Review Breakdown


Hello readers!

To give some clarity to my review posts, I wanted to dive in on what each aspect of my review means.

❤❤❤❤❤
These hearts under the book are how much, over-all I love the book. None of the categories I present systematically alter this rating, it's just how the book made me feel overall.

I add this basic information for a variety of reasons:
  • The image may not load, so having the title is useful when speaking about a book.
  •  I like to link to the authors web page to direct traffic to their other works, if they have a soundtrack to the book, or fan art linked as well. 
  • The publishing date I feel like is one of the more important pieces of information to include. It helps the reader understand what was going on in this era or influenced the writing. With the popularity of YA literature, there is a lot that is changing throughout 10 years, including identifying problematic topics that since then have been addressed or changed.
  • The publisher I like to include should anyone wish to follow them on social media based on the types of books they publish.The publisher plays a big part in getting stories into our hands.
  • The genre I include in the categories I would consider them to be in. I understand that some may seem like they are over-lapping or "Why don't you just put Fantasy vs. High Fantasy" Each genre is a little bit different, and generally if more clarity is needed I will include it in the body. 

I don't like to tear too far into what to judge a book on, because each book is different. For the most part, any fictional writing I look for the four things listed here:
  •  I feel like plot is super important. It's what propels the story and characters forward with a purpose. I find when a book lacks a plot, or doesn't have a strong enough plot I tend to lose interest and find myself wondering if I should back up a few chapters and re-read. As an impatient person, a bad plot is a demise of a book. I don't want to have to reflect back or wonder if I should power through. This also is a big factor on whether or not I end up liking audio-books. If I can't follow along with the plot, I find myself switching to music or at the end of a book and have no idea whats going on.
  • Characters can also be extremely important to a book. They are what make you emotionally invested in what is happening. I personally prefer a smaller cast of characters, mostly because it allows you to get to know them and build a bond with them better. For example, the Illuminae series we get a smaller cast of characters that gradually builds bigger. Each set of characters is also introduced in a systematic way that allows you to get to know them individually. 
  • When you get into fantasy writing, world building is definitely key. If there are magic systems, how and why they work should be gone over. If there are creatures that aren't in our non-fiction world, they may need explaining. How this is executed can be super detailed or not very, it can be an info-dump in one solid conversation (Which is terrible to read), or it can be discovered by our narrator in stride.
  • I'm sure we've all found ourselves re-reading a sentence and thinking "Huh?" in a book. Not necessarily because the actions of the character are questionable, but more like "Did that sentence make sense?" Flow, along with plot is the steady stream of the narrative and as I've mentioned before, really make a book enjoyable to read. 
For non-fiction, the rating scale alters a little bit. There is no world-building when you are reflecting on your life in North Korea in a memoir. Some of this is repetitive but still necessary.
  • Flow is still important here, because although non-fiction is writing facts, it still needs to be presented in a way that makes you want to read it.
  • Your writing style is important regardless if it's fiction or non-fiction. What format you set up can add or take away from the story. For instance, you could write a memoir as journal entries or a collection of therapy sessions as a chat format.
  • Now nobody is saying that your story should be heard, but what you are writing about really influences if someone wants to pick up your book. Specifically with non-fiction, not everyone wants to read about sports heroes or about a man that survived a communist country. The content with non-fiction typically has to resonate with that persons interests. In Elena Vanishing, I was particularly tied to eating disorders but the depression that she suffers through her story was immensely powerful and was something I could relate to.
  • Since I'm not interested in factual information about a person or an event, I like to read memoirs. Most of the time I read them to feel something, or I'm looking for an emotional connection. This is something I personally am looking for, and not everyone may include in their reviews.  

Part of why I include the synopsis is to provide more information to my reviews without having to put it in a wall of text or cloud up my review with information. It also allows anyone interested in the book, but not wanting spoilers, to get an idea of what it's about without having to look it up on their own.

As someone who is prone to spoiling myself on purpose, it's terrible when it happens in a completely uncontrolled manner. Sure, I may be glutton for punishment looking for non-spoilery-spoilers, but I want to do it on my own terms. I know not everyone flirts with danger like myself, so including a disclaimer that there may be spoilers helps my readers know that I may be giving away a part of the book.

That my friends, is how I look at a book. It's not super fancy, I don't follow an algorithm provided by some university or get too carried away. I like to be simple and as informative as possible when reviewing a book. The format outlined above may alter depending on if I'm doing more than one book in a review, or if it's a series of short stories.

Comments

Popular Posts