Karen GoatKeeper's Blog - Posts Tagged "choosing-books"
Book Reports -er- Reviews
I love to read, a necessary adjunct to being a book hoarder in my opinion. I have no idea how many books I've read over my life. They definitely are not all listed on Goodreads as it would take far too long.
Choosing a book is a personal matter to me. I rarely read reviews. Why not? Book reviews are supposed to be so important!
The reason is the same I never liked literature classes. The teacher wanted the class to read the book and determine what the author had to say.
The author's theme does make a difference. But the theme is not why I read a book. I normally don't know the author who may well be long dead and from a time I know little about.
I read a book for what the book says to me. This may well be what the author had in mind. But it may not be even close.
My family is tall. I am not. It was the source of ridicule until I hated and resented who I was. Then I read this silly little adventure series by Isaac Asimov.
Each was an adventure on another planet in the solar system, totally outdated even when I read the books. What mattered was one of the main characters who was short and ridiculed yet defied the remarks, even used them to become stronger in his own identity.
The books were silly. They wouldn't rate very highly. Yet what they said to me was far more important and not anything Asimov had in mind when he wrote them.
If I had read the book reviews, I would have missed them.
I choose a book for what the description of the book says. Sometimes I choose a book based on what a friend tells me. Sometimes I even choose one from a review. I read the book for me.
This presents a problem for writing a review. Yes, I do write reviews as I know other people choose books differently than I do.
My reviews are not reports, not literary comments on what the author meant. They are a reflection of what I found in the book.
This puts me in a dilemma when I know the author. The pressure is to write a good review and enhance the standing of the author's book. This is a deception for those who may use my review to choose a book.
My solution is to start the book before listing it on my read shelf. If I don't feel I can honestly give it a good review, it is never listed. This is a rare occurrence as there are so many good books written by people I have the privilege to know. I wish I could read more of their books.
All I need is a decade or so to do nothing but read.
Choosing a book is a personal matter to me. I rarely read reviews. Why not? Book reviews are supposed to be so important!
The reason is the same I never liked literature classes. The teacher wanted the class to read the book and determine what the author had to say.
The author's theme does make a difference. But the theme is not why I read a book. I normally don't know the author who may well be long dead and from a time I know little about.
I read a book for what the book says to me. This may well be what the author had in mind. But it may not be even close.
My family is tall. I am not. It was the source of ridicule until I hated and resented who I was. Then I read this silly little adventure series by Isaac Asimov.
Each was an adventure on another planet in the solar system, totally outdated even when I read the books. What mattered was one of the main characters who was short and ridiculed yet defied the remarks, even used them to become stronger in his own identity.
The books were silly. They wouldn't rate very highly. Yet what they said to me was far more important and not anything Asimov had in mind when he wrote them.
If I had read the book reviews, I would have missed them.
I choose a book for what the description of the book says. Sometimes I choose a book based on what a friend tells me. Sometimes I even choose one from a review. I read the book for me.
This presents a problem for writing a review. Yes, I do write reviews as I know other people choose books differently than I do.
My reviews are not reports, not literary comments on what the author meant. They are a reflection of what I found in the book.
This puts me in a dilemma when I know the author. The pressure is to write a good review and enhance the standing of the author's book. This is a deception for those who may use my review to choose a book.
My solution is to start the book before listing it on my read shelf. If I don't feel I can honestly give it a good review, it is never listed. This is a rare occurrence as there are so many good books written by people I have the privilege to know. I wish I could read more of their books.
All I need is a decade or so to do nothing but read.
