This week's theme is: BOOKS I NEVER REVIEWED. Which should have been an easy one to figure out. But I wavered over which ten books to choose. Should I choose ten books from off my own shelves? Books I rated 5 stars on Goodreads? Books I read before I ever started blogging? Romances in honor of February? Classics? Favorite kid books?
See how I sometimes way overthink things?
So, I decided to write down some of the reasons why I don't review all of the books I read instead. Whether there will be 10 or not is yet to be seen.
REASONS WHY I DON'T REVIEW EVERY BOOK I READ:
1. The book is too long or the plot is too complicated to be easily summed up in one or two paragraphs. Writing really long reviews is not my thing. And I can't decide if it's because I'm too tired, or just lazy. Or because I just can't think of anything profound to say.
2. Everyone else has already read and reviewed the book. If I've seen it on three or more blogs, I don't always feel it necessary to review it myself. Though there are exceptions.
3. I didn't really like the book. I don't like to write negative reviews or comments, so if I hated the way a book ended, or didn't even make it to the end, I'm not going to mention it on my blog. I prefer to write about the books I did really like instead.
4. The book is only a 3-star read. There's nothing really wrong with it, but I didn't end up loving it. It's a middling read soon to be forgotten...and I just never know what to say about those kinds of books.
5. And sometimes a book is so amazing I don't know how to put into words all the things I loved about it. Though I do try to at least mention those books on one of my Randomness or Quick recommendation posts.
There you have it. 5 reasons I don't review every book I read. Oh! I just thought of a sixth reason. I read a lot of books (last year I read over 200) and frankly, I don't have it in me to even try to review that many books. Because I read for fun, and forcing myself to try and review every book I read just feels like work. And who wants blogging to feel like that?
Happy reading!
Very good points about why we don't review everything we read. I have 2 books this year that I read and didn't care for so I didn't review them. And it's also true as you say that sometimes a book is wonderful and yet the word won't come I worry that no matter what I say I won't do the book justice.
ReplyDeleteI agree with number two. Have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
I overthought this topic also lol and I like your take on it. If I didn't enjoy a book, I'll usually say so on my blog but I won't give it a negative review on Goodreads, Amazon...etc..
ReplyDeleteNumber 3 is a big reason with me. I am a slow reader and by the time I finish and review, it is everywhere. Also, why is it so hard to review a book you love? I do the same. Here is my list
ReplyDeletehttps://girlsatthebookstore.blogspot.com/2025/02/top-ten-tuesday-top-nonfiction-books.html
These are all good reasons not to review a book.
ReplyDeleteNumber 3 is the main reason why I don't review a book. I don't like writing negative reviews. Also, number 5. I don't know why it's so hard to write a review for a book a love, but it is. It's like my words aren't sufficient enough.
ReplyDeleteFabulous list, Lark. Reading that many books in a year does make it seem more or a chore than fun to review them all. It's so nice to see how we all approach blogging in different ways. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletehttps://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2025/02/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-books-ive-never.html
Good point about long reviews, many people don't read these anymore. Including myself LOL. However I'm a yapper, so I can't seem to stick to a short one.
ReplyDeleteI find it more easy to write a 3-star review than a 5-star one LOL.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2025/02/18/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-never-reviewed-on-this-blog/
These are all very good reasons not to review a book. I overthink everything, so I can relate. LOL I ended up going the direction I did just so I could get something down for the books because I've stressing about not reviewing them. The ideal for me is to review every book I read, but that's not realistic. And the last few years have been especially tough. When I get behind, I get overwhelmed and then I have trouble moving forward with reviews of books I just finished too. That and not having time, and many of the reasons you mention here.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your reviews, whether in haiku format or a more traditional format or whether you just mention a book in passing.
What a great list! And your thoughts apply to a lot of the books that I've not reviewed as well. You can mark me down as another 'overthinker' - I've tried to rein that in - sometimes more successful than other times. LOL
ReplyDeleteI tend to write some kind of review for every book I read on Goodreads, but those reviews may be as simple as "Great read!" or "It was ok, nothing great" or "It was a DNF for me." Others get full posts on my blog, and I'll often copy the review from my blog to Goodreads.
ReplyDeleteOccasionaly, when I'm stumped for what to write for a longer review, I'll look at ratings that are vastly different from mine and give my feedback based on their ratings.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/favorite-mysteries-i-read-in-2024/
I'm just the opposite: I review every book that I read on Goodreads and generally on my blog as well. It's a way of firming up my impression of the books and storing them in my memory.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your reasons! I don't like to post negative reviews. Not that I'm against someone doing that it's just that I don't want to spend the time on it. I will usually write a few lines on GRs on why I didn't connect with it. Time the biggest factor on why I don't write a review. If I didn't get it as an arc, where I'm required (for the most part) to write a review I probably won't write one. This is one of the reasons I don't request near as many books. To be honest, most of the arcs I get are from invites. I do list all the books I read on my Sunday Post so even if I didn't review them people get to see them and my rating and maybe a few words. I had a hard time with this week's topic, as well. I was thinking that I'd list some 5 star books I didn't review and in the end I was working a puzzle while listening to an audiobook and I just didn't feel like working up a post, lol! I love what you came up with. :)
ReplyDeleteThe last reason is one that I struggle with. I often post reviews later than I planned because I can't give the book justice. All of these are great reasons not to review a book.
ReplyDeleteYes to all of these! I used to force myself to write an in-depth review on my blog for every book I read. That got to be very overwhelming and stressful, so now I review everything I read on Goodreads—even if it's just a sentence or two—and I only write longer blog reviews when I feel like it (which hasn't been a lot lately). Although I do need to be more disciplined about posting blog reviews, for the most part, this method works really well for me. No more stress!
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
I totally understand all your reasons why you don't review every book. I try to, even if I didn't like the book. I feel it easier to compare whether I would like a book reviewed by someone else if they do both. But I usually mention that not every book is for everyone. And no, I don't write really long reviews every time, only rarely, I just give a glimpse of my feelings.
ReplyDeleteI like your topic! I was going to do the TTT this week, and then decided it would be too much to work to figure out which books I read but didn't review. :) My reasons for not reviewing overlap with your for sure. 3-star books are hard -- the book might be fine, but I often find myself with nothing much to say about it. And sometimes I end up not reviewing "big" (as in bestselling) books, because (as you point out), I feel like everything to say about it has already been said.
ReplyDeleteI could've written this list! Blogging should not be work but a platform for when you do have a thought you want to share.
ReplyDeleteGreat list, and I do agree with all of these. Most of the time I won't review a book if it was really bad or I didn't finish it. Happy Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteYes to ALL of these!! I do try to review, even a quick review, for each book I read. Same for DNFs, I try to at least list them on Goodreads so I remember I tried the book and don't pick it up again.
ReplyDelete