Thoughts & Things

I Review Every Book I Read

Up until a couple of years ago, I didn't really write any reviews for the things I read. I am an active user of Goodreads, so I would rate the books I read, but I never actually bothered to review them. I wrote a couple reviews for a few items I particularly loved or hated, but not much else. Towards the end of 2014, I started reviewing everything I read. It actually started for a really selfish reason. I was entering a lot of giveaways on Goodreads, and I actually found out that you're more likely to win books if you have a profile with a lot of activity, particularly lots of reviews. (By the way, I have won two of their giveaways since I started reviewing all of the books I read.) Now that I have gotten into the habit, I realise there are a lot of reasons that I enjoy the reviews, and I feel like they're incredibly beneficial to myself and others.

I feel like I connect with other readers on Goodreads, and feel more part of the community as a whole, when I share my reviews. I know that I end up having more conversation with other readers when I am initiating those conversations in the form of reviews. I also feel like I get to contribute in some small way to the decisions people might make in what books to read or not. Knowing that I have even the smallest bit of influence feels really nice, and it's pretty wonderful to be able to share the things I love with other people who might love them too.

As a reader, I also feel like I get a lot more out of my reading because of the reviews I write. Because I'm thinking more critically about the things I read, I feel like I've ended up forming a stronger bond to some books that I connected with on a deeper level. Now that I am thinking about the reasons why I like or dislike certain aspects, I less often have the nagging feeling of "I don't know why I liked/disliked that, I just did."

As a writer, I feel like reviewing everything I read has been immensely beneficial to me. I am more inclined to notice specifics of what I like or dislike in a genre, plot, style, and this allows me to apply those specifics to my own writing. Actively reviewing every time I finish a book means that I am guaranteed to do a little bit of writing on a semi-regular basis, which helps to keep me in practice. I also believe it makes me a better reviewer here at WDC. I have been trying to write more reviews here because I finally feel like I have more commentary that might be of value than I did before. I'm more confident in my reviews here, and I feel like I can be more helpful now that I am more practiced.

I highly recommend taking up reviewing everything you read. I have grown so much (as a person, a reader, and a writer) since I started doing this. The longer I do it, the less effort it takes to do regularly, as I have developed a format that works for me. Taking a few minutes to review the books I would be reading anyway has paid off more than I ever expected it to.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Four.)