Thursday, November 12, 2015

Bookish thoughts...

To review or not to review.  What do you say about books that aren't bad, but that aren't great either? Like all those books you give three stars to on Goodreads. They aren't bad enough to trash, but are they good enough to recommend when there are so many other, possibly better, books out there to read? I prefer to write about the books I really like, not the ones that are merely okay. The only bad thing about that is when I hit a stretch of mediocre reads and end up having nothing to write about at all.

On books vs. movies.  In the past, whenever they turned a book into a movie that I wanted to see, I always tried to read the book before I saw the movie. Because the book came first. But lately, whenever there's a movie coming out of a book I haven't read yet, I find myself thinking, "Oh good. Now I don't have to read the book; I can just go see the movie." It's sad but true. Especially with books that are probably really good. Like The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials and Room. All are books I had on my To Read list once, but now I no longer feel like I have to read them...I can just go to the movie instead. And I don't even feel guilty about it. There are just too many other books that I want to read...and never enough time to read them all.

Happy Reading!
(or movie watching)

9 comments:

  1. Quite often I come across books that are good enough for me to recommend, if not perfect enough to rave about. And sometimes I just don't have much to say. I've been doing brief reviews of some of these (usually lumping together some recent releases) and that helps me to feel I've done my duty by them.

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    1. Maybe that's what I should try... brief reviews of the books I like, but don't love. It's just hard sometimes to drum up any enthusiasm or motivation to write about them, you know?

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  2. I don't read particularly fast, so the movie version is seeming like a good option for me nowadays. My schedule has gotten busier, so I have to weigh a 2-hour movie version vs. a 2-week book reading commitment!

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    1. That factors into my decision to see the movie rather than read the book, too. It's just so much faster. (And if I love the movie, I can always go back and read the book.)

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  3. I was just thinking about that very question this morning, while pondering whether I really wanted to write about the book I just finished (which I liked, but did not love). I went ahead and posted a review in which I explain why I didn't like the book as much as I'd hoped (and also I said what I liked about it). I've been feeling like a mean girl ever since. I don't like posting anything negative. This is tough stuff.

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    1. I don't like posting negative stuff either, but being honest doesn't make you mean. :) I just have a hard time reviewing a book I'm not sure I can really recommend, you know?

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  4. Like you I usually review and write about books I really like, which means 4 or 5 stars. Occasionally I review an OK book and give it 3 stars but I don't review any book with less than 3 stars. I also don't read those books, I might start it and stop.

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    1. I would MUCH rather write about books I love, than the ones that are just okay. So I'm with you on that. :) And hey, thanks for commenting!

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  5. I agree with the others who suggested short blurbs on the not-so-great books--I often don't blog about them, but I do try to be honest with my GoodReads stars. I think, though, that if a highly rated book just doesn't work for you, it's interesting to write about how it did miss the mark.

    Authors put their hearts and souls into their work and reviews should not belittle that, but at the same time, I rely on the honesty of the reviews I read before investing time in a book. After all, there are so many more books than any one of us can read that it's important to choose wisely.

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