Cheryl’s Comments (group member since Jul 30, 2011)

Cheryl’s comments from the More than Just a Rating group.

Ah! Yes, Riona, it does make sense to read a bunch of reviews by friends. That's what I do, too. But the thing is, I'm talking about people I've met on goodreads that I've made 'friends' with. I think many (most?) of us, when referring to 'friends' reviews' are talking about goodreads friends, who may or may not be friends in real life. :)

Thanks Lisa - good to know!

I do too, especially if I really had to dig through a bunch of reviews that were all saying basically the same thing until I got to that one that was different. I like, and 'like' outliers, whether they fit my perspective or not.

I wasn't clear, though, sorry - my question was especially directed at Ana because I can't tell from her post whether she's talking about liking or 'liking.' :)

Riona, Welcome! You mention 'reading others' reviews.' Do you imagine seeing us post our reviews in this group? I'm intrigued.

We do have an under-utilized folder for people who want specific help - post a draft of a review and we-all can respond to it. Or were you thinking a brag section? Or more activity on the thread of 'point to some of your favorite reviews here' - ? Or...?

I'd love to participate in a new thread about reading across a variety of genres - we've seen assorted mentions in several existing topics already so I do believe it would be a good one to start. I'll let one of you start it though, so you can choose the title and set the focus. :)

Do you hit the 'like' button on reviews that you disagree with?

Oh, I should say, it sounds like a lot of work, but since she's not doing a lot at the end, but rather is basically making her notes directly into her review, it's not so bad. And it really does help her with comprehension, I'm sure, because she's always thinking about what she's reading.

And I'm just intimidated by the very thought of taking into account that extra consideration.

(btw, this is from the thread 'do we need to define reviews')

Tammy said "I dunno about writing your review for the author - wouldn't you then temper your opinion?

I'm just thinking of the thread I started a little while ago when an author put a comment on my review thanking me for reading her book, right after I'd put up a comment about her book being a "stinker". It freaked me right out. I mainly write my reviews to entertain myself -- and sometimes that's at the expense of the book I'm reviewing.

And if I were an author I'd wouldn't like to think readers were pandering to me - as flattering as that thought is."

Now this may not have been what David meant when he posted "A review as many have said is defined as your opinion of the book. It is not supposed to be a second description of a book. The only time a second description is necessary is when it is posted on a blog or website. I want to see opinions, likes and dislikes. That helps me understand the book and the author understands where they can improve."

But do any of you ever actually make the effort to think about whether your review will help an author improve?

Maybe it's an issue of sufficient interest we should start a new thread? I think so, actually... off I go!

One friend of mine writes her reviews (separately, then posts) as she goes along, so they're organized the way the book is.

First she has a sentence or two about why she chose the book and what she hopes to learn from it or like about it. Then she starts reading. When something makes her stop and think, maybe she'll add an interim reaction. So then her next paragraph will be something like 'p. 52. Not liking the main character much, but she is interesting. This is how she interacted with her family after a festival "quoted material from the book here."'

Then she'll read some more, until she goes to sleep maybe. The next morning maybe she'll add 'p. 117. The author is losing me with all the different characters and settings. I'm having trouble following what's going on, but I'm going to keep reading.'

And so on, until she finishes with something like, 'I think the author should have had a tighter focus. Also he could have helped us care about the main character more, instead of just being annoyed at her. I think these weaknesses bring my rating down from a 4 to a 3."

They're fairly long reviews, but they're really well-organized in a way that helps her appreciate the book more, and helps me decide whether to read the book myself.

I hope so too! I admire your perserverance.

I, personally, feel that keeping the author in mind as a potential audience is an advanced skill. Totally more power to you if you can say things in a way appropriate to their perspective, as well as to yourself and potential readers of the book - I'm just not sure I could write my opinions in a way the author would find helpful.

I'm not disagreeing - it's just that you've given me food for thought....

An outline might be helpful to some folks, too.

I also have been thinking about creating a simple checklist of elements to consider. For example, sometimes I get carried away talking about the funny illustrations in a picture-book I forget to talk about the story, much less my thoughts about the receptiveness of the intended audience.

Dawn, thank you for your understanding!

Yes, we do have a topic for outlines, but it didn't catch on so it settled to the bottom of it's folder. It's in "tips" and it's called "Guides or templates or criteria....?"

I'll go off and bump it now. I've been thinking about creating something like that myself - give me a couple days and I might be able to come up with something.

Some of the 'point to external links here' in the "resources" folder might help, too. I admit I haven't yet looked at them.

Btw, if you have something you want to discuss and you're not sure where to put it, ask me and/ or Sarah - we might be thankful you pointed out the need for a new folder! It's happened before! :)

We still haven't been featured, and we're still growing!! Yay!

Only one little problem about that - as we get more enthusiastic voices, we tend to get just a titch heedless about staying on-topic. Now I know I'm one of the worst offenders, and I'm certainly not picking on anyone in particular. Nor has it gotten bad yet - I'm just trying to give us a nudge before it does get serious.

The thing is, this group can be a great resource - if we all know where to find previous discussions, and if we can read conversations relevant to each thread title in each thread.

Two things I *try* to remember to do are 1) check the title of the thread and make sure my post is relevant to that, not just to the immediately preceding posts (this becomes more challenging, and also more important, as threads get longer) and 2) if I catch myself starting what might be another topic, I go check the folders for the best placement and then go ahead and start the new topic.

If you catch me messing up, please poke me! I'll try not to get hurt feelings. ;)

Hey gang, sorry I've not been keeping a closer eye on us. I knew we'd gotten way off topic when we got a post in here asking us to look at Anime Fiasco (Allisa);s blog.

I moved her post to a thread topic called "Alissa wants suggestions" because I'm sure some folk will have ideas for her and then we'd be *way* off topic here!

Please help me keep all the topics and folders in this group closer to on-topic. That way newcomers will be able to find their way around and we'll all be able to use this group as a resource. Thank you! :)

(from another thread)


I'm a goodreads and a blog reviewist! Can you guys check mine out to see if the reviews are okay?

http://lalalareviews.blogspot.com/