Should have read classics discussion

Does anyone else have a hard time writing reviews? I find it so frustrating that I can read a wonderful book and can't figure out something better to say except "It was a good book." Drives me crazy!

Didn't you have to write book reports in school? Just sort of do that without giving away too many details--and write your reaction to what happened. Did you expect the ending that way? Did you like the characters--were they realistic, likeable, well detailed so that you really had a knowledge of them. did the plot scan? Did it make sense---or was it too far-fetched to ever really happen--assuming, of course that it wasn't some kind of fantasy thing. Were you able to wing right through it or did it take slogging to get through. Did you hate to put it down or did you almost not finish? And then the big question to all your answers--why or why not? Have you read other things by this author? How does this compare? Or if you haven't---did this book make you want to go get others. Is is part of a trilogy etc and are you dying to read the next one? Any or all of that can go in a review--probably other stuff,too and I'm sure others of our group can add to this list.

Basically,if you hadn't read the book and were thinking about it, what would you want to know that would make up your mind?

Hope that was helpful,Lisa

I don't feel I write good reviews but, am giving more thought into them and working to make them better. I too think of it as a mini book report. Which I was never good at writing in school. I am doomed!

Well, I must be doing something right--waiting for a giveaway that I won last week and got TWO emails today--I've won two more!!!! Amazing!

Maybe that is my problem, I hated book reports in school. Must be why I haven't won a giveaway in forever.

I'm much better when I write a review right when I finish the book. The longer I wait, the harder it is to write. I really don't want to think about it like writing a book report. I hated those! I do the reviews more for myself...but maybe that's why I've only won one book giveaway. hehe

I try to put a lot of thought into my reviews, and some are easier than others. Sometimes it's really difficult to explain why one book was better/worse than another.

I'm not sure the giveaways are based on the quality of a person's reviews. I have heard that a review needs to be fifty words long to count as a review for firstreads purposes.

Beth A. wrote: "I'm not sure the giveaways are based on the quality of a person's reviews. I have heard that a review needs to be fifty words long to count as a review for firstreads purposes."

Really? Well, that is interesting to know! Might explain why I never win. I figured that it was part voodoo, how they pick the winners.

Beth A. wrote: "I'm not sure the giveaways are based on the quality of a person's reviews. I have heard that a review needs to be fifty words long to count as a review for firstreads purposes."

Wow! I didn't know that either! I'll have to keep that in mind for that future. Thanks for that.

Oops. When I read this again, I wasn't sure I was right. So I did a little checking and found this...

Here was the official word from Otis: "We do have a min length of 50 characters for the review to count. This was added as people were getting away with adding really short reviews like "Great"."

So I was wrong everyone, sorry! It's fifty characters not fifty words.

Still, I had no idea that there was a limit on any of it. Thanks for the checking!

There is a very good reason that no one is paying me to write book reviews for the New York Times, LOL. However, I do have one contribution to the discussion, which is PLEASE don't give away spoilers in your review, or if you do, check the "spoiler" box! The last several reviews I read completely gave away the ending of the book. One reviewer said pretty much nothing except, "I didn't like this book because [explicit spoiling of the end of the book]." Another simply retold the entire story, beginning to end, including every major plot point along the way.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Just so long as you don't give away that X kills Y, or A is really B's father, it's all good. ;)

Must agree, it is very annoying when you get an entire synopsis of the book instead of a review.

Yes, it's a review not an abstract or book summary. I want to know a person's thoughts and feelings about the book, not a synopsis of the plot! I can read the back jacket for that. I like when a review provides insight to what is good or bad about the book in question so that I can get rationale on why to or not to read it.

It helps to make notes as you read.

Debbie wrote: "It helps to make notes as you read."

That would be a good idea.