Today, I actually want to ASK you things, rather than talk and rant a whole lot. Let’s be honest: I will be ranting a WHOLE LOT anyway, but I really, really want to ask you things here, too. So don’t let this fail, people, I’m counting on you.
Hello friends, this is me back again with a small – okay, big, sorry – book blogging rant, and today’s topic is all about…BOOK REVIEWS.
Very early on in my small blogging career – is three years small, or big? I have no idea?! -, I have noticed something that ALL book bloggers will notice, eventually. Our heart and soul, us screaming about books in reviews, does not actually work.
Don’t get me wrong here. Tons of things actually work. Book bloggers scream about books around 99.9% of the time. That other 1% is for other things, like, food, writing, life getting in the way. Mostly food, though. ANYWAY, point is: we do scream about books a whole lot. Yet, book reviews don’t work the same way other blog posts do.
There is something I have noticed, something everyone has noticed by now. People talked about it already, I already mentioned it in my popular blog posts discussion. Fact is: book reviews get less traffic. Instead of crying over the fact that the blog posts I appreciate doing, the ones that takes time and thoughts to put into place, the ones I want to share my love for a bit more, aren’t quite working as well as I’d like them to ; I have decided to do something else and ask myself a couple questions about book reviews.
Thing is: if book reviews aren’t that popular, I am at fault, too. I know that I spend more time commenting on other blog posts, I know that, sometimes, I tend to be drawn to all the blog posts, except for book reviews.
What makes me comment on book reviews?
With tons of book reviews every single days on blogs I read, it’s hard to follow and hard to comment on every single post. It’s also really hard to…want to. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like commenting on a review – and yes, it happens to the best of us. So what does, actually, makes me want to leave my two-cents on a book review?
First things first: I actually comment on some blogger’s reviews ALL THE TIME. It’s because I am really nice I just LOVE THEM. There are some bloggers I’ll read every review, every single blog post from, because they are fabulous and I’m always interested in what they have to say, the books they read and how they enjoy it. They have a gorgeous writing style and overall I’ll READ all the things.
When I see a review popping-up for a book I really, really want to read, I’m always more interested in reading a review as well.
Same thing for a book I already read: I’m more drawn to other people’s opinions when I know I have my own on the book – to compare, see what they loved, hated and everything else about the book.
Other things that might make me want to comment on your book reviews:
- A particular review formatting, such as the 10 reasons I NEED to read this book, a review in GIF, aesthetics in book reviews #superficialbookworm
- A gorgeous book cover drawing me in #superficialbookwormagain
- An intriguing beginning to the review…
- And so on. Sometimes, you know, you just get a feeling when you start reading a review and you’re like:
Why I sometimes just don’t comment on book reviews
I’m always trying to make a point of being completely honest about these blogging struggles of mine, ever since I started blogging and this particular feature, so I’ll say it out loud now.
Commenting on book reviews takes a whole lot more effort and time than commenting on other fun – quick posts like memes, tags and so on. At least, for me. Most of the time, book reviews are long to read. I know. I’m reading 500 pages books and complaining about a 1 K review? Yet, I don’t have as much time as I’d like to read all the reviews in the world and therefore, leave a thoughtful comment. I like to leave other things that just “Great review” as a comment, so… I need to have something to say. Otherwise, well… I’m just in a bit of a Ross Geller moment.
Book reviews are harder to comment on. Remember how I said I mostly comment on book reviews for books I’m interested in reading / have read? It’s mostly because I know what to say. I already know the thoughts I have on the book and, sometimes, I feel like I can add to the conversation in comments, something that’s really important to me. In discussion posts, we get some prompts to answer, some questions, it’s easier to actually find something to say once you’ve read it all. Sometimes, in book reviews, I’m just at a loss for words.
How to make people comment on your book reviews?
I haven’t quite mastered the art of gathering tons of people around my book reviews. It is something I would absolutely LOVE to be doing: chatting books more and more in comments, driving people to talk about the books, other books that are alike, books that are different, and so on. Just, DRIVING conversations as much and as well as discussions posts and other popular blog posts manage to do so.
If I still haven’t got the trick to do it all – and maybe I never will, maybe book reviews aren’t meant to drive conversations as much as all of the other blog posts – ; I still have a couple things that could, would, and do work sometimes.
- Try out mini reviews: they’re quick to read, they are fun, and sometimes you just need a couple words to convince someone. AND you can talk about more than one book at a time, if you’re doing mini-reviews of a few books at a time: more chances for your readers to have read or wanting to read one of the books you’re talking about.
- Try and change up your review format once in a while: this is something I clearly suck at…but that’s always been on my mind. Maybe someday I will. Reading different kind of reviews, with aesthetics, just GIF reactions, just a LIST or other fun things to read, can make reviews a whole lot more fun to read…and to comment on.
- Ask questions at the end of the blog post: and try to find questions other than, “have you read the book or do you want to?”. I think, for any blog post, it is so important to ask your readers things, to give them food for thoughts and make them want to comment on your blog posts and reviews. If you’re talking about a particular book, obviously ask about that book at the end of your review, but also try and ask for more recs, ask for other books in the genre, if they like this or that aspect of the particular book in the books they read, and so on.
Just wait and hope and remember that, by writing reviews, you are sharing the love for books. That’s what you are here for, so JUST KEEP ON GOING AND LOVING IT.
Okay, I’m done ranting here, but I really, really want to hear your thoughts on book reviews. Do you find yourself commenting less on book reviews than on other blog posts? Why is that?
What makes you comment on a book review, and why don’t YOU comment on book reviews, sometimes? What are your favorite kind of reviews to comment on? Long texts, lists, mini-reviews or something else? Do you have tips and tricks for people to comment more on your book reviews?
as always, thank you for listening to my long rant and let me know all your thoughts in comments, I’d love to chat!
When it comes to my own reviews.. I realize that they get less traffic, but I simply ignore that part. *bad blogger behaviour?* I like writing them, getting my thoughts out there. Although I’ve been thinking about trying out different formats, I haven’t gotten to that point yet.
I do give my reviews a bit of an original extra by always mentioning some food – books and munches, doh – and that makes it even more fun for me while I’m preparing my reviews.
When it comes to reading other people’s reviews?
I have to be honest and admit that I simply look for the catchy post titles – why don’t I use those instead of “Review: BOOK”? – or beautiful covers. And, like you, if it’s a book I’ve read, I’ve clicked the post faster than you can say “whooptiedoo”. Also if it’s a book on my TBR and I feel like I might just need that extra bit of motivation to pick it up; who knows, maybe that review might get the job done?
And when it’s about commenting.. Honestly, I’m way too quick at writing way too long comments [the proof’s right here] that I even succeed at just rambling at a review. If it’s about the cover, the synopsis or simply one sentence the blogger wrote that I have something to say about, I just do it. I’m a hero when it comes to typing comments, hitting “post comment” and then going “okay, and what did I just type exactly?”. Word-vomit all the way.
