Welcome to The Ready Room, where I explore random topics to help you kick off your week. It’s been almost two years since my last Ready Room post, but as we move deeper into 2020 I want to air them out again and explore some new topics.
In April I’ll be part of a Book Reviewer Panel for WriteHive 2020, so I wanted to share some thoughts on book reviews, why I write them, and how they can impact other writers and readers.
WHY I WRITE BOOK REVIEWS
When I first opened up my Goodreads account, there were a lot of books and bits of stories swirling around in my head—things I’d read over the years but couldn’t remember the title, the author, and wanted to take stock of where all the wonderful stories were I’d grown up with. Around that time someone encouraged me to read and review books to connect with readers in the same genres I write. But more importantly, it gave me a chance to read published books and see how they were shaped and what the author was doing right to have their story in print.
And here’s where the world comes to a screeching halt.
Every book I’ve read and reviewed (and many I haven’t reviewed yet) aren’t published because they did something right. Or they won the lucky coin toss. Every single book out there is published because a) the author worked their ass off to tell a story and b) someone determined (author, publisher, etc) that it was ready for public consumption. That’s it… no magic tricks. Just a simple decision they followed through on before the story found its way into my hands.
After two years of reviewing books, here’s the simple truth: I read reviews before I ever buy a book now, which stems from an article I wrote in 2018 called The Reality of a DNF. And that means I write book reviews for other readers.
HOW I SHAPE MY REVIEWS
A book review is probably one of the hardest things to write. Not because it’s long or intensive, but because you’re casting a critical eye on someone’s art, on their blood and tears, and the woven magic that once lived only in their head and heart. Which is why it’s so frustrating to see reviews that are nothing more than a cesspool of hatred, condemnation, and barbed words meant to wound or slander an author. This is not a review… it’s an attack.
Reviews don’t have to be long-winded affairs, though I admire book bloggers who can write lengthy, in-depth reviews as they’re always so insightful and fantastic. But when writing your perspective of a story, reviewers should keep a couple things in mind:
- Many authors do read their reviews–be considerate, even if you didn’t love their story.
- If you didn’t love the book, someone else might. Think about what type of reader would benefit from that story.
- Think about what you did like. It can be as simple as a clever line, but I encourage all reviewers to at least find one positive thing to add to the review.
- If you share your review on social media, don’t tag the author. They can read it when they’re ready, or have set aside time to be in the right headspace, but tagging authors a) clutters up their notifications and b) is targeted hurt if it’s a scathing review.
- Do not, under any circumstances, email the author to tell them they need an editor. I’m always surprised how often this happens, and apart from a small group of writers, most authors have been through editorial multiple times.
Keeping these thoughts in mind, here’s a look at how I often shape my reviews:
- Some words on why I picked up the book—what enticed me?
- If I didn’t finish the story (DNF), where did I stop and why?
- What I loved or liked about the story. This is usually something personal I connected with.
- What I didn’t love. Depending on the book, this can take a couple forms, usually something I personally didn’t connect with.
- Overall thoughts
- Readers I think might enjoy that particular story
WHAT I’VE LEARNED FROM REVIEWING BOOKS
When I first started my reviews, I was terrified. What if I didn’t like a story? What if I said something wrong and the author emailed me to rail on the review? Or worse… what if I write terrible reviews?
Scouring the internet for a workable format seemed like the logical first step. Luckily I was good friends with a fantastic book reviewer, Hilary at Songs Wrote My Story, and reading her blog articles gave me a lot of wonderful insight. Once I secured the right framework, I dove in and started reading. So over the past two years, here’s what I’ve learned:
- There is no such thing as a bad review (apart from targeted hate—see above).
- I don’t love every book, but I can find one thing to love about every story.
- I can usually tell from the first chapter whether the author is traditionally published or Indie.
- A lot of contemporary books are labeled as fantasy or science fiction for one small mystical story element (I could write a whole article on this—it’s so incredibly frustrating).
- What one reader loves about a story, another despises. It’s the nature of art vs. personality.
- I DNF books a lot more than I care to admit.
- If your story requires content warnings, list them with the book blurb. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve picked up (and loved) because they included a warning for the content I needed in my life—usually very dark themes.
But the biggest thing I’ve learned from reviewing books is that fantasy and science fiction stories set in alternate worlds are still my favorite. The weirder the world, the more likely I’ll enjoy the story. So if anyone has recommendations for adult, dark & twisty, alternate world SFF books, feel free to drop them in the comments below, even if they’re yours.
Have questions about book reviews or how to get started? I’d be happy to chat with you and answer any questions. Feel free to contact me via this site, or you can ping me on Twitter @KJHarrowick.
