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

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

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Time and Again

I mean, I guess I should be flattered, but I'm actually bemused. Can you guess why this earned a 'like' - ?

I tend to hit the 'like' button if a review was particularly helpful as I'm trying to figure out whether to read a book.

Some of those descriptions are indeed misleading, or just missing, good point.

And controversial opinions are terrific - I love reading people talk about how books address Issues. So long as you're on a soabbox, and not frothing rabid, I (personally) want to read your words! I totally get more out of a book if I read other's reactions to it.

Wonderful to have you here Sarah! I look forward to getting to know you as we share ideas here.

I've found it helps me enjoy reading a lot more, too, to be able to look back once in a while. :)

Oh, and may I ask what you mean by 'theme' - all I know about it is some vague memory from school long time ago that I can't even articulate here....

My own thought is, first, valuable to whom? Some people do write reviews purely for themselves, and want that Description in their review. So, that's fine.

Now, for me, as I'm reading the reviews and trying to decide if I want to read the book, and it's just what we can see already on the GR description right on the book page, maybe not so much. If the summary focuses on different aspects of the book, or is worded distinctly differently, coming from the fly-leaf or blurb or the reviewer's memory, it could help.

I mean, anything can help. Summaries that counter overly-dramatic descriptions are good. Synopses that talk about what happened in the first 300 pages building up to what the publisher is bragging on can help.

(Bear in mind that I am of the opinion that *anything* helps. :)

What do *you* think?

Now I'm just sharing my own thoughts, and mostly about plot kind of things. You use the word 'theme' and I don't think about that much.

Steamywindows (sorry I don't know how to do those charming icons) asked for thoughts:

"So, I will pose a question: is a synopsis of the book valuable in a review, especially if it is almost word for word from the "back of the book" or fly-leaf? I do like to have a sense of what the book's theme is, but I don't know how much value this brings to the review. Any thoughts on this?"

That's a terrific question! I hope you don't mind, but since I don't want it to get lost in this topic, I'm going to bring it over to the 'questions and discussions' folder. Meet me there? :)

That is *so* true. A first step is a great one! Even if someone only has time and energy to write that kind of 5-6 word sentence, their contribution is valuable to potential readers!

Welcome Elizabeth, I know you'll have exciting ideas to share!

Welcome Steamywindows! It's a pleasure to 'meet' you! I hope none of us feels deficient... ;) Well, but actually, I do right now, because I don't know what you mean by 'choked' or 'wall-banger' or 'floor dropper' - help please?

Tx Darkpool - I like that - I've seen some reviews that are fun to read, that I like a lot, that were obviously not written to an audience. We should all feel free to write what we believe, and what we want to write.

This is also the place to ask questions. Feel free to start a new topic thread if a quick search through the threads doesn't reveal prior relevant discussion. Don't be shy - everyone here wants to share their ideas and offer help. You only have to take the advice you like!

It's where you get to open up to interactions with other reviewers. You can get into discussions about whether or not to include summaries, or whether or not to include photos or videos. You can sound off about what you think all good reviews should cover. You can discuss different interpretations of the rating scale. You'll probably have lots of things to talk about!

Just remember: stay on topic, talk about the issue and not the person, be respectful, and take a breather if you feel yourself getting too stressed.

Some reviews are mostly simply "I loved it" or "I loved it I read it every year" or "I'd burn it but that would be a waste of a perfectly innocent match."

Some are just plain plot summaries.

Some are chock full of adjectives trying to describe what it felt like to read it.

How would you describe other kinds of reviews?

Have you created any sort of checklist or guide that you refer to when you write a review? Many of us prefer write free-form - but others like a tool. If you have a list you can paste here, please share.

Please be tactful - but if there's something you really really don't like to see in reviews, or wish people would include, and yet it's not quite an actual tip or a caution, you can mention it here.

Nobody is at all obligated to respect your peeve, of course. But there's a possibility that something that annoys you is something the reviewer hadn't even thought about, so give it a shot.

Just remember, address the issue, not the person.

I've let goodreads take over my life. My youngest is almost grown, so I'm able to read a lot. I try to read in most all genres, from children's to science fiction, poetry to science. I host the GR group Fans of Maps.

I also manage an OBCZ for bookcrossing.com, where I'm known as cherylllr. And I do a little geocaching with my husband Ralph, where we are known as nevada carma. It's fun to go on a road trip, wild release bookcrossed books, and find some caches!