Thursday Thoughts: Can Somebody Find My Desire to Write Reviews?

Seriously... I seem to have misplaced it somewhere. :-/

Normally when I hit a period of burnout, everything goes up in flames... or down the toilet... or something to that effect... Not really sure which expression I'm looking for here. :-)

But my point is, I usually just find myself in a total reading and reviewing (and consequently, blogging) shutdown. Of course, the ol' blog is definitely suffering right now during my current period of non-reviewing... I can't even remember when Tuesdays are, apparently, since I missed Teaser Tuesdays for the second week in a row -- GAH! However, my book consumption is still going strong and not only that, it's actually on track to be a banner reading year (for me). *Knocks on wood* I've read 67 books towards my original goal of 100 for the entire year. And it's not even June, yet!

I suppose I should just be grateful I'm still excited about reading and devouring all of these books.

But the more I write about and think about my reviewing drought -- three weeks in a row blogging about it here in some way, shape, or form, and I'm sure you're sick of hearing me whine muse about it about it -- the more I wonder if I'm just not that into blogging anymore. But then I look at my blog and all of the time and effort I've put into it (even with that long hiatus for a year and a half in 2010-2012) and I just can't bring myself to write that little blog post that says I'm hanging up my hat or even just taking a break to get out of my funk. I have some major commitment issues, apparently... I can't commit to blogging & reviewing and I can't commit to giving it up!

Gosh darn it, I need to figure out how to make reviewing fun again! Problem is, I keep finding myself drifting back to my same old "formula" when I sit down to write a review. Unless I find the need to gush, my reviews are usually three paragraphs consisting of opening thoughts, what I liked and what needed improvement, and final thoughts (which often include more of what I liked since I try to close on a positive note). *Snore* It puts me to sleep just thinking about it...

So, I guess once again I've got to go back to the drawing board and brainstorm some ideas for a different review style altogether. I just wish I could have some kind of epiphany as to what that format should be... I tried a "what I liked vs. what I didn't like" format and a few other bulleted-style reviews but nothing stuck... That said, until I can figure something out, don't count on reading a review here any time soon. I've started two separate reviews (both would have been 4 or 5 stars) and both are sitting in draft, gathering virtual dust... I am about to just post some star ratings on Goodreads for my recent reads and call it a day (but I can't commit to that either, go figure). I will do my best to have at least a couple of regular posts every week, as I want to try to stay connected, but I have got to come up with something to shake up my reviews or that dreaded hiatus/"I quit" post may rear its ugly head...

So this leads me to ask in all seriousness...

What do YOU like to see in a review? Do you like long reviews? Short & sweet? Prose or bullet points? Technical points or touchy-feely, more emotionally-driven "how the book made me feel" reviews? More of a focus on the plot than what is found in the synopsis (without being too spoiler-y, of course)? All of the above? <== If that's your answer, I'm not sure I want to know -- just kidding!! :-D

Thursday Thoughts: A Confession

Happy Thursday! So in a bit of a continuation of last Thursday's post, I have a confession to make... It's been six books since my last review (LOL).

Yes, I have read six books and not written a review for one here. I did write a review and post it on Goodreads for a New Adult book that was so explicit I'd never review it here, so I guess in some ways I don't count that one. But I've read five other books that I would normally post a review for here on the blog and I can't seem to find the inclination to get a single one written. I've got one that I started days ago and it's still sitting in draft. And most of the reviews would actually be pretty positive with at least one being a resounding five stars! If I don't hurry up and write them, I'll likely forget about anything I wanted to say, sigh... (I've never been a note-taker while reading -- I'm always amazed at those of you who keep extensive notes for your reviews. I tend to write my reviews off the emotions I feel after reading a book.)

