World, Writing, Wealth discussion

It takes time as well as skill gained through practice to write an informative and entertaining review. I mean, it's like writing an essay or a book report in school, isn't it?

Why do you--not just GR reviewers but book bloggers too--do it?

* You just have to express your love/hatred for the book.
* You like entertaining or informing the public about great reads or ones to avoid.
* You're a masochist.
* You don't have anyone to talk to about books.
* You actually learned to love writer's cramp.
* At dinner, after you've finished a book, your entire family wears earplugs.
* You're a scientist who works at Antarctica and penguins don't read--although you've been there so long that you're starting to hear them talk.

I wish I could write a review for this post - excellent! I review because I love discussing books, reviewing gives me emotional closure after I finish a book, as an author I know the importance of reviews and I love writing.

I hope my opinion can help someone - that's my main reason for writing reviews :)

I usually - don't, but now that you bring the benefit of the penguins to the core, I might reconsider -:)

I don't have anyone to talk to about books and I like to Keep the Review as a note for myself.

I don't always do but when I do, it's to release the tension (either from an amazing read or an annoying read)

I started to give some appreciation to the unappreciated/underappreciated, but it sort of spiraled a little beyond that. However, it's getting harder sometimes to talk about what I like about a book without sounding like I'm rewriting old reviews. I have to admit I've now backed off from doing full reviews and becoming one of those who just leaves a rating like most do on GR...

Writing reviews is worthwhile to,

[1] Acknowledge the author.

[2] Think about the story and what made it good or bad - which is always useful for an author.

[3] Create visibility for my brand.

I like to write reviews because I know how much I, as an author, appreciate them.

It's kind of like writing a book report--it does make you think about the elements of the story, and what made it good or less good. Good point Graeme!

The reviews I write really write themselves out of enthusiasm. I decided awhile back that I would not vent about any book, so no 1 stars or reviews. The reason is that I know, early, if I'm not going to like it so if I keep going, well, should/did know better!

I used to write reviews on Netflix all the time. They had a community kind of like goodreads where everyone could see who reviewed what and could then upvote which reviews were most helpful. You could friend people and follow their reviews. Then Netflix took that all away, which really bummed out a lot of reviewers including me. You could still write a review, but your reviewer name and profile had vanished so that no one could see who left which review. That took the fun out of it for me I guess.

I have fun writing reviews on goodreads now because of the community. I like to see what my friends are reading and their thoughts on the book. I have reviewed for lots of indies here because I know how tough it is to get those reviews. I also like to think that the reviews I leave are helpful to other readers trying to decide whether a book will work for them.

Fiction reviewing can be so much more subjective than non-fiction reviewing, though. I try to stick to the facts when possible to give readers an idea of what to expect from the book.

I write reviews, mainly of books by indie authors. I do it because I know how hard it is to get such reviews, and I feel that it is the last I can do. I also do it in the vague hope that karma/whatever will lead to others reviewing my books. So far, not a lot of luck on that score.

What I find interesting is that all these authors bleat about not getting reviews, but oh so many won't actually give any. All take, no give.

If a book only has a few reviews, I'll post one. However, if I can't finish the book, I won't.

If the book has hundreds of reviews, I generally won't bother (a drop of water in the ocean syndrome).

Wow, this question really got me thinking.

1) I think of writing reviews as a kind of "writing". I get a different, but similar kind of thrill writing reviews as I do writing fiction. Often, when I want to write fiction, I'll write a book review as fiction.

2) Writing book reviews helps me think about a book. It helps me analyze the book from a writer's point of view.

3) It helps me get readers. Anytime someone reads anything I've written, a small part of me feels vindicated. Reviews help me snag readers.

4) Paying dues to the world of literature. Everyone wants to be known for their masterpiece. It's harder to realize that everyone needs to pay dues to the larger world of fiction through grunt work. What is this grunt work?
---If you're the editor of a lit magazine -- reading through the slush pile.
---Reading works from unknown writers.
---Getting people excited about reading.
---Pushing people to be more thoughtful readers.

All of Daniel's points too.

Great question! I think I write them because as a reader, I value reviews so much. The amount of times I've discovered a brilliant book - only through someone else's review!

I guess I feel like I owe it to others to continue the worthy tradition - and keep encouraging other people to discover fabulous new books. :-)

I like to pay it forward by supporting other indies. I won't leave a review if I didn't like a book unless I feel the need to warn other readers. Sometimes I don't review if there's hundreds of reviews. I give a brief idea of what the story is about and my impressions. But NEVER give away the entire story, twists or the ending. I've had reviewers do that for several of my books. WHY would you do that??? I'd rather not have the review.

To spread the word on books I really enjoyed -- especially those written by fellow indie authors -- ideally helping both the author and potential readers in the process.

Al "Tank" wrote: "If the book has hundreds of reviews, I generally won't bother (a drop of water in the ocean syndrome)."

Exactly same here...

I'll write if I'm enthusiastic. I just posted a review for a short read for a book I got at the last SIA book sale. It's the first review for the book on Amazon. It was good, very short, but well done. I was happy to post it!

Reviews help sell books and its a good feeling to give your thoughts on a book you just read.