I’m here with a discussion type post with a special guest. I am here with Heather from The Frozen Book Blog to answer a few questions on how we review books. Reviewing books is something us book bloggers can do but have you ever wondering on how we actually do it? I’ve been seeing a lot of different ways people do it and have then created three little questions I asked myself and Heather before getting this blog post written out. So here are our answers:Â
When reading a review book, do you make notes on certain aspects while you are going through the book?
H: Yes, I do…kind of. I just write down my thoughts on the book as they are happening. You know, basically fangirling. 😛 And then I write my reviews by using my notes and try to figure out what my general feelings on specific categories were, like the writing style, characters, plot etc., based on what I wrote.
A: Yes I do. It’s quite hard to do, especially when a book is just TOO DAMN GOOD to put down. But it’s the perfect way to fangirl about certain scene or characters when you write it down. I just have to remember that no one will see the notes apart from myself, so obviously I just fangirl the hell out of it.Â
Do you use a certain notebook to make notes on a book you want to review?
H:Â Yes! I love my review notebook I’m using this year. It’s so pretty! It has like a vintage-looking Paris theme with gold leaf pages! (insert heart eyes here LOL)
Inside I made a title page that says “2018 Reviews” and a “master list” of books I want to get to this year with the title, author, and a place to put my rating. Then on the rest of the pages I make sections for each book, making sure I have enough space for the page of the book that has a place to write the title, when I started and finished reading it, a space to write down any quotes I like, and about 6-8 pages for my general notes, depending on the length of the book and how many I think I’ll need.Â
I usually stop to write down my thoughts as I’m reading if I have it with me, but if I don’t feel like actually writing it down or if there is a lot going on in the book and I don’t want to stop reading for long, I’ll quickly type up a note in my phone and then transfer it later. 🙂
A: I actually just have one notebook for all of my blogging needs, i.e. notes on future blog posts and obviously review notes. But recently I have thought about having two separate books to just have purely on reviews so I can expand more deeply on books instead of giving myself 2-3 pages for each review I need to do.Â
Do you use sticky tabs to highlight certain sections of the book so you can go through them once you are ready to review the book?Â
H: No, I don’t use sticky tabs. But maybe I should. Then I wouldn’t have to stop to write down my notes while I’m actually reading. I’ve never actually thought of that before. XD
A: I don’t but I think it might make my reviews a bit better I think. Especially when finding amazing quotes from the books themselves. Maybe in the future, I will, but for the time I like my notebook aha.Â
Thank you to Heather, for taking part in this discussion post I thought of. If you would like to see the Q&A that is live on my blog, that I’ve done with Heather, make sure you click here to find it.Â
If you like what you see, don’t forget to hit the like button and follow button to get updates on when a new post appears. I post normally every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I hope you enjoy
Till then readers!
April 11, 2018 @ 3:00 pm
I try to make notes, but sometimes I get engrossed and then forget. Get to the end and then panic. What was the persons name?, where was the book situated?, etc. Definitely easier to write a review with notes.
April 11, 2018 @ 3:01 pm
Love this insight! I always enjoy seeing how other reviewers do their thing!
April 11, 2018 @ 3:06 pm
I don’t make notes either, and if I wait a few days to write my review I feel like I lose some of my initial ideas. I usually “throw up” on the draft, and go back later and edit. 🙂
April 11, 2018 @ 3:07 pm
as in word vomit, not actually throwing up. I typed too fast today… !
April 11, 2018 @ 3:22 pm
Interesting. I have a separate notebook for review notes and I just jot down my thoughts so ranging from thoughts on writing style, characters, the floor to me fangirling it all gets shoved there. Great post!
April 11, 2018 @ 3:55 pm
I love the idea of a review notebook! I may have to try that out.
April 11, 2018 @ 4:04 pm
I have a habit of writing sticky notes as I read and just leaving them where ever I am. I need to get more organized or at least note what book I’m reading. The other day I found a sticky note on the floor of my car that read “you think I have the power here, but I don’t.” Creeped me out, even though it was my handwriting. I still don’t know what book it’s from.
April 11, 2018 @ 4:50 pm
I moved away from sticky tabs (I used them in all of my books for English courses in college) in favor of using a notebook for book notes, but recently I’ve been returning to them because of convenience. It’s much quicker to just place a tab on a page than going into my notebook and writing down a page number or quote. These are great discussion points!
April 11, 2018 @ 8:40 pm
I very occasionally make notes. Usually I read through a Kindle or a Kindle app. I regularly highlight parts and add notes.
April 11, 2018 @ 9:17 pm
I read on a kindle most of the time so I can highlight my favorite quotes although I also make little notes to myself on a tear-off notepad of thoughts to keep in mind or help me in writing my review. When reading a paperback I do make significantly more written notes in addition to the page numbers of the quotes I want to use. I don’t have a review notebook but think that is an excellent idea. I currently toss out my notes when I’m done.
April 11, 2018 @ 11:07 pm
That’s me! XD. Thanks Amy. It was fun collaborating with you again and to answer your questions. 🙂
April 12, 2018 @ 1:14 am
My notes are a mess of everything for my blog! And they’re in a plain spiral notebook; wish they were in a pretty vintage one, haha. Great discussion!
April 12, 2018 @ 1:47 am
Great discussion. I am still trying to find the best way to write reviews. I think I will try to incorporate some ideas next time!
April 12, 2018 @ 3:41 pm
Great idea. And that book sounds divine.
Thursday Blog Trot #8
April 13, 2018 @ 2:09 am
[…] Little Book Nerds in the Corner co-wrote a post with Heather from The Frozen Book Blog about how they write their reviews. While everyone certainly has their own way of doing so, reading about how others writes their […]
April 13, 2018 @ 5:27 am
I enjoyed reading this post! Sometimes I write my thoughts in notebook too and sometimes if I have enough sticky tabs, I put them.
April 13, 2018 @ 6:08 pm
Fun interview! I don’t have a review book – I’m kind of bad at hand writing things because my wrists start to quickly hurt. However, I probably should work out some way to write down notes as I’m going along. I have been trying to keep track of quotes as I go though!
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
April 14, 2018 @ 5:46 am
Great discussion 🙂 I keep meaning to take notes but it just never seems to happen. That might be why I can never share favorite quotes.
April 17, 2018 @ 1:36 pm
I created a book journal binder and used to write notes for each book as I read, then had my rating for each aspect of the book printed on the page as well. I haven’t been doing it lately…and I think i might start again. Sometimes if i dont note things as i read, I’ll forget crucial points I wanted to make kn my review.