I Confess!
I stress about not commenting back to comments on my blog and not commenting enough on other blogs. I love connecting with people on Bookish, but sometimes I don't catch every comment or I'm just get so far behind that it seems almost impossible to catch up. At the same time, I want to comment on other blogs but I want them to be meaningful. Not just "great review." If I've read the book or have something to say regarding the discussion, it's pretty easy to do so. Otherwise, even if I want to comment I think it'll be a lame response, say I say nothing.
I judge your blog based on its design. If your blog has too much going on, or nothing going on, I'm not likely to keep browsing. You don't have to be an HTML wizard to get me to stick around, but give me something to work with. Just not too much of that something.
When a review doesn't get a lot of comments, but plenty of page views, I wonder if I suck. I love having discussions with my readers. I'll read a book, love it, write (what I think is) a great review, it'll post and I'll get two comments. :( Is it because I suck at reviews? Did I not write anything worth commenting? If it's a popular book I know plenty have read it, so what's the deal? Why did I do wrong?
I hate writing reviews until I actually start writing the review. I will format the entire post (info, quotes, etc) and save the review for last. After everything else is done, I'll drag myself kicking and screaming to the review section and force myself to sit there. I'll start with a few words, then a sentence or two, and finally I'm good to go. Once I start writing I know I won't stop until I finish and it's refreshing to put my thoughts down on "paper." But for some reason, I dread those first few words - which usually end up getting deleted anyway.
When writing reviews, I listen to Disney music. I have a couple different Disney Spotify channels I listen to (Disney, Disney on Broadway, and Disney 90th Anniversary). I don't know why I'm all about Disney music when writing reviews for books that are nothing like them. I also chair-dance at this time.
I love when I have posts scheduled way ahead of time. For instance, I'm writing this on May 9. I also have reviews scheduled into August. It's a nice warm and fuzzy feeling.
I learned basic HTML because of MySpace. I'm no HTML god (looking at you Evie), but I got a little better than basic knowledge of how it works. Thank you sparkly MySpace graphics!
I wish I could write more discussion posts. But I can never think of anything! My discussion posts usually come from something random, but they're pretty few and far in between.
I try to read every review book I receive. So I've gotten very picky over requesting them. If I specifically request a book, I will read it and make every effort to review it before it's publication date or within a few weeks of receiving the book. I also make an effort to review any unsolicited review books as well. I know I cannot read/review all of them, but a part of me feels guilty when I don't.
I don't reveal plot points that aren't disclosed in the synopsis or within the first 50 pages. I hate reading reviews that giveaway too much of the plot. I want to know if this book is worth my reading time, not read the entire thing in what is supposed to be a review - it's not meant to be a recap. So when it comes to writing my reviews, I've created this rule for myself. The only exception is if something really really spoilery happens within those 50 pages, which is pretty rare.
I judge your blog based on its design. If your blog has too much going on, or nothing going on, I'm not likely to keep browsing. You don't have to be an HTML wizard to get me to stick around, but give me something to work with. Just not too much of that something.
When a review doesn't get a lot of comments, but plenty of page views, I wonder if I suck. I love having discussions with my readers. I'll read a book, love it, write (what I think is) a great review, it'll post and I'll get two comments. :( Is it because I suck at reviews? Did I not write anything worth commenting? If it's a popular book I know plenty have read it, so what's the deal? Why did I do wrong?
I hate writing reviews until I actually start writing the review. I will format the entire post (info, quotes, etc) and save the review for last. After everything else is done, I'll drag myself kicking and screaming to the review section and force myself to sit there. I'll start with a few words, then a sentence or two, and finally I'm good to go. Once I start writing I know I won't stop until I finish and it's refreshing to put my thoughts down on "paper." But for some reason, I dread those first few words - which usually end up getting deleted anyway.
When writing reviews, I listen to Disney music. I have a couple different Disney Spotify channels I listen to (Disney, Disney on Broadway, and Disney 90th Anniversary). I don't know why I'm all about Disney music when writing reviews for books that are nothing like them. I also chair-dance at this time.
I love when I have posts scheduled way ahead of time. For instance, I'm writing this on May 9. I also have reviews scheduled into August. It's a nice warm and fuzzy feeling.
I learned basic HTML because of MySpace. I'm no HTML god (looking at you Evie), but I got a little better than basic knowledge of how it works. Thank you sparkly MySpace graphics!
I wish I could write more discussion posts. But I can never think of anything! My discussion posts usually come from something random, but they're pretty few and far in between.
I try to read every review book I receive. So I've gotten very picky over requesting them. If I specifically request a book, I will read it and make every effort to review it before it's publication date or within a few weeks of receiving the book. I also make an effort to review any unsolicited review books as well. I know I cannot read/review all of them, but a part of me feels guilty when I don't.
I don't reveal plot points that aren't disclosed in the synopsis or within the first 50 pages. I hate reading reviews that giveaway too much of the plot. I want to know if this book is worth my reading time, not read the entire thing in what is supposed to be a review - it's not meant to be a recap. So when it comes to writing my reviews, I've created this rule for myself. The only exception is if something really really spoilery happens within those 50 pages, which is pretty rare.
What are some of your blogging confessions? Do we have any that are similar? Be sure to leave me a link to your list!
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