Reviews: What do you review? Every book you read? Just some?

[Michael, Sonic the Hegemon]

I know some people who make an effort to review every single book they read. What about you? Is it now a part of your reading routine to write a review, or do you only write them when the Muse strikes?

What about reviewing books you read before you joined the site? Do you review them? Do you reread them first? What do you do with them?

[MJ]

I'm obsessed with documenting each book I read, when I read it, and my response to said book. Goodreads fosters these OCD tendencies. Writing a review often helps me work out how I feel, if a book has baffled me.

[C.]

I try to write at least what I think about most books I read so that I remember it, except when I know I can't put anything meaningful into words in a short space of time (usually when something is absolutely brilliant: recently, Borges, for example), and especially if I'm confident I'll remember the feeling. In these cases, I might come back later, when I've come up with an 'angle', or some sort of clarification.

I review books I read before I joined the site if I think I have something meaningful to write about them, which depends generally on how much I remember. I don't re-read old books just so I can review them.

[Kat Kennedy]

I review almost every book I've read since joining GoodReads. It's very much an unhealthy compulsion.

[Megan]

I always read a book with the intention to read it but it doesn't always happen. Sometimes I just don't feel like it or feel like my review would rehash what everybody else is saying. But I do like reviewing as much as possible so I can remember why a book got a rating it did.

[Ryan]

I do not always review. Some books don't speak to me very strongly. Other books sort of scream at me "This is the angle for a unique response!"

[Michael, Sonic the Hegemon]

I'm psycho with keeping track of things. For a long time, I had a notebook where I kept the name of every book I'd read (that I could remember; I started it when I was 12 or 13). But, at some point, I decided this was a weird, obsessive tendency, and I threw away the notebook. This was before I discovered goodreads.

The community and reflection aspects of goodreads justify my cataloguing compulsion, and make it okay that I'm obsessively trying to collect every book I've ever read in some online library. (At home, I have very few books, because I also fight a good fight against my pack-rat tendencies.)

[Michael, Sonic the Hegemon]

Leave it to the researcher to totally not answer the question, and be entirely off-topic...

[Mir]

I also had a notebook where I recorded everything I read, but there were no reviews, just a mark if I especially liked the book.

I still don't review every book, only ones where I feel I have something to say. Or, in cases where the GR entry doesn't have much I may add straightforward information like a plot synopsis.

[Aerin]

I try to write a review of everything I read, but some of them get away from me. It's usually either because the book was so uninspiring I couldn't think of anything interesting to say about it, or because it was so good I found myself unable to articulate my love (I rarely have a problem articulating my hatred for bad books, though).

A few years ago, I went back and wrote some reviews of books I'd read a long time ago, but that didn't work out so well. Whether I loved them or hated them, I often couldn't remember much about them, and there's not very many ways to say, "I loved this, but I don't remember why."

[Jimmy]

I try to review every book I've read since I joined GR. (a few exceptions)

I usually don't review books unless I've finished reading the whole book (a few exceptions)

I don't review any books I've read before joining GR (one exception).

I review mostly for my own record keeping and memory. I find that I can also remember more about a book if I put into words what I think after reading it.

I usually have a lot to say about books, especially fiction or nonfiction. It's harder with poetry. But if I have less to say, I will write a very short review. Sometimes just a short excerpt that will remind me of the tone/feeling of the book if I return to the review later.

[Michael, Sonic the Hegemon]

That's interesting, Jimmy, because I've also reviewed almost NONE of the poetry I've read, and I've read quite a bit. I never know what to say about poetry. Except for that one Ferlinghetti book, which totally sucked. That was easy.

[Sasha]

I only write reviews when I think I have something particularly interesting to say.

I rarely review books I read before I joined the site; in fact, I rarely even add them here. Unless they're recent enough (or loved enough) that I can argue for my opinion and be confident that the opinion is valid for me now, I won't bother.

[[deleted user]]

I review most of the fiction I finish, but I don't review a ton of what I read. I have small children, and I read maybe 3 new (to me) kids books a week, but I just don't bother most of the time to review. I'll review them if they're really bad, or really good, or something, but not most of the time. I also haven't reviewed a lot of the non-fiction I read; I don't know why. Or things I love too much to review, because I lack the words. Or things I read before signing onto Goodreads. Or technical stuff that I read for work - boring, even to me.