Well… I LOVE your word-vomit ahah, so don’t ever stop. It’s so great that you always manage to find words to answer and comment, just like that. YOU have got some kind of magical-commenting powers, that’s for sure 🙂
I don’t think it’s “bad blogger behavior” that you’re ignoring the stats part of reviews. ON THE CONTRARY, it’s the goal, ahah. I’m just a teensy bit obsessed at times, so I notice ahah. It’s SO great you’re mentioning some food, what a FABULOUS IDEA!
Catchy post titles really help, you’re right – they make me very curious as well. We both should work on that then 😛
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment, Kathy! <3 <3
Little chance that I’ll ever stop. It’s just.. what I do, haha. Pretty sure some people go “Oh shit” as soon as they see I’ve commented on one of their posts. :’D
Haha. Sometimes I wish I’d keep it in mind more, though. Since it’s still the thing that helps you find what works best for your blog but.. NAH. SCRATCH THAT. I’m just going to keep on doing what I like doing. :’)
Well, let’s say that you’re titles for these posts always immediately grab my attention. First thought “Okay, what list of things has she come up with this time and how can I word-vomit all over it?!”
You’re welcome!! 😀
Haha, oh, well…for me, it’d be more like “OH YES IT’S KATHY! ?” whenever I see you!
YES it’s what matters, keep on doing what you like doing. Blogging and writing reviews and everything is a hobby after all, we should just have fun 😀
Haha awesome! Now I’ll feel so pressured every time I want to comment on one of your posts.. *shivers in fear* Okay, no. Kidding. xD
Indeed! People should definitely realize that and not just try to please everyone. But they’ll discover that eventually. If not because they read it somewhere, it’ll be because they like blogging less and less because of that and find that some changes need to be made. :’)
OH noo, please don’t, just be yourself, you are AWESOME 🙂
Agree – it’s something I need to remember as well, ahah 🙂
Hello Marie! Love this post <3
Yes I absolutely agree that book reviews don't get as much traffic and WAAAAAY less comments than all the other posts that I write. Also, they are the type of posts that I like writing the least :') I like your tips in this post because it makes me want to rethink the way I write reviews – maybe mini-reviews is a good idea (since I don't have much to say in my reviews anyway :') )
I also tend to comment less on reviews than I do on other posts. As you mentioned, it depends on who is writing it and which book it is about! Overall I do find that I have less to say about book reviews than I do about other posts.
It's funny that the idea of writing book reviews drew me in to the book blogging community in the first place, though I later discovered other types of posts which are more fun to write!
Hi Sophie! <3 <3 Thank you!!
I get your feeling here – I came for the book reviews, and I'm having much more fun writing other kind of posts. I do noticed that I try and give my reviews more attention and I want to spread the love a bit more. I don't know how, but I do want to. I feel like, more than often, books aren't as…well, overwhelmingly shoved in people's faces on wordpress than on twitter. maybe it's the media, maybe it's the reviews, maybe it's all more calm and chill over here, I don't know. But I'm just sad sometimes, I really love spreading the bookish love on here, but… yeah, book reviews don't seem to work too much. I AM RAMBLING I'm sorry ahah.
I do find that I have less to say on reviews sometimes as well :/
Thank you SO much for sharing your thoughts <3 <3
I do know what you mean about spreading bookish love. When I read a book that I love, all I want to do is to read at the top of my lungs (figuratively speaking) and get everyone to read the book!! I feel like we can spread love for our favourite books through other posts as well, such as wrap up posts and tags/memes, in addition to reviews. When I like a book a lot, it appears all over my blog 🙂
Oh yes, I agree – and since these kind of posts get more readers and comments, I always try and shout a bit more about the books I loved on here as well 😛
Here is an honest opinion from a non-book blogger. I actually slightly, I mean really slightly dislike reading book reviews from book bloggers (unless they posted it on Goodreads) because I feel like the bloggers are too nice to speak badly about the book if they don’t like it. Of course, I knew that this doesn’t apply to everyone but I just couldn’t help thinking about these especially if they’re reviewing ARC.
And it’s true that book reviews are harder to comment. Like what am I supposed to say if I haven’t read the book yet or the genre just didn’t appeal to me?
nurulrasya.com
THANK YOU for your honest opinion, this means so much to me! <3
Oh, I understand your feeling – I don't know if people are trying to be more gentle on here than on Goodreads? I do know that I'm mostly super gentle and nice in my book reviews, but that's because I select my books A LOT ahahah that's why I end up enjoying most of them.
I understand – it's SO hard sometimes. I guess we can't comment on everything… Or maybe we should try and find a fun way for people to want to comment on reviews anyway? I have no solution ahah.
Thank you SO much for sharing your thoughts! <3
I love this post!
Sometimes, despite how I feel having read a review, all I can think to type is fab/great/fantastic/wonderful review. I’m just bad with words, they don’t comes easily to me. With discussion posts it’s easier for me as there are cues within the post itself about what I could say.
I find that just commenting on other people’s blogs helps, a bit of give as well as take. Bizarrely a lot of my review comments come from non-book bloggers, particularly lifestyle bloggers.
But yes, sometimes I’ll see a review, read it, and just have nothing to say. At least they still get the view?
Cora ❤ http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Oh thank you so much, Cora! <3 I understand – sometimes, I'll read a good review, but…my mind will draw a blank when it comes to typing a comment. It's really easier sometimes to comment on discussions, where there are actual questions to answer and so on.
Also – it's good that you get a bit of lifestyle bloggers as well on your reviews – you might be great at recommending books to people that aren't used to screaming about books all the time on their own blogs 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3
Great post, Marie! I think this is something a lot of us book bloggers have thought about but don’t really know what to do about. I admit, I don’t always read or comment on book reviews – if it’s a genre I don’t normally read or am not interested in, it’s hard for me to get invested in the review. Like you, I like to comment when it’s a book I’ve already read and I can share my thoughts.
I like your tips for getting more people to read and comment on your book reviews. Doing mini-reviews is something I’ve gotten into lately. I also try to review books that I haven’t seen other bloggers talk about. I don’t know if it works, but I figured people may be more likely to check out a new book than one they’ve seen lots of times before.
Oh thank you so much, Angela! <3 I agree – I feel like we just know it, but don't know what to do about it. I don't know if there is something to do, really, maybe that's just the way things are, given how we all have different tastes in books, can't comment on everything or just find the words to comment on reviews, sometimes.
Ohh I think it's a great idea. I know I personally tend to read tons of "hyped" books, or books that people have heard of before, but it's always great to see some different books areound for a change 😀
I am still new to blogging and following bloggers but I agree with you that comments are like rays of sunshine beamed down onto your work. They are a little bit of validation that someone read your work. I also try and comment on books reviews because that is what I want other people to do. I care less about “the fun stuff” but those are, as you have pointed out time and again, where you get engagement. Maybe we should create a comment tag or support award?
Oh yes, comments are the best, I love them SO much <3 <3 You are actually giving me such a lovely idea here… I'll think about it!! – more support and love for reviews would be so good 🙂
One million points for the Community GIF! That show is so good. Wait, what? You’re actual post? Right.