These days it seems like so many book blogs have become more about posting memes than reviews. Oh, I don't mean EVERY book blog, and I still see quite a few reviews out there, but as I was going through Feedly the other day, it seemed like the overwhelming majority of posts were cover reveals, books people were waiting on, teasers, etc. And I'll admit, I generally only go read reviews of books I might already be interested in reading. I find it so difficult to keep up with all of the blogs out there. I have a small handful that I visit regularly and the rest I tend to visit haphazardly at best.

Does anyone else out there find that keeping up with blogs is, well, time-consuming? I want to be friendly and social and have others read my own blog, but frankly, with a full-time job (even if it is from home) and a little one running around, it's a challenge to devote much time to blog hopping and commenting (and sometimes the blog itself). One of my blogging buddies has been gravitating towards Goodreads for more of the social aspect of book reviewing, but so far I haven't felt that calling. (Hmmm, maybe I'm actually just anti-social? Haha...) When it comes to Goodreads, I've actually felt more of a calling to just post reviews there. But then where does that leave the blog?

As many times as I run into these reviewing/blogging burnouts, I am still unwilling to give up this blog. I think part of me likes the idea of having my own little piece of web property out here, while the other half just feels like I've already invested so much time and effort here, it would be a shame to give it all up.

Yes, I think we all write our blogs in part for ourselves -- certainly that is the case initially since most of us start out with no following. But as time goes on, I think most of us are posting in the hopes that we are attracting readers and growing our blogs. And while it's fun, at times it does feel like a job... And I guess I just haven't figured out what I need to do differently so it doesn't feel so much like a job sometimes, haha.

So really, I'm not sure where I'm going with this rambling post. I guess I just want to reassure those of you who do keep up with me that I'm doing my best not to disappear again, despite the slacking off of posting going on here... (I mean, this week I didn't even participate in Teaser Tuesdays, sheesh!) I'm hoping to re-energize myself and come up with some new ideas, whether it's types of posts or the way I write my reviews. In the meantime, I'll try to be good about participating in the memes I love and maybe just musing here on Thursdays while I work on getting my blogging mojo back.

If you made it through all of that, here's a virtual cookie and a thank you! :-) Hope everyone (well, those of you who are in the U.S.) enjoys the upcoming holiday weekend!

Thursday Thoughts: Reviews, This Blog, & More...

Happy Thursday! Just one day away from that magical day of the week, FRIDAY! Actually, for me today is like Friday because I am taking tomorrow off to spend it with my hubby -- it's our 5th anniversary! My, how these first five years of marriage have flown by! We are celebrating by going to see Iron Man 3 (I know, romantic, right?) and then we're having dinner at a great little restaurant in downtown Canton. My parents are gracious enough to watch our little Sweet Pea so we can go do these things and have some time to ourselves. In honor of May 17, 2008, here is one of the pictures taken at our wedding:

(photo credit: Carol Cole Photography)

Anyway, my intent with this post was actually to discuss this blog a bit. You may have noticed I've been a little quiet this month. In part, I haven't been plowing through the books as quickly as I was for awhile. However, even for those I've read, I admit that I haven't been feeling too inspired to write any reviews. I even recently read a wonderful book that totally surprised me in terms of how much I liked it, but I just haven't mustered up the desire to actually write and post the review. I started to set up the post in my usual review format, but it's still sitting in draft, waiting for me to write the actual review. A little voice in my head keeps hinting that maybe I'm getting burned out on blogging again, but gosh darn it, I hate to think that is what is happening! I want this blog to thrive and be a resource/hangout for those who love to read.

That said, perhaps it's time for me to step back a little bit and perhaps recharge my blogging batteries. I enjoy participating in Teaser Tuesdays and Saturday Snapshot, so I will probably continue to try to write posts for those memes. And of course, I will still try to post reviews regularly, as well, though I may take a break from posting reviews for every single book I read. (I had told myself and even mentioned it here that I was not going to pressure myself to write reviews, but I guess old habits are hard to break!) And frankly, I feel like reviews can get stale. I feel like I'm always using the same talking points, just applying them to different books. I'd like to do something to freshen up the content of this blog, but I'm just not sure yet what that would be.