[Scribble]

I find it difficult to have a voice in a community about books without reviewing. Even harder to have a voice where the books I've read are already many times reviewed and my two bits worth will achieve oblivion in record time.

Ideally I'd like to review every book on my bookshelf - that would mean having to read those books all over again to craft something half-way coherent. It ain't gonna happen anytime soon.

When I add a book now, if most of my friends haven't read it, I'll review and send a message or recommend, depending on the book and the friend (winks at Kat/Manny), because I'm curious as to their response and any generated discussion. That's resulted in some...ahem...singular reviews (and threads) written by friends.

[Christine]

I don't review every book on my bookshelf. I do try to review the ones I read each year.

[Cathy]

Everything. To me, that's the point of being here. I want a record of my books and my thoughts about them for my own use, whether anyone else gives a flying grape about them or not. The only hard part is knowing what to do when I only read part of a book.

I don't review stuff I read before joining, for the most part, because I don't see the point. Occasionally I'll make an exception, if I really disagree about a book some of my friends have read.

[Christy]

I used to review every single book I read, but that was in large part because those books were books for my comprehensive exams and I saw my reviews as part of the study process. Now that that's no longer the case, I only review books every now and then and I can usually tell before I finish the book whether or not I'll review it. Some books make me start thinking in review mode; most don't.

As others have said, too, some of the books I feel really strongly about I never review because I love them so much that I don't feel like I could possibly articulate what makes them great.

[Mariel]

I'm trying to at least review my favorites.

[Ryan]

Elizabeth wrote: "I won't let myself review books I read before joining goodreads, although I really want to review the best ones again. It keeps me honest. I may no longer love those books as much."

While I was waiting for the new WOT novel, I reviewed each of the WOT books. Pretty fun. I wouldn't judge you if you reviewed pre-goodreads reads.
Ryan

[Michael, Sonic the Hegemon]

I've judged a lot of older books, but I usually point out that it was read quite a while ago. I don't feel the need to review those books as much, but if I get an idea for a review I usually run with it.

BTW, Ryan, your Wheel of Time reviews have been really interesting, even though I can't stand that book series.

[Rose]

I only review a minority of books I read - ones I have something particular to say about (loved, found errors in, found annoying...) I don't have time to review everything and sometimes I don't have much to say that isn't obvious, trite, or pointless. (Not to say that my actual reviews are never obvious, trite, or pointless!)

[Tressa]

I do some writing at work, so I'm not always in the mood to write a review, even if I enjoyed a book. However, sometimes I love the book so much they write themselves. Sometimes I think of a book I love and will look it up, and reading other reviews will spur me on to write one.

[Brainycat]

I'm with Kat and Jimmy... I've reviewed very nearly all of the fiction I've read since I joined GR. I've reviewed at least one memoir, but I generally don't get my nonfiction life involved in GR. Fiction = shared mythology = community, which dovetails nicely with GR. Nonfiction = edification = solo. That's just my own feelings, there are pros and cons to the opposite viewpoint as well.

[Aloha]

I only review books I'm very impressed with, or books that are notorious.

[Phoebe]

I review every book I read from cover-to-cover. It's proved not only to be an interesting exercise in terms of determining my thoughts on books, writing, art, etc., but has also become a great way of logging and recording what I've read.

[Jasmine]

I review almost everything including books I don't finish.

I don't always review books that I just looked through for the pictures, I also write some really short reviews that say things like read it yourself.

also my reviews tend toward the negative no matter how much I like a book.

[Jasmine]

also now that I saw michael's thing about cataloging books, periodically I come across a book in my apartment I've read and I add it to my goodreads to remember I've read it but I tend not to review them unless something really stuck with me about them.

[Philip]

every book i read. and i'm a book finisher.

[[deleted user]]

I hadn't written a review for a single book until today. Mostly because I don't read other peoples reviews and assume no one would read mine, but also because I'm quite lazy.