Many great points. Sounds very familiar to my own inner dialogue, tbh. The only place I differ is when I see a review for a book that I’m excited to read, I avoid it at all costs. In my crazy lizard brain, anything I read about that book, even if it’s spoiler-free, might water-down my experience with it. You think I’m missing out by doing that?
OH YES, Community is such a great show ahah, can’t blame you for commenting on that 😛
Ohhh, I understand. I can’t help myself and end up reading reviews even for the books I’m excited about and haven’t read, yet. But I get it: sometimes the excitment, the hype and everything just makes you expect tons of things, and the book ends up just being disappointing, when you are expecting too much. So you’re definitely not missing out – I think keeping a bit of surprise when it comes to books we want to read is always good 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3
it’s definitely a lot harder to get people to comment on book reviews! as far as i’m concerned, i love reading so i’ll read any book review AFTER i’ve read a book. I love comparing opinions and just knowing more about a book in general! I love writing book reviews but I feel like I write long *boring?* ones. I just love so many things about a certain book and I want to share them all and that might not work in my favour…
maybe this comment is too a good reflection of what I do in my book reviews! LOL
xx
Ohh yes – I find it so much more interesting to read book reviews after I have read the book as well – I also have SO MUCH MORE to say ahah 🙂
I’m sure you don’t write boring reviews! I know tons of bloggers and reviewers writing some amazing book reviews, and they are pretty long. As long as you’re putting some love into it and making it readable -paragraphs, separators or images or quotes-, it’s all good, well, if you ask me 🙂
And if your comment reflects what your reviews are like..WELL YOU ARE THE BEST 😉
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
Oww, thanks Marie! I’m glad you also enjoy long ones like me! haha! I’m working on bettering my reviews! I loved your suggestion about the images and gifs! Will try it for sure! ♡
You’re so welcome! <3 <3 I hope this helps in some way 😀
I have definitely found this to be true for myself as well! I am always less inclined to read a book review and drag my feet to even read reviews for books that I am highly anticipating or that I love! I think you’re absolutely right thought, there needs to be something else that catches my eye like gifs, memes, SHOUTY CAPITALS!! IDK! I also don’t want to just say “great review!” without having genuine feelings about a post/book. I honestly don’t love writing lengthy reviews but I love reading tweet threads while people read a book, or when people write ironic/witty reviews. I want to write posts that I would want to spend time reading and making aesthetic boards and playlists to go along with a book is super fun!!! Anyway, I think things are always changing too, so maybe a year from now those things wont be in but a traditional text post book review always will be!!
I’m glad I’m not the only one 🙂 I always want to have something more to say whenever I comment, which sometimes makes it hard to comment on book reviews. OH YES, aesthetic boards and playlists are always so great, I would love to incorporate that, but I barely have time to do it all aha. I love it when there is these kind of special features added to the review, makes it extra special and attractive, for sure 🙂
Thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts on this, Isabella! <3 <3
This post is just… YES!
I always get so disappointed when I see my reviews are really suffering when it comes to interaction. I personally like writing reviews (when I have strong opinions on a book) and I love sharing my thoughts and being able to convince someone to read a review.
I get pretty peeved at fellow bloggers who encourage others not to post reviews because they lack traffic. Book reviews are too important not to share just because they aren’t very popular.
BUT, like you, I have to admit that I often scroll past book reviews when I’m catching up in my reader. The ones that I tend to read are, again like you, ones that I’m already interested in or books that I’ve already read.
Sigh… I just don’t know how to fix this issue though??? Because I still stand by my opinion that book reviews are sooo important and yet?? I don’t??? read all of them?? 😳
I’m with you – even if, sometimes, it is a bit hard to write a review, or I’m not enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing other posts, I always LOVE it when I end up finishing the review, posting it, and most importantly, when I can share my love for a book. I’m a bit sad this doesn’t feel as acknowledged, in a way, as other blog posts?
OH YES, same here. If they lack traffic, they are, for me, the heart and soul of book bloggers. Or, at least, if they’re not reviews, properly speaking, spreading the bookish love is so important, with short reviews, or bullet point things, I don’t know. But they are so important. <3
I have no idea how to fix this issue either, it makes me SO sad. Your thoughts on this really is making me think of reviews again, though, and maybe there's an idea somewhere inside my brain trying to come out ahah.
Thank you so much, Bridget! <3 <3
Haha I know! I plan to write a review for One Dark Throne as soon as I’ve finished reading it 😛
I do add those questions you mentioned at the end of my posts, but I still don’t get much of a response on some. I don’t let it bug me as much. But I think we need to talk about books on review pages; sparking that discussions invites more people to talk about it, as well as draw people in that haven’t heard of the book. I’ve tried to figure out how to put GIFs in, but I’m lost. How do you put those in?
Great discussion 🙂 I try to at least like posts by people I follow. It’s true that it’s hard sometimes to be always active. But trying is better than nothing 🙂
Sometimes, no matter how many questions you ask, people just don’t come. It’s like the Instagram algorithm or something, no way to figure it out hahaha.
Oh, to insert GIFs, I just download the GIFs on my computer and insert them in the blog post as I would insert any kind of images 🙂
You’re so right, trying definitely is better than nothing 🙂 Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
This is a great post! (haha here i am – having trouble commenting) but seriously, I really enjoyed reading it. I just find myself having trouble commenting anything on anybody’s posts recently. I don’t know why it’s so hard to contribute my ideas and thoughts and such but anyway, book reviews have GOT to be the most difficult to comment on. Most of the time I say something along the lines of ‘Great review! I REALLY want to read this book!’ and then it just gets repetitive.
Ohh thank you so much! <3 <3
OH, maybe you're having a bit of a commenting slump? I know this tend to happen to me sometimes as well, no matter how many posts I read, I just…have no words. I hope the feeling will pass <3 Answering questions, just…rambling about what's on my mind on said-posts is usually what I end up doing all the time ahah.
It is hard not to get repetitive on comments – but each book and reviewer is unique. I always try and add something particular to the review, about characters, plot, or even the book cover sometimes, to turn up with different and unique comments 🙂
Thank you so much for stopping by and for your sweet comment <3 <3
Yeah, that’s probably it. <3
Yes, my reviews get fewer comments than other types of posts, but I think they average our with the other ones for traffic overall.
I read a lot of front list books, so quite often, they’ve been read by very few other people.
As with other types of posts, I think the “hook” is necessary to aid someone to comment – have you asked a question, is there a particular point that you enjoyed or hated, or do you have something “controversial” to say?
Ohh well that’s good, if they average out in the end. And stats don’t necessarily matter, as long as you’re having fun writing the reviews, right? 🙂
I agree with you, it’s definitely important to ask questions, it just means you want to hear from people 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
I used to blog all the time and am just now getting back to it, but I completely understand this! I am definitely more drawn to read/comment on a review of a book I have already read because I have my own opinion to compare with the review. One thing I really enjoy is when the review is paragraphs long but in each paragraph there are bold/underlined words. It really helps me pull out the main ideas to help form a comment!
