8.10.2011

my past reviews are mostly void + title vibes+ notes

Concerning reviews:
I think about 70% of my past reviews are either overexcited, too verbose, or misrepresent my current views on those books.

My reading tastes have altered. I don't agree with a lot of what I say in those reviews anymore. I don't agree with my ratings anymore.

And I don't understand why I felt the need to write such long reviews that SUMMARIZED the book in the first two paragraphs when the book summary is RIGHT THERE. *facepalm*

Therefore, I will probably be taking down a few on goodreads and editing some of the others.

On another note:

No more ratings on this blog. Just four categories of recommendation:
1. HIGHLY RECCOMENDED: Read this book--it's worth your time.
2. RECOMMENDED: Not bad, but proceed with some caution.
3. NOT RECOMMENDED: Not a good read.
4. SAVE YOURSELVES! : Terrible.

Another another note (title vibes):

I have recently noticed something terribly obvious but still feel enlightened. Have you ever noticed how some authors always have similarly worded titles? NO I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT HARRY POTTER and other series titles. (I'm not that thick.). I mean, books that aren't even related to each other, other than by author.

Take Courtney Summers:

CRACKED UP TO BE
SOME GIRLS ARE
FALL FOR ANYTHING

It's all :drumroll: common expressions that almost feel like they're begging to have a sentence filled in around them.

OR

Sarah Dessen:
WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE
ALONG FOR THE RIDE
THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER
JUST LISTEN
etc etc (this lady has written too many books)
They sort of have the same feel, these titles. Like they were all born from the same title mother.

OR

Laurie Halse Anderson
SPEAK
WINTERGIRLS
CHAINS
TWISTED
CATALYST
PROM

It seems the gods of publishing has forbidden this lady-authoress multi-word titles. She gets to be the queen of enigmatic one word titles instead.

I mean, it's hard to explain, but don't a lot of books with the same author give off similar title vibes? Think about it for a minute. They just feel connected, don't they? There's probably some clever explanation--similar number of syllables, corresponding vowels, but I don't know what it is.

Or possibly I'm crazy and a few choice examples don't mean anything and I'm wasting my breath.

But still.

Even if my enlightenment is false, I feel happy. However, this is a rather sad revelation for debut authors that secretly hate their first titles, I'm thinking. They're dooooomed.

on another another another note:

I'm not officially out of hiatus mode. Just lately, I've felt like writing conversational things about books, and instead of talking to myself in my head I thought, why not talk to myself on the internet?

So no, I am not officially back because if I say that what happens when I have to disappear for college (which I'm starting soonish, ahhhh!)

But I am not averse to occasionally littering the odd thought/review/nothing-babble/ramble here.

another another another another note to anyone who still knows who I am:
HELLO AND I LOVE YOU.

another another another another another note:

I quite like goodreads now. My profile's here, if you'd like to friend me. It's a lovely place and I've taken to checking it around once a day.


Comments (11)

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hi :)

Nice to have you back-ish and to read your thoughts on interesting stuff again. and sometimes i'll stumble upon an old review of mine and just wince, so don't feel bad :)
I think the titles with similar feels are done on purpose by a lot of authors (or their agents/editors) to help create their brand. So you hear a title like THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER and see the cover from afar think "that sounds like a Sarah Dessen book."

welcome back
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1 reply · active 709 weeks ago
I was just going to comment and say exactly this! :)
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I have always found your reviews lovely, and kinda inspiring. I use them often as an example of how much better mine can be. It happens a lot. I look at my old reviews and I have completely different thoughts on some books, but I'm not sure of I should leave the review of not because that's how I felt at that time, right? But I tend to, and I'm sure many others do also - look at your older reviews. So if you feel differently, I would love to hear a new take of those books. It's still great to see you drop by occasionally, get excited whenever I see a new post from you! Hope you're having a great holiday.
I've noticed the similar title thing, but thought I was imagining things. Glad to see someone else thought it kinda odd as well. And I completely get what you mean about looking back at old reviews. I look at reviews from last week and feel my opinions have changed. I've just forced myself to have a hands off policy. I think it helps me to look back at old reviews which were basically a summary of the book with one line about my "really loving this book" and see my progression. I've always thought your reviews were gorgeous, but I can understand your wanting to edit some due to change of opinion.

And it's so good to have you sorta kinda almost back. :)
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I'm torn about reviews too, well, not so much reviews as ratings, I guess. I mean, I know my reviews are wordy--I'm not even going to try to tackle that beast just yet!--but I feel like I rate books very differently based on when I review them. If I rate something right after I've read it, I think I am likely to give it a higher rating than if I wait a little while because I can still remember all the details that were worth a point here and there. If I wait a while, those details tend to disappear, and I'm left trying to remember what I thought about a book. If I can't remember any of the details, that's not a good sign, and the book will probably get a lower (or at least a less enthusiastic) rating than it would have otherwise. So, do you rate a book based on how you felt upon finishing it, or how it holds up in your mind over time? This is something I'm always trying to decide when I assign a star-rating on Goodreads.
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I heart Goodreads. It has introduced me to worlds of books I would never have discovered otherwise. Also, the neverending book quiz is quite addictive. I highly recommend. Also also, I think your enlightenment is true. I read a lot of Stephen King and always felt like many of his titles had the same, eerie vibe. I was further enlightened when I noticed that almost all of Chuck Palahniuk's books are also one word: Survivor, Choke, Lullaby, Diary, Haunted,
Rant, Snuff, Pygmy, Damned. He must also be forbidden to use multi-word titles, though there are currently two with 2 words: Fight Club, Invisible Monsters and a hyphenated one that I am not sure where it falls (Tell-All) - one-ish?
I've noticed that sometimes books have similar titles but I've always thought that it was because it was what the author wanted---now I know that that's not always the case xD I don't know if every author has similar sounding titles but you may be on to something o.o And I know what you mean about reviews. I look back on my older ones and cringe at what I wrote--like, "I can't believe I ever thought this was good!". (Meaning the review, and sometimes even the book!)
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(ahh, I'm having another battle with the ID system! Just like old times!)

But whenever I feel like that, I try to remember this quote I read once from The Geography of Bliss. I can't remember it word for word (it's on my blog somewhere) but it goes something like this: "Crap is fertilizer. Crap allows stuff to grow--you can't have one without the other." So what you think might not be great, well, maybe it's NOT but you're only going to get better if you keep on trying :) (And for the record, I never thought your old reviews were crap---I agree with Cara.)
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I'm glad you're writing again. :) Your thoughts are coooooool. :D
I think you have done something relevant and informative here because when it comes to different book reviews, many readers will be having their own opinion and reactions about it. Glad to read this post of yours.
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