I'm a reader and always have been. What I've learned from that is that the saying practice makes perfect isn't always true. You see, just because I love to read and do it as often as possible, doesn't mean that I'm a fast reader.... because I'm not.
Confession: I'm a book blogger and I read slow.
I would LOVE to be able to read a book every one or two days, but the sad truth is-- even if I devote all of my free time to reading, I'm never reading more than 1 or 2 books per week. Even on vacation when I read for hours upon hours on the beach, I only finished 2 1/2 books. And one of those books was MG.
At this point it is what it is... I think I'm at max speed, and after all these years, I don't see myself suddenly being able to do it faster. I'm okay with that.
The Thing Is: It makes book blogging hard sometimes. Because I have weeks where I didn't finish a book and so there's no review to write. I've never been "ahead" on my blogging schedule with book reviews in my queue. So I post what I can, when I can.
A Weird Thing Happened: This summer I unexpectedly got ahead.
Right now I have 5 books that I already read and haven't reviewed yet. This legit has not happened to me in 4 years of blogging. I always wanted to be ahead on my reading and yet..... now I really don't WANT to write those reviews!! Like, I want to share about those books, but I'm into the books I'm reading NOW. The books I read last month or even the month before that I haven't reviewed yet are so far out of my brain that I don't even know if I'll be able to come up with enough things to say about them.
When a few books go by and I still haven't reviewed the book, apparently I get into this funk where I'm just kind of over it. I don't remember all the little details any more and my feelings about the characters and plot feels diluted. So yeah-- I really need to go back to my old way of reading 1 book and reviewing 1 book at a time.
P.S.-- Reading faster would still be cool. Me and my TBR are really jealous of you guys who can read 100-200 books per year!!
Let's Talk:
When you write reviews do you write them immediately after you finish?? If not, do you find yourself (like me) not having the passion to write them after time has passed?
What is your reading/reviewing process?
I used to read pretty fast and I always had posts/reviews scheduled out about 2 weeks. That is impossible for me these days. Back then I always tried to write my review within 2 days of finishing the book, so that things were still fresh. Now I'm lazy about it and will go weeks sometimes before I write them. That makes it so much harder! I'm trying to be better about writing them as soon as possible. I've also been typing out a few notes on my phone as I read so that I'll remember things I want to talk about.
ReplyDeleteI never had this problem before because every time I would finish a book, I would NEED to review it for content on my blog. Now I'm like DO I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THOSE BOOKS FROM LAST MONTH??? I totally need to make myself write my thoughts down right after I'm done with the book regardless of when I'm going to use the post!!
DeleteI don't read fast. Mostly I have read 80-90 books in one year. This year I have not read so much. I feel it goes a bit up and down. I love reading and I don't care how much I read. As long as I read and have a great time with my books :-)
ReplyDeleteYeah I feel the same way... I like reading and it's okay to not read at someone else's pace. BUT-- sometimes I wish I could crush my TBR and read all the lonely books I have lying around!
DeleteI think you have to stick with what works for you. I've always been a fast reader, but the downside to that is that I sometimes miss small details. I'll be writing a review and type something like: "This book didn't explain why Sloane moved to Florida" and then think ... maybe I just missed that?
ReplyDeleteBut I completely agree with you about reviewing ASAP. The longer I wait, the harder it is to write a review. I have a new tactic, which is that right after I finish a book, I go onto Goodreads, log it as read, and force myself to type a couple paragraphs. I tell myself I'm just doing a fast brain dump, but I often I get a decent draft that I can cut and paste into the blog when I'm ready to review. At the very least I have something to work with -- staring at that blank blog post window and feeling uninspired is the worst!
Great topic, Michelle!
Jen @ YA Romantics
LOL Sloane moved to Florida because her dad was having a writers-slump and he thought if he moved to a coastal town he'd find his mojo just like his characters in all his cheesy romance novels did. If that's the book you're talking about :) But yeah, apparently if I don't review RIGHT AWAY, I forget everything that happened and all that I feel about it. I also do the Goodreads paragraph or 2 thing and it does help!!!
DeleteI definitely try to write reviews almost immediately (the next day at the latest) because my brain is TERRIBLE about absorbing information, especially about books. I can't even remember character names half the time. I do read fast, which could be part of the problem, but I can't seem to force myself to slow down haha.
ReplyDeleteSee I didn't know if that's what people did!! Because I've never had the opportunity to read a book and NOT review it right away. I've always needed those reviews for blog content. Now I see even the fast readers of the world have to stop and review after each book!! Good to know!!
DeleteThis is why I write reviews right away, even if I don't flesh it out or post it immediately. I feel the same once I've moved on to another book. Now I'm 100% invested in that one. So I take notes while I read (but I don't stop reading to do so if I'm really into it) and I try to write up a review pretty quickly. Great post!! :D
ReplyDeleteYES!!! I'm SO into whatever I'm reading that I don't have room for feels about that last book!!!! I definitely learned something this past month in a big way!
DeleteWe have had many a conversation about reading speed. I don't think I am a fast reader but I can, in a good month, read a book every two days. But on average it takes me about 3-4 days to finish one. But I have never considered myself a fast reader. I think because I was comparing myself to friends who can read a book in a day. It's all relative, I guess.
