If you are wondering where the reviews have been around this place, I can tell you that my review writing muse has taken an extended vacation. I have a healthy list of titles that have inspired me to say things that I don’t know how to say. It’s had me thinking a lot about what I should say and what I like to see in reviews. The number of reviews that I read has taken a nosedive as well as the number of reviews that I write. There is a definite correlation.
I have become extremely sensitive in recent year to reading reviews and cover copy of books and getting information about things happening 100 pages or more into the story. Reading is about discovery and unfolding for me. Anything happening after page fifty shouldn’t be included in any synopsis, summary, or review that I want to read. I go back and read a number of reviews after I have read a book.
The main things I want to know about a book is the style of the writing, who the characters are, where they are, and some glimmer of what they might encounter throughout the book (i.e. hardship, new love, lost love, drama). I never want too many concrete details.
I strive to write the type of summaries and reviews that I want to read. I want to communicate the joy or frustration of the reading experience, who you might meet within the pages of the book, and why you might want to get to know them, but still leave the majority of the book to be discovered. I am curious to see how I talk about books after the muse returns because I suspect that my style is going through a bit of a shift, something which may or may not be noticeable, but still there.
What kind of reviews do you like to read?
