Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
As I mostly review and discuss speculative fiction books on my blog, that’s the genre I will be narrowing down this week’s prompt to.
There are a lot of reasons why I might not write a review for a book such as:
1) While there have been a handful of exceptions over the years, I generally refrain from writing one-star or two-star reviews out of respect for the hard work authors do. Some stories are simply never going to mesh with my tastes, but other readers may love those styles or genres! So unless there’s a serious issue with plagiarism or advocating bigotry or something in a tale that I feel the need to warn other readers about, I quietly move on to other options that fit my tastes better.
2) I prefer to publish thoughtful, deep reviews and don’t have enough hours in the day to write that way for everything I read.
3) Some books are excellent but hard to review without sharing major spoilers due to how the plot is framed and when certain details are released.
4) Other books are decent but don’t give me strong emotions in either direction that would compel me to write a review. Meh doesn’t make for a very helpful or exciting review.
5) They’re older. I try – and the keyword there is try – to prioritize newer books for review as their authors are more likely to be alive and trying to establish audiences for themselves.
Here are some of the many older speculative fiction books I’ve read and enjoyed but will probably never review:
1.1984 by George Orwell
2. Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
3. The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1) by Mary Doria Russell
4.Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
5. Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1) by Margaret Atwood
6. Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1) by Octavia E. Butler
7. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
8. Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy
9.The Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri S. Tepper
10.Prey by Michael Crichton
I tend to read more older titles, and I love to read books that are recommended from the past. I’d especially like to know what you think of Earth Abides and the Marge Piercy book.
My reviews are always short. I simply write down my first thoughts. I might add a list of things I want to remember from the book or quotes. And that’s about it.
Those were both excellent, thought provoking books. I think you’d like them.
You make a good point with #1. If I disliked a book I’ll probably discuss it at my blog but I won’t write a negative review on Goodreads, Amazon etc…
1984 is a favorite.
Wasn’t that a great read?
Childhood’s End was discussed on a substance recently and it’s been added to my “read eventually” list.
Oh, cool! Hope you like it.
I like that you’ve included your reasonings for maybe not posting a review. I used to post reviews for all the books that I read on my blog but over the past 1-2 years I’ve stopped posting the lower than 3-star reviews and have left those mostly for Goodreads (where my review is a speck in the sea). Great post!
Thank you, Dini. I’m glad you get it.
This is a great list. I Love that you shared the reasons why you might not review a book. I’ve been there for that first reason. I think I’ve posted a 2-star review on Goodreads before, but it’s been short and to the point. But mostly, reviews I write are at least three stars. Most of the time I also read the books that I’m pretty sure (the genres or authors) I’ll like so that helps too. 🙂 Thanks for visiting my list!
You’re welcome. Yes, pre-screening books is important!
Those are all very good reasons why you decide not to review some of the books you read. I have been thinking about re-reading 1984. I don’t know if I would write a review on that one if I did. I sometimes find writing reviews on classics intimidating. I think because everyone else has already said anything I might want to say.
I hear you there!
I share all these reasons with you!
Cool. 🙂
All great reasons, Lydia. I’m trying my best to get through my older titles. They deserve it. I’m not one to hold onto every book I buy, so I feel like one of those books could bless another person through a library book sale or on eBay.
Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog today.
Glad to hear that! And you’re welcome.
What a thoughtful post. I agree with you on several of the reasons I don’t review a book. I would add one, however: LAZINESS. Sometimes I get too lazy to review a book in a timely manner and as other books crowd in, the details of the forgotten book fade. Sigh. I also have trouble reviewing classical lit. because what could I possibly have to say that hasn’t been said, so I will usually do some comparison review or an “impression” review which has more to say about me than the book.
That’s a good answer!
And, yeah, the classics are so hard to review for that reason.
I love that you shared your reasons for possibly not writing a review, and they make so much sense. I often don’t even finish books I’m really not enjoying, and other than one I can think of recently that I just really disliked and had issues with that I did review, I then just don’t talk about them much. I haven’t read any of your books from this week, though some are ones I feel as if I really *should* have read!
Thank you, M!
Those are all great reasons for not reviewing books on the blog! I’ve been trying to write mini reviews for books when I don’t have the time to write detailed reviews (or when I can’t get detailed without spoilers) so lately I’ve been reviewing close to all the books I read in some form or another. But as you said, there are some times when a review is not the right thing to do.
Mini reviews are a good idea.
Time and getting my thoughts together are two reasons I don’t review books. 1-2 star books are also hard to review, so all legit reasons!! I am reading Parable of the Sower sometime in the next few months.
Thank you, Leslie. I’m sorry I’m not able to leave comments on your posts, but I continue trying each week.
Hope you like Parable of the Sower.
I completely agree that it’s so hard to review a book you don’t feel strong emotions about. Or just to review without spoilers.
For sure!
I have always preferred writing longer, more in-depth reviews, too, but I was SO overwhelmed and stressed when I was trying to do that for EVERY book I read. A few years ago, I gave myself permission to only write in-depth reviews on my blog when I wanted to. I still review everything I read on Goodreads, even if it’s only a sentence or two, but I don’t review much on the blog anymore. It’s been liberating, although I do want to post more reviews on my blog. Thanks for sharing your process! It’s always interesting to compare/contrast how I blog/review with how others do it.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
You’re welcome. I enjoyed reading a bit about your writing process, too. It’s so interesting to compare notes.
If a book doesn’t connect with me, and I have to write a review (because it’s an ARC), I try to share why the book didn’t connect with me but in a way that doesn’t detract from the work the author put into it. I also try to avoid spoilers when writing any review, which can sometimes be tricky, even when it’s a book I enjoy.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/favorite-mysteries-i-read-in-2024/
That makes sense and seems like a good strategy!
I get all of your reasons why you don’t always review every book. I very rarely will give a book only 1 or 2 stars because I tend to DNF if I’m not enjoying. I will then give a reason for my DNF as a “review” on my blog. I’ve started doing shorter reviews for ones that I don’t plan on full reviews for, but that’s just me! I’ve read a few of what you listed and I’m guessing I haven’t posted reviews of them either due to when I read them – before I started blogging.
Thank goodness for DNFing.
And, yeah, timing matters, too. I don’t think I’ve reviewed any of the books I read before I started blogging.
I will say I my reading tastes are pretty mixed, i read both older and newer titles, but I feel like my blog is geared toward book recs in general, rather than promoting new authors (which I do sometimes do). I’ve never read 1984, but its on the list of books i’d like to make time for (i hope it’s better than animal farm) both to read and review.
Yes, I do think it was better than Animal Farm. Hope you like it.
I loved Never Let Me Go and I’m just glad to see it mentioned. Thanks for visiting my blog earlier!
You’re welcome. 🙂
Good list and good reasons! I’ve only read 1984 from your selection.
Cool. And thanks.
I do not review 1 or 2 star books on my blog, although, honestly, I have never been tempted to give a book 1 star. There is a reason why the book gets published, and I feel if the author has made it through that process, they should at least get 2 stars (right or wrong, LOL!). I have only read 1984 from your list.
🙂