Why has reviewing books gotten so hard?
Julie:
It feels like the longer we are book bloggers, the harder it is to write reviews. I feel like I am being repetitive and saying the same things review after review because it is the same things I notice or the same types of things that bother me.
This is especially true when reviewing multiple books in a series – how do you say something new when the author and narrator are the same? I don’t want to give stuff away from the plot, but that’s really what is different, and what drives the reading for me.
I keep taking breaks from writing reviews until something really strikes me to try to make reviewing fun and fresh again, but it is hard to keep it fresh for review copies.
Anyone else feeling the reviewing burn out blues?
Lynn:
I completely agree with Julie. Reviews are getting more difficult to write. And I’m less and less motivated to write them. How many different ways can I say I like the book, the characters are good, the plot is good. Blah, blah, blah. Every review I write feels repetitive.
For me, the problem is books I’m not emotionally invested in, be it either positively or negatively. The 10% of books that I am scream from the roof excited about or throw the book against the wall irritated with are not difficult for me to review. It’s the other 90% that I struggle to review.
Maybe a break is what I need. Or a new format for writing reviews. I’m not really sure.
I sometimes feel like I’m tired of reviewing too, but that’s mostly because it need to keep doing it over and over again, so it just bores me. That’s why I try to shift my reviewing style around. That helps. But lately I’ve decided to cut down on reviews and maybe do more mini reviews instead.
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I’ve definitely been having a harder time with this lately too. I’ve been doing a lot more bite-sized reviews lately because I’m not feeling inspired to do my typical format.
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I think bite sized is easier to read too
I agree!
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Sometimes I feel like my book reviews are repetitive, as well. One thing I do is schedule ahead and spread them out. That way, when I have new inspiration, I can mix in those reviews with the ones I worry are feeling a little flat.
Good call on scheduling them around, we try to do one a week but it doesn’t always happen ha
I hear ya. I can gush about a book that has all the feels (good or bad!). I think my problem is that there are fewer and fewer books that have the whole package for me — fresh & engaging but also well written and well edited. I am sick of poorly produced books.
Yes! Too many books are just bland and what can we say but meh? LOL