ReplyDeleteBut as for reviews, yes I find I have so much more to say if I write the review shortly after finishing the book. Not immediately after though. I like to take a little break to get some thoughts together and then dive in. Usually I'll write the review on Goodreads first and then copy that over for the blog and maybe edit or add a few things. That's the system that works best for me.
Cassi @ My Thoughts Literally
That sounds like a legit system!! I really need to never do what I did last month again!!
Deleteand you ARE definitely a fast reader!
DeleteI read kind of fast. Sometimes I go through phases though where i am slow or where i am faster - depends. I try not to let my reviews pile up. I never want to have more than two outstanding and try to write them within a week or so. I make quick notes as soon as I am done on things I know I want to hit on though. If I don't do that I can get lost when trying to write it and then they become mini reviews!!!
ReplyDeletemini reviews!! I may have to do that!!
DeleteI'm the ULTIMATE turtle reader. It's funny because as a preteen/teen I felt like I was more of a "speedy" reader, but then maybe that's because the books of my childhood were MUCH shorter. As for reviewing: I like to start the review WHILE I'm reading. That's my ideal timeframe. Then I come back and sort it all out when I've turned the last page. Otherwise, yes, if I let too much time pass, it proves a challenge. (Especially when I have an obligation to review it - i.e., a publisher or author kindly sent me a copy.) Fun topic to discuss!
ReplyDeleteMy mom says when I was in elementary school and jr. high she was always encouraging me to slow down while reading-- basically because my book appetite was costing her a lot of money. I was finishing a book in one night of reading back then and now.... well, yes the books have gotten longer, but I'm older!! I should have progressed. Oh well, I just gotta read at my own pace :(
DeleteI relate to this post so much, Michelle! I’m a slow reader too. And it’s not that the English is not my first language, because I read slowly in Russian too. Like you I find it easier to write review right after I finished a book, though sometimes I have a pile of books for review. Taking notes during reading and highlighting helps a little in these cases.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I usually take notes.... this time I was SO happy that i was reading fast that I didn't want to stop to do that and I kind of screwed myself :( I'm definitely not doing that again!!
DeleteI read fast, and I always have a backlog of reviews to write. I agree that the longer I wait, the harder it is to review. But I doubt I'll slow down anytime soon. One hint: You might want to write mini-reviews of those books you're not feeling inspired to talk about as much anymore. :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
THANK YOU-- YES, mini-reviews sound like a great way to catch up on all the books I can't think of THINGS to say about but still want to share!! Great idea!
DeleteOoooh I have the opposite issue- I read the books, but then don't review them right away, and then have NO desire to do so. So I guess, I have your current problem hahha. I have been trying to do better at taking notes, or writing down SOME thoughts right after I read. But it is HARD because I read at night, and then don't blog until the following night, and then I get caught up in other stuff, and UGH. Basically, the bottom line here is that I am a mess. I think your read, then review right after system is ideal, but I will probably just continue to be a big old mess ;)
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad, I'm a mess too. I'm such a last minute blogger. I have no schedule, no organization, no real REASON for my posts. I just like to have fun w/ it and not get too serious. I'm never caught up on reading... and now I'm not caught up on reviews. Sighhhhhhhhh.
DeleteI've definitely done both! I can read really fast, but if I wait to review a book I usually fail at it. Just because I have terrible memory and I can't remember exactly why I loved it. But if I review it right after or even a couple days after it's fine. There are so many books I read that I loved but ended up not reviewing because I just waited to long!
ReplyDeleteI read slow too, but I have a whole bunch of reviews scheduled ahead only because I post a certain amount of reviews a week, so any extra get pushed forward. And I *can* write a review for a book I read a while ago since I keep my own notes and can base it off that, so sometimes I get more ahead by finally getting a review written for a past book. But nowadays I do try to write my reviews ASAP after finishing a book because it really is a lot easier that way since that is when I really remember everything and still feel passionately about it.
ReplyDeleteIn a perfect world, I would write reviews as soon as I finish a book. But due to my procrastination and lack of time, I end up writing the review a week or so later. I do find that it is harder for me to write a review later, but I have been getting used to it. I like to write down a few notes while I am reading the book to help me with the review as well. Those notes have been a lifesaver for me, especially when I am struggling to write a review a month after I read the book. The passionate feelings are still there, it just takes a few reminders to dig them out.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great reminder to me as a new book blogger to write reviews as soon as I finish a book. I tend to start a blog pot as soon as I start a book so that I can write down my thoughts there just in case I can't write it as soon as I finish the book. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI take notes and makes lots of highlights in e-copies. Sticky note flags for physical copies. I don't review after every book read, but I at least start a very rough draft of notes, main points, and things. I read fast and a lot, but I write very, very slowly. I can't wait to finish a review before starting the next book, I'd go nuts.
ReplyDeleteI do have a backlog of reviews to finish, but I like that. I can skip around if I get stuck and just post 'em to Goodreads when I'm done. It's less pressure/work than a full blog post and I can always cross-post it later if I need it or include it something.
I think reviews that have time afterwards are different than reviews after just finishing reading. But sometimes, that works. When I go looking for books, I want to know if I'll be wasting my time and it's not just the time right after that matters. Will I still remember/care after a month or longer? Or should I skip it for a book that'll make a dent?
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