Tag: book reviews

This week the Monday Musings question from Should Be Reading is the following: Do you take notes while you read?

I have to or I can’t remember everything I want to say for my reviews! Sometimes if I’m really enjoying a book, I think I’m worse about taking notes because I’m enjoying reading so much. Unfortunately, that sometimes means I finish a book and feel completely incapable of articulating how awesome it was. On the other hand, I never mind stopping to scribble angrily if something is bothering me about a book. Perhaps I should work on being more balanced in my note-taking 🙂

Do you take notes while you read? Do you find it easier to do so for books you love or books you hate?

This week the Monday Musings question from Should Be Reading is the following: Have you ever reread a book and found that your opinion changed?

I haven’t ever had my opinion change dramatically or with one re-read, but I have outgrown books that were my favorites for a while. I used to love the Redwall books which were the very first long books I read when I was younger, but now they seem too young. I might re-read them again soon and see if I enjoy them again though. Another one-time favorite was Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’s In The Forests of the Night. Again, I just outgrew it, but I still remember it fondly and may give it another try in the future.

Have you ever outgrown a book or had a re-read not live up to your expectations? On the other hand, has a re-read ever made you like a book better?

This week the Monday Musings question from Should Be Reading is the following: Do you snack while you read?  If so, what is your favorite reading snack?

I love to snack while I read, mostly, I think, because I like having something to do while I’m reading. My favorite is definitely chocolate covered raisins, but I’ve been trying to replace them with less excessively sugary snacks. Trail mix and fruit are some of my candidate favorite snacks 🙂

Do you snack when you read? And do you also have a hard time keeping it healthy?

This week the Monday Musings question from Should Be Reading is the following: What attracts you to a book blog? What puts you off in a book blog? Do you share personal stuff on your book blog?

These days I don’t often go looking for more book blogs to read, so the main way I find new blogs is through recommendations from bloggers I like already. I realize as a blogger, you don’t have a ton of control over that, but I think it’s a point in favor of networking 🙂 I also like organized book blogs, where reviews follow some typical format, possibly with a header or a footer containing a summary of the review. I don’t like reviews which begin with the summary taken directly from the book or which ramble too much about things other than the book. Another big turn off for me is  a blog with more than one or two memes. (I’m suddenly wondering if all book bloggers become this opinionated! I don’t think I’d have had a solid answer to this question when I started out.) I share a little personal info in non-book-review posts because that’s my preference for other blogs. I think it’s nice to share a little of yourself so we can get to know each other, but that’s why memes are nice. They’re a place to share information about ourselves without cluttering up a book review.

What do you look for or avoid in a blog? How do you feel about sharing personal info?