Does anyone else ever get to the point in their blogging where they just don’t know what to say any more? I’ve hit that point. I always feel like I say the same things in my reviews – the characters are good, the worldbuilding is cool, I like the setting… blah blah blah. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important to address these topics but sometimes it feels like pulling teeth to put the words down on paper. Some books are just hard to review because I like them, but don’t feel really strongly about them in either a positive or negative way and its made reviewing feel like a drag lately!
In an effort to revive my own interest in reviewing books I’m just going to go with the flow and throw format out the window. I just do a series of bullet points for a book. I might do a review entirely made of memes. Who knows – I might try interpretive dance. Actually, that would be a terrible idea as I can’t even clap on beat, much less dance. What I’m trying to say is that in the future, my reviews might be a little wild but more “me” than they have been. I want to have as much fun talking about the books I read as I do reading them! I hope you will all continue to check out my reviews and other posts and I welcome your feedback – I love seeing your comments, though I’ve been bad at responding to them in a timely manner lately. Also, if you’ve had reviewers block, how did you deal with it?
Also, I’m thinking about doing away with the numeric rating system but haven’t come up with a substitute I like yet!
Powder & Page 
Glad to hear you are looking for a formula that works for you. Beyond the synopsis in my review, where I try to let my future, probably memory addled, self know what the book was about, my “My Thoughts” run the gamut.
I’m very much a feelings driven reviewer and I just let the words spew out like a fire hydrant sometimes 🙂
Too much structure in my reviews kills my desire to write them, as I feel like I’m writing an essay for some etheriel “internet teacher”. I just write what I think I am going to want to know in 10 years, simple, lol.
As for numeric ratings, what bugs you about it?
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I feel like the the number rating is so arbitrary for me. And I always feel like I should have given a higher or lower number later on.
Also, I do feel like I’m writing for some internet teacher – who cares, I always hated english/writing classes! This is supposed to be fun so I’m going to stop agonizing over whether or not things make sense!
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I don’t want to come across as pushy, so feel free to stop me.
But have you ever written down just what your rating scale represents to you? Because I know what you mean about it feeling arbitrary and it was that way until I sat down and just wrote down what would make a book an X star book.
I spent a couple of weeks coming up with this:
https://bookstooge.wordpress.com/2016/10/29/bookstooges-star-ratings/
It took a bit of time to figure out the things that mattered enough to me to mention. I didn’t want something so structured that it stifled me but I needed something more than “I liked it” and “I really liked it”, etc. I try to review my star rating post once a year just to keep those lines clear in my head.
I don’t know if this will help you at all. But maybe give it a try and see if you can hammer something out? Or if you realize that ratings are just too much altogether, chuck’em. I’ve seen several people do that over the last couple of years.
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I haven’t actually, but need to do so! Even my mom has suggested I do so 😂 She usually knows best😂
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I do know what you mean, sometimes I dread writing reviews! A couple of times I deviated from my normal reviews and wrote a “ten reasons you should read X.” I thought the list style freed me up from trying to string paragraphs together, and it was fun!
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I like that idea! I might try something like that next time I struggle with one!
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It definitely happens! I had to stop myself writing more than one review at a time as they all tended to sound the same, I find if I wait awhile and come back to it I can word it so it at least sounds a bit different
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A lot of the time! Though, I always feel that I suck at reviewing! I often think that I repeat the same stuff over and over again. I think I do, most people do as we all have our own style. I struggle with grammar, big words and sh#t I’m not big on that but see so many eloquent and perfect reviews that I feel mine get critiqued by people as they aren’t as good.
Sometimes the words just flow for reviews and at other times, nope, staring at the page for days with a vacant glazed look.😂
A lot of people have done away with numbers and found it refreshing as too much emphasis is put on the rating and not the content of the review.
I like the idea of lists, lists are supposed to be popular types of blog posts and a ten reasons you should read this book would be a cool way of reviewing.
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I’m only eloquent on accident and I really struggle writing reviews for some books! I type a few sentences and come back to it later and sometimes that stretches into dayyyys.
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Yep! Days and weeks for me!😂
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I have found I tend to repeat certain phrases or sentiments more than I’d prefer. And wow, do I love the word “definitely” when writing reviews as well as calling a book “fun”. I try to think what makes the book different, and can hopefully think of unique things to say that way, but yeah, some days its more of a challenge, especially for 4 star books (lower or higher ratings I seem to have more to say, but most of my reviews are probably 4 stars)
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I do too! I catch myself doing it and try to steer away from certain words and phrases. Most of mine are 4 stars and they are MUCH harder to write about than a 5 star book or a lower rated one.
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Yep, totally feel you on this. My reviews are already a little quirky, but I’ve found myself writing shorter ones, recently, because I can quickly say what I like about a book, even though it does feel repetitive at times, and sometimes I feel guilty, like I’m cheating the author out of a good review. Yet, just because my reviews aren’t long and offer college-level analysis doesn’t mean they aren’t valid.
Also, I don’t think it’s surprising we find ourselves writing or commenting on the same aspects within books, because perhaps that’s what makes us drawn to (or ticked off by) those books in the first place, so of course there’d be a pattern? Just a thought, but I love your solution and am excited to see what reviews follow!
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Having fun while book blogging is the whole reason for it all, in my opinion, so if changing the format – or whatever you deem necessary – brings back your joy in sharing your thoughts on the books you read, you should embrace the change 🙂
And keep having fun, which is all that really matters…
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