So that leads me to ask you, dear readers, is there anything new and different you'd like to see here at Melissa's Bookshelf? I may try to work in some general ramblings and musing posts like today's, which I'm tentatively labeling as Thursday Thoughts. (This is mainly due to my OCD side -- I like having my posts on a bit of a schedule, I guess!) But I see other bloggers doing some interesting posts out there -- cover reveals, new release posts, among other ideas, and it makes me wonder if I should branch out more. Then again, if other bloggers are already doing these things, I'm not sure how much I would add to the "discussion." But all thoughts, advice, and suggestions are most welcome and will be taken into consideration.

Thanks for following along with my ramblings today! :-)

Thursday Thoughts: Why I Might Stop Accepting Books for Review

Since I don't read books in foreign languages, today's Booking Through Thursday prompt wasn't really up my ally, so instead I thought I would share something that's been going through my mind lately...

From time to time I find myself thinking that perhaps it is time for me to stop accepting copies of books to review. I have cut the number I accept so low as it is, that it really wouldn't be THAT big a change for me. Well, in the last few days I have been revisiting the idea, or I have also been thinking that I might just limit myself to accepting books by authors I have previously read and reviewed here.

Usually when I get this feeling, it's because I'm feeling panicky about how much I have going on and trying to meet review deadlines on top of that just adds to my anxiety. This time, however, I find myself in the position of writing a less than favorable review for a book I received from an author and, well, I just feel badly about it. Yes, I realize that the general subject of writing negative reviews has been beaten to death, and its ghost dragged back out and beaten some more... Don't get me wrong -- I am firmly of the opinion that regardless of how much or how little one enjoys a book, they should be entitled to write a 100% honest review, no matter the source of the book. But that doesn't mean I get any sense of enjoyment from bashing someone's effort.

I truly hate to hurt someone's feelings, but at the same time I absolutely think negative reviews need to be shared. Even though some people don't seem to get this concept, not everyone is going to like every book. Shocking, I know. From a reader's perspective, sometimes I have read negative reviews and because of some key bit of information shared, it has saved me from reading a book that I know I wouldn't like, and you know what, I like to save both time AND money. And for authors who are capable of taking criticism, I would like to think that they might be able to take away something useful from a thoughtful critical review. (I won't get into snarky vs. thoughtful reviews here, since I simply don't write snarky negative reviews.)

But back to my situation at hand... I had the fleeting thought of telling the author of my concerns and even offering not to post a review of the book, but that just doesn't seem right, either, because I really feel like I need to share my opinions on why the book didn't work for me. I mean, I take my book-blogging seriously and always try to write honest reviews of what I read. Sometimes that means I might go a little fan-girly on a book I loved, other times I am even inspired to write a more critical review of a book that I didn't care for. I suppose part of the reason I want to write this review (and any other negative review I choose to write) is because I think there should be balance that comes from a dissenting opinion. Not that every review I saw on this particular book was glowing -- but there were many that were. And to be fair, I don't dislike EVERYthing about the book, but I also don't see how I can rate it higher than two stars when considering all factors.

And so once again I find myself thinking about no longer accepting review books. For me, personally, I think it is the right thing to do, since I apparently can't keep from feeling guilty about not enjoying a book I've received for review. Perhaps it wouldn't have been as difficult if I had just received the book from a publicist, but as it came directly from the author, that somehow changes matters for me. Or if I did this professionally, I expect I would feel differently, but I'm just a little ol' book blogger -- an avid reader who knows what she likes and what she doesn't and tries to form intelligent thoughts around that to share with others who love to read.

So now, I just have to muster up the will to write this review, pass along the information, and hope that it all just blows over with little hoopla.

Have any of you stopped taking review books for this reason? Or have you just limited yourself to authors you have read and reviewed in the past? Just curious to hear thoughts on negative reviews as they relate to taking review copies, or any other thoughts you care to share!

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read my rambling!