Oh thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this <3 I agree – it elps me so much when there are clear paragraphs, underlined things or lists, something for me to rely on when typing my comment 🙂
Thank you so much! and, welcome back to blogging! 🙂
I do find that i interact less with book reviews because sometimes the book gets spoiled with accidental spoilers here and there. However, if it’s of a book that’s new, and i really want to read it, then i will most probably read it. Especially if it’s a hyped up book and they didnt LOVE it. I like to see whaat probelms they had with it. And if it’s a rave review for a new book, i read it and hype myself up for the book, giving a comment like “great review, so glad to hear that you loved it, this book seems awesome! Can’t wait to read it”
Also, if i’ve already read the book, and they had a different opinion to me, i like to discuss it with them, and read about their point further. I’ll do the same if t we both really adore it.
Sometimes i wont comment, becasue it’s a problematic book and i dont know how to properly talk about it without the fear of saying something the wring way. Or, maybe if IDK, the review is really long and i stop reading it (because i know what they’re going to go on and say as ive read the book too)
I really love mini reivews at the moment. I seem to have a really short attention span at the moment, so they’re perfect. Also i find full reviews to be a bit word-y soemtimes??
Unfortunately, i dont have any tips, but I feel like popular books always seem to get more of a resonse than not-so-new ones!!
I really loved this post!
Oh thank you so, SO MUCH for your sweet and thoughtful comment <3 <3
I'm with you on spoilers and I always try, – even if I know I sometimes forget – to write and mention at the beginning of my reviews that they are spoiler-free, to avoid any kind of mistake like this. I hate starting to read a review and getting spoiled, it's the WORST 🙁
I understand – sometimes full reviews are just…well, they're not always for everyone, and there are days where I prefer reading mini reviews because I have the attention span of a 3 year-old ahah 🙂
Thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts on this! <3 <3
yas ahahah #3Y/OattentionSpans!! Sometimes i just,,, dont have the will to actually keep my eyes open that long ahah
Aw you’re welcome! I love your discussion posts!!
Aww thank you!! <3 <3
You’re welcome!!!
Yep, I agree! But I still try to comment on reviews as much as possible but as you stated, those reasons come to play. Recently, I did try to change the structure a bit and it worked in my favour, so yeah, that’s definitely a great tip! Love this post! <3
Oh yay! I’m so glad changing things up worked for you 🙂 Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment, Poulami <3 <3
Reviews are tough.
I’ve learned to keep mine shorter… and I don’t usually get more than one comment (if that)… but I’m also okay with that? Because I know that I don’t always read reviews myself, and I almost never comment on them. Unless I’ve already read the book myself, my comment options are pared down to:
– I’m acknowledging your feelings about the book!
– I’m going to add this book to my TBR!
– Or YAY I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS TOO!
And I feel like i don’t have a lot to say? BUT. Comments are inequal to traffic. For whatever reason, a review on Huck Finn I wrote THREE YEARS AGO still gets traffic. Sometimes people just pop in to say, “Hmm, what’s this?” and that’s okay too. I think my reviews are mostly for me and my organization in something prettier than Goodreads… and if someone else wants to talk about a book and I’ve read it, they can always search the blog and I’m happy to jabber away all day long!
Oh yes – sometimes it’s so weird, people are stopping by and they just keep on stopping and you have no idea why or how, ahah. I think it’s good to remember to write reviews for us, too – to remember why we loved the book, to keep record, and if people comment, good, and if not…well, at least we wrote for ourselves, too 😀
Book reviews are so difficult. Difficult to read, but also difficult to write. I feel bad skipping them in my queue because I know that authors have to put in a lot of time to review properly, but sometimes they’re just so uninteresting to me. Every now and then, though, I’ll read one on a whim and find a book that really interests me. Or realize I’m not going to like something that I thought I would, which saves me a lot of time. So they can be really helpful!
OH I agree. Reviews are sometimes to hard to write, and even harder to read. sometimes I don’t have the attention span, the time or just…I’m just not into reading reviews. That being said, there are so many fabulous books I found out about just by reading a review here or there, so… they’re so useful. I’m happy they exist to spread the bookish love , that’s for sure 🙂
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment, Emily! <3 <3
I love writing and reading book reviews, regardless of the fact that they don’t seem to be the most popular posts. Generally though, I only comment on one if something in particular from the review strikes me… otherwise I’ll just give it a like and move on. ?♀️ Good luck with this, Marie! If you find the magic formula for a review post that gets lots of comments, I’d sure love to know! ?
Same here – sometimes it’s hard to find something to say or add to the conversation in a review. It’s much easier in discussion posts 🙂 Ahaha, I promise, if I ever find that right magic formula, I’ll let you know 😛
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
Reviews are actually my favourite posts to write, but get the least traffic, which sucks when you’re proud of what you’ve written. I can understand why though and I am guilty of not commenting on reviews of books that I’m not interested in. I’m also guilty not switching up my format, I’m comfortable using the one I have haha. I always find that I do more blog-hopping after I post a review in the hopes of bringing some traffic to it, which can be exhausting at times. I should ask questions a the end of them but I always forget about it haha.
I get the feeling. I sometimes struggle when writing reviews, but when I end up with a review I’m particularily proud of, I’m always sad to see it not “perform” as well as other blog posts.
Ahahah oh, well I’m guilty too – I’m praising change in formatting, but… I’m not really doing it too much?! It makes me nervous for some reason?! I don’t make sense sometimes, ahah.
I wish there was a magic formula or something to make this all work 😛
Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Lois <3 <3
I love this post! reviews are my favoriteeee and it makes me sad that it gets so much less traffic. Something I’ve noticed is that if I’ve read a super popular book, I’ll get tons of comments and likes and views, but one of my
more obscure books or ARC books will get maybe half of that. For example, my Illuminae review BLEW UP. Probably just because it’s a super hot book right now. The week after, I posted an ARC review and have received no comments :/ I love these tips though! I definitely find that mini reviews help, and I probably should switch up the format to make it more interesting. Instead of just screaming maybe make lists because that’s shorter and you get everything out?
Ohhh thank you so much, Sydney! <3
I have noticed the same thing – popular books get more comments, which makes me a bit sad, but.. I guess more people have heard of it, so it makes sense as well.
Ohh yes, LISTS! This is a great idea – I'm not doing it but I tend to LOVE reading lists, whether they're on discussion posts or reviews, they're so much fun 🙂
Thank you so much <3 <3
Reading lists is so much fun because it allows you to really fangirl but shorter.
Ohh yes, reading lists are such a great idea 🙂
I comment onf review when I really have somethins to say and mostly if I want to read that book, if the cover catch my attention and if I read that novel. Mostly because I want to have a dialogue with the blogger.
Honestly I’m up to all format because what I really care is the text. I want to see a good balance of everything or a good explantion why is a no or a yes. Also I’m really interested to read reviews about some unknow high fantasy adult book with a great covers, since I’ve a good reading experience with the genre… yet there’re a lot of YA.
