October 2025 Question of the Month

[CindySR, Moderator]

Do you write reviews on GR for every book you read?

[CindySR, Moderator]

I try to. I am by no means a writer, but I like to at least say something about a book, even if it's just the letters DNF. If I write a long review with quotes, then you know I really enjoyed the book!

My favorite thing about GR is the reviews. When deciding to follow or friend someone I always go for folks with a high amount of reviews. I also click "like" on reviews I agree with from friends and those I follow.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

When I joined Goodreads I decided I was going to review every book & I have stuck to that, although nowadays I don't always have that much to say. I find 2.5 & 3★ reviews the hardest to write as they are average/only just above average books for me. If I ever start to tire of writing reviews, I would stop writing reviews for those books first. I find the reviews for 1/1.5★ books just about write themselves! 😁but thanks to my Goodreads friends & people I follow on here I rarely have those any more. Like Cindy I read a lot of reviews. When I first came on Goodreads I would read up to 50 reviews a day. Nowadays it is more like 10-20.

& I only follow people who write reviews. Friends can be people I know from different groups.

[Jackie]

I used to do it only randomly, and frequently only gave a star rating. But I have started trying to write a review for every book I finish, especially those that are re-reads. If it's worth reading, it's worth writing a review. I tend to write short ones, sometimes quote but generally only when I read the ebook and kindle saves the quote for me, and I refrain from describing much, if any of the plot. I dislike both blurbs and reviews that tell you the plot. I want to read the book to find out what happens, not know ahead of time. I do want to know if some enjoyed it or not, and why.

[Jackie]

Carol, I used to finish almost every book but since I stopped doing that I never have 1 star reviews anymore.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

Jackie wrote: "Carol, I used to finish almost every book but since I stopped doing that I never have 1 star reviews anymore."

I rate my DNFs as well. I've only had two this year . With one in particular I felt it was heading towards 1★, so finished while I still felt 2★ was a fair ranking. The other was a NZ book - possibly the first NZ book I have had as a DNF. Still gave it 3★ as it was well written - just not my sort of book. & I am softer on Kiwi authors than on authors from other countries - if I ever give a Kiwi authored book a 1★ you had better believe it is bad!!!

So far this year I haven't had a 1★ & only had one last year.

Does everyone know how to find their stats on Gr?

[Susan in NC]

I review most books I read, sometimes I don’t have a lot to say, and I don’t want to pan something unless it’s really bad - it might just be that it’s not to my taste. Others may like it! So I try and be honest but nonjudgmental, say something like “failed to hold my interest”, or “too many characters to keep track of”, etc.

Sometimes I’ve read a book from a series or author I’ve followed for years, and I’ll just give a star rating, no review - especially if the series has become rather samey or formulaic. I feel some loyalty for the years of reading enjoyment the author has given me, and it may be me who’s unsatisfied , not that the author has failed! So I’ll give it 3-3.5 stars, which is my rather generic ‘ok’ rating.

[Jackie]

Carol, I hadn't known so I went looking and saw my stats. I've read only two this year that I didn't write a review for. Or, wait, is it only showing me the stars I gave? So two I read and didn't rate.

Is that what you meant?

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

Jackie wrote: "Carol, I hadn't known so I went looking and saw my stats. I've read only two this year that I didn't write a review for. Or, wait, is it only showing me the stars I gave? So two I read and didn't r..."

What I mean is this page (which you find through clicking on my books, then stats.)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/stat...

This shows as my page for me, should show as your page for you.

[Jackie]

Yes, that was what I found. And it shows me your page!

So, if it shows how many stars you gave a book (after clicking details) does that mean you wrote a review or not necessarily? I suppose I could just look but haven't even had coffee yet, lol.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

Jackie wrote: "Yes, that was what I found. And it shows me your page!

So, if it shows how many stars you gave a book (after clicking details) does that mean you wrote a review or not necessarily? I suppose I co..."

Interesting I thought it went to each persons page.

It doesn't show that you have reviewed the books. You can see some of that though if you do the compare books thing.

[CindySR, Moderator]

If you want to see your reviews listed, go to the My Books page, to your read shelf, and at the top of your list where it says cover/title/author, etc. click on REVIEW and you will see every review you wrote. If you didn't write one, then it says Write a Review.

[Jackie]

thank you!

[CindySR, Moderator]

I've been checking out my stats since I never explored that before, pretty interesting! It looks like the months where I read the most books were the months I participated in the most challenges. Which makes sense but challenges gave me reading stress. I have to lower my yearly book goal. Or maybe not make one at all in 2026 and see how many I achieve. hmmmm......