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

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

Yeah, I guess according to our kids we're old. I wonder if I showed the picture of your daughter to my son would he participate more on GR... ;)

I have trouble revising my reviews. One thought tends to prompt another, and so on... I probably should do more editing and re-organizing - but I don't much.

"I think it's very important for a reviewer to remember why they write reviews, and to not let the impact of others' reactions to their reviews change their focus."

Good point! For one thing, it would become a chore and be done less regularly and w/ less enthusiasm, if one felt one had to do reviews a certain way.

LOL Sarah!

Hmm, good question Elizabeth. I don't think I have a universal strategy. I think mostly, unless something about the book prompts me to be creative, I start by explaining my star-rating. I think I usually start with what I liked about it first if I did like it, or what I liked about it least if I didn't like about it. I might go into some length here, pull some quotes, compare it to other similar books or books by the author. Then I'll go to the opposite, to try to give some balance. Then maybe a summary of my main point, or a note of who might like it.

That is, say I give it 2 stars.
I'll say 'disappointing because... for example "..." and the author's book "X" was better' and then I'll say 'but aspect Y made me glad I finished' and then something like, maybe, 'only completists need read this minor effort by this prolific author.'

So, I've fallen into a structure - but I surely don't always follow it. :)

What Dawn said.

I tend to find, though, that the two are usually in some correspondence. I don't find a lot of books that would get a 5 on story and a 1 on voice & merit. That makes it usually easy for me to talk about all aspects of a book without getting technical, like a professional reviewer might be expected to do.

Welcome Laurence & Jaye! Loving the enthusiasm! One thing though - no shame! (msg 82)

Fortunately goodreads doesn't impose genres or the use of genre tags or shelves, so those of us who want to read good books no matter how they're classified don't even have to pay attention to this issue. I generally don't.

I can usually get everything I need from the description and the reviews. If it has vampires in it I don't care if it's YA, non-fiction, sf, romance, or picture-book - I just know I'm not interested! ;)

(I personally would love those community discussion pages to be more used for in-depth discussions. Not all of us who want to really talk about a book can be in the same group.

See for example the comments to BunWat's review of The Help. Too bad that this discussion showed up under comments to this particular review instead of community discussions.)

So, if there are any teenage girls out there, and you want get all Fan and use creative spelling and fonts, many folks would prefer you use the book discussion area instead of the review section. Especially if the book hasn't been released yet. Especially, also, if you want to say anything that spoils earlier books in the series.

Personally, however, *I* agree with Gundula msg 30. If I see this kind of review, I'm happy that these folks are getting excited about reading, and I'm moving right along to the next book.

Welcome ladies!

Yay!

Oh dear, a professional - and I've been rawther catty about your ilk on Jessica's GR staff blog.

But seriously, Welcome! I look forward to another different perspective - I really meant it when I said *all* are welcome. :)

Interesting post. I love that Jessica describes the community reviews here on GR as a 'symphony' and a 'collage.' I also like the comments, including yours especially.

Tag? As in a field? I don't use genre shelves so couldn't do it by crowd-sourcing, but I did just apply to librarian status so if there's a genre tag in the book description I might be able to add tags soon.

But anyway, if we talk about how to describe a book in our reviews, hmm... Good question... I don't *think* I pay much attention to genres in reviews except in cases like the one you mentioned. That would be something like "I found this book in the YA section of my library but it seemed awfully mature and intense to me." Or maybe "This book is normally thought of as Juvenile or Children's, but I think it has a classic appeal to all ages, the way books like The Little Prince or The Phantom Tollbooth do."

I'm sure I have more thoughts, but I need others' to bring them to the surface... ;)

OK I'll calm down now. Pretty heady stuff though - I feel so empowered!

my review of Palazzo Inverso has a spoiler tag! :)

Thank you Lisa.

I had a very poor history education and don't actually know the fates of Cleopatra or Anne Boleyn. So, yes, I *should* know them, but since I don't, I appreciate efforts like Lisa's.

(I tried Fforde, and should like him, but somehow didn't, thanks.)

yeah, let's not get started on complaining about marketing strategies! Or, at least, let's make a better topic thread for it. :)

genre benders - love it - sure a good way for an author to be deemed 'original' - usually taken as a compliment

doesn't always work, but when it does - 'groundbreaking' becomes the word

Ooh! I did it! See - I made an italicized word!