Anyway sometimes I find difficult to comment but it happens mostly because I’m tired when I found/read the review and I’m too much wasted to formulate a normal answer.
Oh yes, there’s a lot of YA book bloggers out there and tons of reviews for sure – but I’m sure there are other book bloggers out there, just need to find them ahah 🙂
I agree with you, I’m always looking to be convinced in some ways, convinced that the book is good or not, why not, etc 🙂 Engaging conversation is the best thing ever – but yeah, sometimes we are just too tired ahah.
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
I think it’s weird too that we’re supposed to be book bloggers, and yet reviews aren’t too popular! I’m with you though, I usually comment on book reviews. I think it’s because they’re my favorite posts to write personally, but also because I’m here for the book reviews, haha! XD. I do think it’s much easier to comment on mini reviews. And I REALLY like when people bold the main points so if i’m short on time or energy i can read their review and easily remember what I wanted to say. If it’s just a block of text i usually don’t comment. Anyway, fantastic post!!
Oh yes – I agree with you. Even when I read reviews, when I’m ready to comment, I always need to come back to the review to remember what I wanted to say, it helps so much when the review is organized and bolded and everything else 🙂
Thank you so, so much, Lenna!! <3 Hope you're doing well <3
Nice post and points. I don’t usually comment on reviews of books I know I would never read, such as erotica and romance novels. I try to comment as often as possible on other reviews, at least to say nice review or something, to show my support. The comments I receive from other bloggers seem to come in the same way. I get comments from those interested in books I have reviewed or from those who have already read them.
Oh thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3 It's so good to show some support to reviews, I try to as well even if sometimes, I'm at a loss for words ahah 🙂
I think it is all about the support these days. At first I felt like just leaving a comment like “great review” was too short and cliche, but I think we need to show each other support however we can. <3
You’re so right – and it’s so good to have some support <3 <3
<3
A good book review will make you either want to rush out and get the book or make you want to stay right away. So I love book reviews. But that takes a lot of reading. And as you say, reading – and then finding the right response takes a whole lot of effort and time. All of us bloggers have to divide ourselves between our real and our virtual lives and time is at a premium. Anyhow, I love variety. I will read any amount of blog posts, including cooking blogs for information entertainment. Sometimes I I ‘like’ and sometimes I comment. That’s reality. ?
You’re so right – we always need to divide our time between blogging and, well, life, so it’s hard to give out some love to book reviews, at times. I always appreciate it so much when people take the time to do so, whether it’s on book reviews or other posts <3 Also, YES, a great review will make me want to order the book right away 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
I almost didn’t comment on this because I felt like I didn’t have enough time to leave a super detailed reply 😉 But! This is something that I’ve noticed and it bugs me– I mean, the point of my blog is to recommend books right? I like your tips though. I think that switching up how I write reviews– I’m not a list person or a GIF person– would not only be fun, but also attract more readers and hopefully more commenters. I spend more time writing a review than really any other post so it can be discouraging when it has the least engagement.
Ahah, oh, well, time or not, you did leave a super sweet comment so THANK YOU so much for taking a bit of your time, Anna, this means so much to me <3
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's bugged by this, ahah. It is a bit discouraging, especially when you spent time on a review and are proud of it.
Fantastic discussion! I feel the exact way about commenting on reviews! If it’s not a book I’ve read, I probably won’t comment on it because I simply wouldn’t know what to say as I haven’t formed my own opinion on it!
And I *sometimes* read reviews of books I want to read—on the other hand, I don’t want to get spoiled or be influenced by someone else’s opinions! It’s just so tough to balance the whole commenting on reviews thing! It takes a lot of time and effort to read the review and think of a thoughtful comment (especially when you have nothing to say) but I try my best AND I WILL FOREVER STRUGGLE WITH IT ??
OH YES, I so agree with you. I’m always tempted, and end up reading lots of reviews for books I want to read, but I also know it might influence my opinion on said book. I can’t help myself, though, I’m too curious hahaha.
I think you’re doing SO GREAT, Jackie <3 <3 It takes tons of time to read blog posts and leave comments, it's always so appreciated whenever sometimes takes the time to do so <3 <3
Thank you SO MUCH for your sweet words <3 <3
I feel this post. I try to comment on reviews, especially when someone is clearly excited about a book, for this very reason because I know they often get less traffic. But commenting on reviews is harder for me since many of the bloggers I follow don’t read/review the types of books I’m actually interested. And it’s harder for me to focus on review posts for some reason, so I don’t always have the mental energy for it.
I do include a question at the end of each review, one that’s related to the book but not actually about the book, so that you don’t have to have read the book to answer it, but people seem to mostly just ignore my questions lol. I mean, that’s fine, the questions at the end of posts are just there to help my readers, but my point is that idk how much good it’s doing in my experience to ask a Q at the end of reviews. I feel like I have moderately more success w/ interaction in my mini reviews posts. It also seems kind of random though, sometimes I’ll post a review that just kind of unexpectedly gets a whole lot of attention, and it’s never the ones I predict will get attention lol.
Ahah oh, I get it – sometimes, reviews or other blog posts you don’t expect to work, actually work a LOT and people are commenting and… I just have no clue what I did differently?! It’s just so weird.
I get it about reviews being harder to comment on – I have the same issue about focus on book reviews. I don’t know, sometimes I just can’t quite focus on reading those, I don’t know why ahah. I do want to spread the love more, even with some supportive words <3 <3
Thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts on this <3 <3
I would agree I get less comments on my review. I like to do little wrap ups(used to be weekly now its random). Wrap ups get more view for me, I had forgotten to ask my readers a question at the end, I used too and I don’t remember why I stopped. Great post!!
I’m glad I’m not the only one noticing that 🙂 Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
Yes I definitely comment on book reviews less, but only because I don’t really know the book? And it is much harder to comment on something you don’t connect with (while on the other hand I connect with everything here and that’s why I can just keep typing forever hahaha)
You know what will get me to read a book review? If it’s a fun, ranty, negative one. I am petty. And horrible. I actually love going to GR sometimes to read negative books I liked/didn’t like. It’s entertaining 😀
But I also need to read book reviews because I need to know what people are saying about certain new releases. Like do I buy them? Wait to borrow them from the library? I may not necessarily comment on them, or bring forth some deep discussion, but I will try.
I mainly write reviews for myself now, though I have scheduled a bunch of fun mini reviews for tonight! Which were much more fun to write to be honest haha. So we’ll see how that goes!
Oh please, keep typing forever then, Valerie, I don’t mind 😛 I get it – it’s so hard to find something to say when you just can’t relate to a review 🙂
HAHAHAHA, I love it. I really do love reading a good ranty, negative review at times, it’s just so…well, it’s so entertaining, in a way, I agree. Does this mean we all should write more negative reviews?! hahaha 😛
Same here – I do read lots of reviews, even if I don’t always comment on them. They are SO helpful in helping me decide whether or not I’d actually enjoy a book 🙂
I hope your mini reviews will do great – I always find it fun to write reviews this way…even if I tend to ramble a lot haha.
