task) but I wont' compromise my opinion.
HOW I REVIEW: I like to start my reviews out with a quick summary. Some are longer than others as they may require a bit of backstory, or I can't say too much without giving away significant details. If it's a trilogy or one that affects me in a significant way, I will write SPOILER ALERT at the top of the post so you're forewarned. I'll do the same when I write a synopsis of a story.
After the summary, I like to follow up with my opinion. What I thought, what I liked, what I didn't like. What the author did well, what I thought they could improve on---not that I'm an expert, but everything can improve on something. Usually.
Eventually I'd like to look at book-to-movie comparisons, analyzing specific characters or even giving my two cents on an author as a whole (this will include a lot of research). I'll most likely do this with authors I already like, but I'm always open to suggestions for reading and reviewing any book you may like.
MY RATING SYSTEM: First of all, I would like to remind everyone that taste in books, as in everything else in life, is completely subjective. Just because I don't care for a particular story or author (or especially if I do) does not mean anyone else will feel the same. What I say in these posts, how I rate a book is completely my opinion. I don't want anybody to take it personally, and I'd like to remind any and everyone that when it comes to books, I can be incredibly picky (and stingy).
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS: I rate books from 1 to 10, as per the rating system we started in my book club. I am consistently rating books harsher than my friends, so when reading my thoughts or recommendations, please keep that in mind.
10: For me to give a book or books a ten means they must be pretty spectacular. I'm talking Best. Books. I have ever. Read. spectacular. I have to connect with these books on such an intimate level that they stay with me as cherished friends whom it would kill me to lose. They basically have to be perfect (to me). A rating this high doesn't come along all that often. Recently, however, I seem to have stumbled upon a treasure trove of wonderful, heart wrenching stories.
9: This rating goes to those that are just slightly below spectacular, but are still fabulous. Maybe something's a little cheesy or a character ticked me off in some way. Maybe the ending wasn't quite what I expected or it feel just short of that extra something it needed to be a ten. Still, this is also a rare rating for me and means that books to receive it are extremely special to me.
8: This is my average rating for books I really liked. They're still stories I would eagerly recommend to friends or suggest to any avid reader. Yet, on my list of absolute favorites, they just don't quite make the cut.
7: Some of my most treasure stories have this rating, written by some of my favorite authors, so it's nothing to be ashamed of. Usually, if I give a book a seven, it means I enjoyed it immensely, but maybe I felt a character could have been more developed, there was a hole in the plot, dialogue was stiff or the ending disappointed me. Maybe a theme didn't feel quite right. It may seem lower to some, but to me, low is really five or under.
6: I tend to give this rating to books that were good, but typically in a genre or writing style I'm not particularly fond of. They may also exhibit one or more of the above-listed faults and therefore don't qualify for a higher rating. That being said, in order to receive a six, the book must still be well written, have a strong storyline and intriguing characters. I would also need to be willing to recommend it to any readers who enjoy that genre, style or author.
5: This is the highest of my lower ratings. It is subject to all the former judgments and, try as I might, I just can't get myself to say that it was more than "okay."
4 to 1: These are my truly low scores. This, to me, says poor quality. I really did not like the story, and the lower on the scale, the worse I believe it to be. It also means I can find very few redeeming qualities with the work, so I can't say I would recommend it at all. Luckily, I haven't read a book lower than a five in the last two years.
Now that you understand where I'm coming from, I hope that provides you with a little insight into what I truly think of the books I read. It is important to me to give each story its due and, as I do with people, I try to see the best in everything. However, there is a difference between being optimistic and sugar-coating. When it comes to book reviews, you won't catch me doing the latter.
Thank you for reading and please, keep at it!
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