Thursday, December 1, 2011

Follow Friday Fun (20) & TGIF @ GReads (16)

Weekly recap - what's been going on at Ramblings of a Daydreamer:

Reviews:
 
Memes:

Other


Follow Friday Fun Week 20: This weekly meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  Check out their blogs for details/rules, and to join!  Also, be sure to check out this week's featured bloggers on each of the girls' sites!


This week's question: What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don't like love triangles or thin plots? Tell us about it!

Hmmm…well, I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to books. There are a few things that annoy me, though…like whiny, woe-is-me characters. Suck it up, get over yourself, and move on! A little bit of angst and self-doubt is to expected in books about teens, but some characters are just too busy having a pity party for one to really develop beyond that. 

I also really hate build-ups that fizzle out. You get really excited waiting for this big fight, or for a character to get their comeuppance, or a couple to get together, and then the story just fizzles and leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. Also, characters who learn absolutely nothing or don’t grow emotionally or learn anything leave a bad taste in my mouth. What was the point of the story?

 
TGIF at GReads Week 16: TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads - be sure to check out her blog and join in the fun!

This week's question: Writing Reviews 101: What's your process for writing book reviews? Any tips or suggestions you would recommend to other bloggers?

 
My reviews are pretty general - they’re more my thoughts on a book than an actual review. For the most part, I don’t go too in-depth, I just basically talk about what I liked and what I didn’t like. One of my main focuses is usually the characters - if I could relate to them, if I loved them, hated them, wanted to slap them, formed a crush, etc, etc. And since I read a lot of romance books, I also like to focus on the romantic aspect in my reviews. 

As a writer, I always pay attention to the writing style, and sometimes comment about that, especially if the author had a unique writing style, or if it was strange and hard to follow. 

If I didn’t like a book, I will never bash it or the author. Even if a book is poorly written, has plot holes, or is just plain bad, writing a book isn’t easy, and authors work hard. When I read a book I don’t enjoy, I always try to say at least a few positive things about it, and not dwell on why I didn’t enjoy it. I absolutely hate writing bad reviews...I like to make people happy, and writing bad reviews makes me feel really icky and guilty lol. 

 
Happy Friday and happy December! I hope you all had a great week! I went away last weekend and still haven't written a blog about it...I haven't even uploaded my pictures to Facebook yet, which, if you know me, is unusual, especially considering I took like 500 pictures in 3 days lol. Anyway, be sure to leave a comment...I'm way behind in visiting people and commenting, but I'm going to catch up this weekend!

15 comments:

  1. "I absolutely hate writing bad reviews" Send the book my way, and I'll take the dirty deed off your hands. The people deserve to be warned.

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  2. I hate whiny characters too.

    New GFC follower!

    Happy Friday!
    Here's my Follow Friday Post. Click, click, click!
    Gratitude Giveaway: Winner's Choice of Book from Book Depository at The Fairytale Nerd.
    Cerebrate: Let me know what you think about Love Triangles in Books.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ugh, the fizzle I so know what you're talking about! I don't like it either, it can ruin a really nice book!

    Follower. Come see my Friday too! Also don't miss my "The Cowboy and The Vampire Weekend!" with 5 Star Review, Guest Blog, Co-author Interview and a Signed Book Giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi! Happy follow Friday. I'm a new follower.

    http://readinginthemountains.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hopping through. My reviews are usually more of my thoughts as well. I also focus on the characters - describing what I liked and didn't like about them.
    My Hop

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  6. Oh the build up to nothing drives me nuts makes me think I just wasted hours of my time for nothing.

    new follower

    -Amanda P
    Paranormal Romance
    Books, Shopping & Rock N' Roll

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't care foe the whiny friend! Thanks for stopping by my FF:) I followed back!

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  8. Woe is me is definitely a popular one! I agree.
    New follower
    Visit my Follow Friday
    http://somelikeitparanormall.blogspot.com/2011/12/follow-my-book-blog-friday-1.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ha! Pity party woe is me characters are definitely annoying! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Happy Follow Friday! ^_^

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  10. I'm a new email follower. You have a beautiful site!

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  11. I don't really have much of a review process. My best reviews are definitely the ones I write immediately after finishing the book. In a perfect world I'd always do that... I find that reading other people's reviews help refresh my memory whenever I delay for too long.

    I'm an old follower. :)

    Holiday Foreplay Giveaway

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  12. New follower here hopping by to say hi!

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  13. new follower :)
    I totally agree with your peeves! I want the build up to last longer, not fizzle out haha

    Have a happy Friday and stop by my follow Friday!
    http://sarahcatchingbooks.blogspot.com/2011/12/follow-friday-8.html

    ReplyDelete
  14. woe-is-me characters are definitely one of my pet peeves!
    New follower :D
    http://thebookbluff.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Pet Peeve....The whiney teenage love angst that goes on and on thru several YA books in a series...isn't anyone ever happy?


    Bodice Rippers Femme Fatales and Fantasy

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Thanks for visiting Ramblings of a Daydreamer! I love hearing what you have to say, and I appreciate every single comment. I hope to see you here again soon! ♥
~Marie

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