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
Usually I’ll comment on one if (a) I want to gush with someone about how awesome a book is (b) I’m super interested in reading said book (probably because of the review) or (c) it was just a really awesomely written review. Great post! Always love a little bit of a book rant ?
Aww, thank you so much, Ashley! 🙂 Ahah oh yes, it’s always so great to end up fangirling about a book with a blogger in comments. I love when that happens <3
Great posts and have to agree with you about reviews!
Oh thank you so much, Dani! 🙂
You’re welcome ?
girl I FEEL YOU, like i hate leaving generic ‘great review’ comments but at the same time sometimes the review is GENUINELY GREAT and other times i just dont know what to say (also gotta be careful bc some people lazy and they POST SPOILERS LIKE EVERYWHERE AND THAT MAKES ME WANNA SCREAAAAAAAMMMMMMM)
but fabulous post as always my dear and now youre gonna have me contemplating this for hours to come lol
UGH YES, I hate it when people post spoilers and just forget to put a heads-up before or something like that. It makes me SO MAD ahah.
Awww thank you so much, you’re way too sweet <3 <3 <3
I love this post! I just started my blog and asked some friends for ideas about what i should write about and my friend suggested doing a list of books that I love. This was extremely helpful in how and what I should write! Thank you!
https://acupofstrongcoffee.com/
Aww thank you, Allie, I’m glad you enjoyed this 🙂
Sometimes when I see book reviews, they are posted sooooo far ahead of publication, that only a select group of people may have read the book. My blog is small, but I have noticed more traffic when I post reviews for books that have been out for a little while. More people have read them and/or heard about them. I recently started a mini-review feature, just as a way to feature more of the books I have read, and it is doing well too. Maybe because I feature 3 books in each post, and people are bound to find one they are interested in. ?
Ahah you’re right – if there are more books, there might be more people interested in at least…one of them ahah 🙂
Thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts on this! <3 <3
Ah, yes, I’m actually going to be posting a discussion on why book reviews are so unpopular, so this is such a coincidence! But, yeah, I think I definitely comment less on books reviews than anything less. I’m personally not too interested in them, since I prefer to go into books without much influence and I find it easier to comment on a lot of other posts, such as discussions or lists. I don’t think I really have any tricks on getting people to comment on my reviews, since I usually expect them to not be very popular in the first place, but I have noticed that writing mini reviews has definitely increased my readership, which is great! 😀
Well, I guess great minds think alike 😉
I agree – it’s sometimes much easier to comment on other kind of blog posts, and on mini-reviews as well, they’re more concise and somehow I find more things to say, sometimes? Ahah 🙂
Thank you for your sweet comment 🙂
Ok Marie. Things are getting a little creepy now because I’ve just started binging Community, the first time i’ve ever watched it and hello Troy and Abed here. SAME PAGE ALWAYS?! SISTER HI!
I agree with everything you said here. Book Reviews are a tricky one because I like writing them but as you say I don’t always read them myself. For some people (cough… you) I will read everything (well I try to,I promise) others it takes something to really draw me in especially if I don’t have much time to blog hop.
Some posts seem too long but I love that? I always go for spoiler free reviews unless I have read the book but I like when their long because I like writing longer ones because I feel like it does them justice?
I’ve seen reviews which are 5 bulletpoints of things I would have learned myself from reading the blurb only and it sometimes makes me question if that person really read the book?
Amazing discussion! x
AHHH YES!! Community is such a great show, I hope you’re loving it?! Troy and Abed are just so cool, I love them <3 and yes, we are definitely sisters ahah <3
Ohhh that's such an interesting question. I admit that I'm a bit more attracted to long reviews as well, I know the ones I read all the time aren't the bullet-point ones, but more long ones, always at least 500 words. I don't know if, because they're long, they do justice to the book a bit more, buut somehow in my mind, I'm associating long book review = the person had A LOT to say = the book holds something really interesting, whether it's a long, fangirling review, or a review underlining all the problematic issues of the book. So…. I feel like we're thinking of this the same way? ahah.
Thank you SO MUCH <3 <3
I am so obsessed with it. I’m in love with Annie though as well! We were definitely thinking of that the same way! So glad we can just say something that might not wholly make sense but we know the other will get it! x
Ohh yes, Annie is such a great character <3 Yees, I love that xx
Excellent post Marie !! You are pretty active tho AND I LOVE YOU FOR THAT ? Im happy that weve been through a lot and its def a problem I noticed with book blogging as well. You gave some excellent tips tbh !!
Aww, thank you so, so much Trang – I’m really glad you enjoyed this post, and you’re the sweetest <3 <3
Another absolutely amazing discussion post, Marie ?
This is definitely a bit of a hard one; like you there are certain bloggers who’s reviews I always read and comment on because like you’ve mentioned I love them and their blogs. I’m also more likely to comment on a review for a book I’ve read as well, it’s easier to know what to say since you’ve read it already and you can agree/disagree with them. It gets more complicated for books I haven’t read yet, sometimes I won’t even read reviews for books I’m highly anticipating because I have been spoiled before, I have a number of reviewers I trust not to spoil things for me and then I’ll probably read their reviews and tell them how much I’m looking forward to the book and what stood out to me in their review.
I completely agree that coming up with a comment on a book review takes way more work and isn’t always that fun. I love reviews that are conversational (like mine or yours), I also like ones where they divide it into headings for plot, characters, etc and then also where people talk about what they liked and disliked. I’m not the biggest fan of GIF’s during reviews, they distract me from the review itself, but that’s just my personal opinion. Mini reviews are great too and have slowly been gaining momentum and I love reading and doing them ?
Oh thank you so much, Michelle! I’m so happy you enjoyed this post <3
I get it – sometimes, you're just so nervous about some reviews, because you might get spoiled – and it's the wooorst when that happens. I know some bloggers never spoil things, so I probably will read more from them for sure 🙂
Oh yes – I'm the same way. I really like it when there somehow is a clear presentation, whether it's because of the formatting, or the way the blogger writes. It makes it easier for me to gather my thoughts and write a thoughtful comment afterwards 🙂
Thank you so, so much <3 <3
YESSSS MARIE. It’s so weird that book reviews is the book blogger staple, but they aren’t very popular?? I try my hardest to comment om all the posts in my Reader, including reviews, but I’m busy enough and reviews aren’t my favorite blog post to read. BUT. Sometimes I’ll read a blogger’s review every time they post one, if I like their style!! What prompts me to comment is if I want to read the book or if I’ve already read it. It’s awkward for me to comment on a review of a book that I haven’t heard about because… what do I say?!
Anyways, LOVE this post!! It’s strange how unpopular book reviews are, but I guess it’s something we’ll all get used to ahaha.
I’m glad I’m not the only one finding this SUPER WEIRD, ahah. I guess we get used to it though, you’re right, ahah 🙂
I agree – sometimes I just have no idea what to say, so I just say nothing. It’s hard, though, sometimes I want to show support, but just…don’t have the words to, ahah.