[Stacey]

I'm an occasional reviewer, and inconsistent in my habits. Lately I've been on a kick where I write a little note about everything I've finished, but in the past, I could go months without reviewing. It's far more likely that I'll write a review about a small-press or indie book, than a big-5 bestseller - usually because I have opinions, but all the good ones are already taken.

[Jason]

ha!
welcome stacey :)

nice to get a little PacNW here to offset the arizonian horde!

[Stacey]

There are Hordes? This is an Alliance household. rawr.

[J]

I used to listen to about three or four audiobooks per week at a job that had me working on tasks requiring only the minimal amount of attention and brain power. I began reviewing them in order to remember the vast quantities of titles I churned through. I wanted to keep up with the habit when I left that job and read/listened to far fewer books (down to practically none during grad school), but I haven't quite been able to be as regular and as habitual as I was then.

[Nick]

Brian wrote: "I would like to eventually review every book I've read, but it takes time. I enjoy reviewing books because it forces me to think about what I really got out of the reading experience. It's now gott..."

i'm 100% with brian here, as is typical.

[Michael, Sonic the Hegemon]

nice to get a little PacNW here to offset the arizonian horde!

Arizona is definitely a horde state. Trolls mostly, I'd say.

[Nate D]

Ultimately, I'd like to have a few lines at least on everything I can remember having read, just as a kind of record. And more importantly, reviewing has become a part of how I unpack a book in my own head. Sometimes I actually realize things about a book only through writing about it and trying to structure my tangled thoughts on it. Sometimes, the review process can even change my impression a bit. To these ends, I review ever book I read in some form..

[Dan]

For new reads, I review everything. I don't normally review many books I read pre-Goodreads.

[Will]

Almost every book I read, about eight a month. Of course some reviews are more substantive than others, but I try to do justice to all. Of course there are times when I am so overwhelmed by a book, that it takes me a very long time to get it all put together. (See Freedom). I do not write reviews of books I read prior to GR, at least any more than I did when I first signed on.

[Nate D]

Reviewing pre-GR is made easier for me by the fact that I read less pre-GR. Being able to catalog things is a motivator for me, though I view that as vaguely pathological.

[Aleksandr]

Everything I read, if I remember.

[Nancy]

I kept an excel spreadsheet with books I read since 2003. Those books are listed here with approximate dates read and ratings. I didn't start reviewing until I joined Goodreads. Though I try to review everything I read, a few titles occasionally slip through the cracks.

[Coffcat]

I tend to be an extremist. For the majority of my reviews I either really liked the book or really hated it. I feel compelled to encourage or warn new readers. Unfortunately I don't have time to review everything, especially ho-hum books.

[Nancy]

Writing reviews for those ho-hum books is more challenging, I think.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

I have to be in the right mood to write reviews, so I'll do them in batches, after having finished three or four books.

Sometimes, I'll want a little distance between me and the book, to distill my reaction and get some perspective on the whole book.

[Petra X]

I mean to write a review about every book I read, but if I leave it too long after finishing it, I hardly ever get round to the review.

[Kathryn]

I want to write reviews for every book I read but I tend to get behind, especially if I feel a book needs to sit for a bit before reviewing. I have only on rare occasions reviewed books I read before GRs. I rarely review children's books. I may not review every book in a series.

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

I made a promise to write a review for every book I read as of January this year. I will continue to do so.

[Jim]

I haven't reviewed all the books on my shelves. I put in too many when I first joined to do that, but I do review every book I put on my shelves now & have for the past couple of years.

I don't list books by new authors who have asked me to read their book unless I can give them a good review. That's a dozen or so books this year. I do review the book, but I give it to the author privately. They've poured their heart & souls into writing, so I'll give them my honest opinion, but I don't think it's fair to make it public.

[Mohammed]

I try to review books i know my friends might find interesting to know how good or bad i thought it was. I cant review all books, im here to add my reads in online shelfs,talk to my GR friends and not to try to write fancy reviews. Thats a waste of time.

Ultimatly it depends if i have time to review every new read or in the mood for it. Usually im busy reading the next book to write reviews for every book i read.