Why I’m an advocate for book reviews

Since i’m relatively new to the bookish blog world, I thought I would take a minute to explain why I’m doing this. I didn’t decide to do a blog to get likes and views; although, let’s be honest, it’s nice to get both! I wanted to do this because reviewing books is so very important to me.

I feel as though I came out of the womb reading a book. I guess that was bound to happen when  your mom got your name from a book she read while she was pregnant with you. From the time I learned how to read, I always had a book around. It was so nice to relax and escape to so many places and go on so many adventures. I honestly have no idea how many books I’ve read in my life. When I got into high school, I pretty much stopped reading. My life became about my friends, boyfriend (who is now my husband!), work, and figuring out who I wanted to be. When I finished high school I started reading again but found myself in a unique position. I had spent so many years reading young adult books, but now that I was over 18 I felt that I didn’t fit that category anymore. Some of the books I was choosing were a little too immature for me so I assumed that I should push myself into the next age group – adult.

Well, that decision brought a whole slew of problems. When venturing into this new category I was lost. I had no clue where to start. I chose a few books from their synopsis and they just didn’t suit me. So next I turned to books that were on a current best sellers list. I figured that since they were ‘best sellers’ then they must be good if so many people were buying them. Even that didn’t work. I kept finding a way to choose books that I didn’t like and they didn’t interest me.

A few years later my life got crazy. I got married, had two kids, started our own company, and bought a small business. For a few years I didn’t have time to read. This was probably the most frustrating time in my life for reading. I had little to no spare time and I was getting really upset that I was wasting that time on books I didn’t like. When things finally started to settle and I could read a little more, I was once again lost. I was so far out of the reading game I didn’t know where to begin.

So I decided that it was time I changed how I looked for books. I sat down and really thought about what I wanted out of books. What was it that I truly loved about reading and what did I want to read about. I stopped paying attention to the age groups I was supposed to be in and did some research. I found one that sounded interesting and when I went to google it, links to you tube videos and goodreads popped up. And that’s when my life changed. I went from not knowing what to read to having over 200 books on my wish list. Using you tube and goodreads as a tool was so easy. I found books that I liked and checked to see what other people were reading that liked the same thing I did. Having these tools available brought so many books that I never would have been exposed to otherwise into my life. It made it easier to figure out what I liked, why I liked it, what I didn’t like, and so much more. I had the ability to see what books would work for me and if I was on the fence about something, the reviews I read would help me decide if I should spend my time (and money) on it. Obviously you still find books that don’t suit you 100%, but through reviews I’ve increased my chances of finding a book I will like.

So I started putting myself out there in the bookish community. I now have this blog, I’m an active member of the Books Amino app, and I’m also on twitter and goodreads. Like I said above I’m not doing this for fame or popularity. My goal through all of this is to help people find books like so many other people have helped me by getting their reviews out there.

I always review with my honest feelings whether they are positive or negative. I also try to give clear examples of why I felt the way that I did. Something that may have been a negative opinion of mine may not be the same for someone else. And I obviously don’t like giving negative reviews – I feel guilty and awful when I don’t like something that I’ve read. I know that the book is someones blood, sweat and tears, and they spent countless hours pouring their heart into it. But just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean that someone else won’t love it. That’s the beauty of books! It’s all about your own personality and how you experience the book itself. There’s something out there for everyone, you just have to find it.

One last thing. I absolutely despise when people review a book without actually reading it. I’m looking at you goodreads! It’s so unfair for someone to rate or review  a book based on previous experience with an author. There are authors out there that I absolutely can’t stand (that’s a topic for another day!) but I could never give one of their books a bad review unless I actually read the content. You are not only boosting or lowering their rating unfairly, but it also leaves an impression with someone who may be considering that book/author. There were so many times where peoples opinions tainted my opinion and swayed me away from their books. So please, review with respect!

Sorry this was such a long one. I’ve just been thinking about this so much lately and it was nice to finally get it all of my chest. I would love to hear your thoughts on this and welcome comments always! Thanks for reading this far.