THANK YOU MAY YOU ARE SO SWEET <3
Confession time: I hardly ever read book reviews. Because let’s be honest. If I’m interested in buying a certain book, I’ll just quickly head over to goodreads or amazon and scan through the reviews there. Makes my life a lot easier and my decision process much shorter. AND… I also don’t enjoy writing book reviews that much… That’s why I’ve recently asked myself why the heck I’m still doing them xD Especially given the fact, that they really don’t generate that much traffic.
Sadly, I haven’t found the solution to my problem yet. I’m just really glad that I’m not a lone here 🙂
I have recently browsed the internet for a few tags, but find that they tend to be a bit superficial… I want my blog to be place where I can talk about what I love about books in general and maybe even a select few. I want to start a conversation with others and talk about whatever it was in a book that caught my attention. Whether it be good or bad…
So yeah… I don’t know… 🙂
Oh, I understand your point. It’s so easy to scan reviews on Goodreads and much, much quicker as well ahah 🙂
I understand, this is exactly what I’m aiming for with my blog as well. Even if they bring less traffic, I still cherish reviews and appreciate bringing on some love for the books on my blog, so I’ll never give them up. That being said, I find that book tags, recommendations or book discussions where you can talk about multiple books at a time, is also a lot of fun and might generate more traffic and conversations 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! <3
I’ve noticed this too! The reviews I write don’t nearly get as much popularity as my fun posts (such as the one I just wrote about Fall) I guess I understand why, if you haven’t heard of the book or read it you wouldn’t really have that much interest in reading the post about it. I have done mini reviews but I usually save them for when I read the 2nd or 3rd books of a series and just need to rant even if I know most people haven’t read that book (I also do mini reviews when I’m feeling lazy or just don’t have much to say about a particular book) I think I will try to use more GIF’s in my posts because I’m starting to discover that I really like it when other bloggers use them! Really interesting post! Thx for bringing this up (I thought I was the only one!) 🙂
Ohh thank you so much – I’m glad you enjoyed this and found it relatable 🙂 It’s so good to remember the kind of reviews we like reading, to take inspiration from – without copying, obviously, but if you like GIFS, try it out, you might love it 😀
Thank you! xx
Hi Marie!
Gosh, it’s been a while… but I hope that you’ve been well. :’)
This is such a FANTASTIC post! I so, so agree with you that book reviews go underappreciated many times. I always feel a twinge of sadness when my book reviews don’t do as well, especially when they’re the posts that take me the longest to compose. And I also agree that book reviews are tough posts to comment on as a reader. I’m also the same; I prefer leaving one long, thoughtful comment that shows that I read the review than 10 short ones that make it seem like I didn’t. But, unfortunately, not everyone is like this, which also kind of makes me sad. But this is a whole other tangent I don’t want to get into lest this comment become even longer, ahaha. Anyway, I’m like you and I DO want to read a book review before I comment, so this is probably why I don’t read reviews unless they’re about books that interest me. XD
– Summer
Hi Summer! It has been too long indeed, how have you been? I shall send you a message soon, maybe on Instagram or something, to catch up and everything?!! I miss chatting with you a LOT <3
Ahaha oh, I get it. It's so important to me to leave thoughtful comments and I want to show appreciation as much as I can, and for me…well, it means reading the post and review and taking things from it all. It takes a lot of time, that's why I don't and can't read all the reviews, but… it makes me sad to see how underappreciated these are on the blogosphere 🙁
Thank you so, so much <3 <3 <3
Do you find yourself commenting less on book reviews than on other blog posts? –> YES! I comment fewer book reviews. For example, I didn’t comment on your Forest of a Thousand Lanterns review because..I had nothing to say??I could say I was excited for the book but that would be pointless.
I comment on a book review if I am super interested in the book or it’s an unpopular opinion or I’ve read the book and I agree/disagree with them. I READ book reviews but hardly comment on them. My favourite kind of reviews are when there are a lot of exciting things in the post like other book recs at the bottom or maybe a discussion about mental illness (if the book is about it) or an author interview. I like reviews that are exciting! Mini reviews are great since you have more chance of having read one of the books the blogger has reviewed so you can comment.
I so understand your point here. It makes me feel a bit frustrated whenever that happens – when I read a review, I enjoyed reading it and…yeah, I feel like I have nothing to say or to add, and that’s it. I know there is no obligation to comment on anything, but I wish I could show some love anyway. I guess Likes help ? ?
Ohh this is so interesting to hear – I never thought about adding similar book recs to reviews, it’s a great idea 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
Yes that’s very true about book reviews not doing as well- I definitely noticed this very early on, especially since my early reviews got very little traction. But I’m the same- I struggle to comment on reviews sometimes. I’m definitely more drawn to book reviews for books I know something about- like having read it, or planning to read it. And sometimes I literally just don’t have much/anything to say. I definitely think changing it up and mini reviews really helps (especially cos more people are likely to have read the book) Although, I will admit as a reviewer to struggling to sometimes find questions more complex than “have you read it”- it definitely helps if I have something more to say, but it makes a lot of sense to me that if I can’t come up with anything more than “have you read it” that most people cannot muster more than “great review 😉 ” I mean it’s sad and all, but it’s also fair enough. Anyway awesome topic and great post!! 😀 <3
I agree with you – it’s so hard sometimes to say something more, even if you enjoyed reading a review and the book isn’t really your type of book, or something. Every comment, even if it’s just “great review”, is always appreciated, that’s for sure <3 It's a bit sad to see that reviews aren't that "attractive" to other bloggers, but yes… I guess we don't and can't read all the same books and have something to say. I guess it's easier to find the words when you're in a discussion post, that's for sure 😀
Thank you so much! <3 <3
Yes exactly! Completely agree!! 😀 You’re very welcome! <3 <3
I don’t read many book reviews. Since I follow a lot of people with similar taste in books as me, I see reviews for books that I know I’m going to read which means I don’t read them. I love going into books not knowing much. It’s just one of my things. Also, there’s a good chance that depending on the blogger, the review could have spoilers. That’s too much of a risk for me.
If I have read the book being reviewed, there’s a 99.99% chance that I’ll end up commenting on the review. We book bloggers know how little attention reviews get, so I like being able to comment on them to combat that.
Oh, I understand – I’m always scared of getting spoiled for a book whenever I read a review. This is probably the reason why I only read reviews when they’re without spoilers and it’s clearly indicated, or reviews from bloggers I know I can trust to keep spoilers..Well, hidden or something 🙂
It’s so great that you’re doing that – I try to just as well, as much as I can, to spread some love in book reviews. They deserve the attention <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment and for stopping by!! <3 <3
You are definitely right about reviews, but I think that’s to be expected because reviews are usually new info, and new info is much harder on the brain than something you already have an opinion on. Plus, you can’t keep adding to your TBR infinitely, so after a while you’ll be reading reviews purely for the sake of love to other bloggers 😀
I am aware of that, and still my blog is mostly made up of reviews. But… I try to make my reviews amusing. For one thing, they’ve got to be funny. If it’s not a serious book that requires an inspired review, I will try to make you laugh. That’s actually why people who know my blog come back to read my reviews. I’ve also started making list reviews, cause they’re both easier to write AND read! And more exciting to write too, actually. So everybody wins 😀 the trick is just to make the review look like a different type of post. And the questions at the end… do they actually work for anyone? 😀 I constantly catch myself not even reading them. Still, I will add some in my own posts, purely for the sake of being visual and in the hopes that maybe there are one or two people who like reading them 😀
Oh you’re so right about that. Our TBRs are already endless as it is ?
It’s so, so great that you manage to write different kind of reviews – it has to be a lot more fun than the usual reviews to write, that’s for sure. I always tell myself I should try and change things up just as well, to make reviews more fun for me, and for the readers ?
To be honest… I don’t know if the questions work, ahah. I do sometimes read and answer to them when I’m at a loss for words, so I always like to include them, to give readers something to…sort of rely on? They’re here for support haha, I’d say that 🙂
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
Oh, my pleasure 🙂 yes, you should definitely try writing different reviews if only just for fun! I have even tried an interview format (if you’re curious, look up reviews for Attachments, Red Rising or Punch Escrow on my blog). Those were for buddy reads, me and my friends would interview each other on our respective blogs 🙂 that’s got to be the most fun way to do a review. If you’re tired of plain reviews you should absolutely try that just for fun 🙂 works good for motivation!
Ohhh, that’s such a fun idea – I never thought about that interview-thing before! I’ll check it out for sure, and I might try out some of your other tips as well. It’s good to shake things up once in a while, you’re right! 🙂 <3
I am not as concerned about the number of comments left on review posts as I am the number of views. Knowing that not every reader on my blog has time to comment on every single post unless there is something they want to ask me or discuss is absolutely fine with me. It is a funny thing because sometimes a review that I don’t think will be popular because it is a backlist book or something might get lots of comments. It’s nice to have discussions with readers, for sure. 😉
Oh yes, well you’re in a good mindset for sure. It’s always good to see people are actually seeing your reviews, even if they don’t necessarily have time to comment on them, for sure 🙂
Right? IT’s so weird sometimes, how popular some posts are, while some others just don’t work 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
I’ve been posting only book reviews lately and sooooo discouraging seeing not as much traffic but I do know that I also need to work on showing some love to review posts. This is a really great article as always!
Oh thank you so much! I get it – I always try and show a little love to book reviews more, it’s a work in progress 🙂
I try really hard to make my reviews fun and to focus on different things. I naturally want to go over the same things about a book every time so I’ve had to really ponder books that I’ve read to find different takes and positions. It’s fun to do though… try to get a review read more! ♥️ Great post Marie! I’m sorry I missed it! Thank goodness for Ilsa!
It IS fun to try and think of new ways to make reviews fun, it is something I need to try and do more with my own reviews. New ways to talk about the books we love 😀
Oh no need to apologize, Dani, you’re so sweet! Thank YOU for taking the time to comment <3 <3 <3
Really awesome post, Marie! It’s definitely not an easy task to read every book review out there and comment on everything everyone posts. Some of the reasons why we would even do it are definitely superficial and ends up making us put in hours of post-reading and commenting without knowing. Getting people to read what you want to say? Definitely not something easy to do through WordPress. Reading is no easy task, especially when everyone out here are already reading countless books for their own pleasure! 😛 Again, great post, Marie. I enjoyed it. 🙂
Oh thank you so, so much Lashaan, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this post 🙂
I agree that it’s no easy task, especially given how much there is to read already, and how much we want to read, outside of our blogs as well. Whenever people manage to read what I have to say, reviews or not, I’m the happiest 🙂
THANK YOU so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
I only really comment on book reviews if I’ve read the book or am quite familiar with it. While I’d love to comment on all the reviews I see, I totally agree with you in that commenting on book reviews takes more time, time which I am already lacking as it is. I’ve started changing up my reviewing style, doing more “x reasons you should read y book” etc so I’m hoping that because of this I may get some comments?
I think book reviews are where every blogger starts, but as they grow their blog will contain more book discussions and other posts rather than exclusively book reviews.
I agree with you – reading reviews takes a whole lot of time, and with the amount of reviews online every single day, it’s hard to keep up, and/or find an interest in it all. It’s good to spread some love, but not to lose our sanity haha 😛 Better to focus on the content we are interested in.
Oh I think it’s a GREAT idea, and has to be a great, fun way to review books. I hope this works out for you, and makes writing reviews fun as well 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
This is such a wonderful post, and it’s so true! In the first few months (I’m blogging for a little over 6 months now), I thought maybe my reviews weren’t interesting enough, because they got less traffic… but now I see it’s just the way things are. I suppose if it bothers, then surely the blogger should find ways to make the reviews more unique and draw more traffic for them, but it doesn’t particularly bother me anymore. I like writing reviews and I’ll continue to.
Oh thank you so, so much, Naty, I’m so glad you enjoyed this post <3
I was just like you – at first, I thought I did something wrong, then I realized it was just the way things are. It's strange, for sure, but… well, nothing we can do about it, I guess. What matters the most is that we keep on writing reviews if we love it, and spread the love about books we love if we like to 😀
Thank you so much <3 <3
It’s so strange to think about that book reviews, which should be the backbone of the book blogging community, are so unpopular haha. I’m definitely guilty of it too though. There are so many posts out there to read, and if I’m not interested in a book, I won’t be interested in the review either unless it has a really catchy title that grabs my attention. I really want to give book reviews more love, but there’s only so much time in a day! And only so much energy in my body haha. It’s definitely a struggle and sometimes it can be a bit disappointing to see barely anyone read your review for a book you loved and want everyone to read, but I still enjoy writing them and I love seeing comments of people who decide to pick up the book because of me. I just love spreading the love haha
Oh YES, I love spreading the love for books as well ahah, and even if reviews aren’t the most popular blog posts out there, I couldn’t give up on them. I just love them too much ahah <3
Thank you so, so much, Michelle! <3 <3
Personally I read every blog post but commenting on them, I reserve for when I’m really interested in the book or if I read it before. I feel like I need something else to say or discuss about other than just “Great review” so yea.
I’m 200% with you on that. I love showing appreciation to reviews, but I always want to find something more to say than just a simple “Great review” 🙂
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this 😀
This was such an interesting read! I recently re-focused my blog specifically on books but I’ve found it really tough to gain more traffic – so this post really resonated with me! Your blog post has given me lots of new ideas for content that might be a bit more popular, and a bit more entertaining for my (future!) readers. Thanks for sharing:)
Thank you so much! I’m happy that this post could give you some pointers 🙂 really, I find that the most important thing is to write with your heart, whether it’s book reviews or other kind of content, because it really shows in your writing 🙂 and, personally, makes me want to come back for more, too! 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3