If I were any more behind, I'd be ahead. I missed Vloggy Friday, among other things, and I forgot to participate in Sheila's It's Monday, What Are You Reading? meme last week. I'm going to do better this week, because...I just am.
I'm at the end of Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring (four chapters left...and I am stumbling towards the end like a parched man clawing towards a shimmering oasis in the Sahara. How will I ever read the following two books, I ask you?). I am also reading Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes and Writing to Learn by William Zinsser. So far, both of them are big-time winners.
I feel like Zinsser's Writing to Learn has implications for us as book bloggers. Zinsser discusses how writing about a subject uniquely clarifies a person's ability to think about the subject. To write, he claims, IS to think. Writing about reading--culling the meaning from the text, summarizing it, and evaluating it--is at the heart of learning. A friend of mine recently remarked to me that she didn't know why I liked to write book reviews.
"Summarizing makes my brain hurt," she moaned.
Mine, too. Particularly if the themes are philosophical, or nuanced, or sprawling. Memoirs are often more difficult than fiction for me, and summarizing non-narrative non-fiction makes my brain downright ache. It's nice to know that blogging about books is giving me an intellectual work-out as well as allowing me to interact with a community of readers.
Q for you: Does writing a book review ever "make your brain hurt?" What are the most difficult kinds of books to review, in your opinion? Or, for some extra Monday Mr. Linky fun, share a link to a review you really labored over!
23 comments:
I labor over each and every one when I first get started, then they flow pretty easy.
The reviews for books that I didn't like are the hardest.
Good morning, I come with coffee and bagels :)
If the book did not flow for me you bet it can hurt a bit to write the review. Even though I always try to say something positive I think you can tell by reading my reviews which ones I loved. I gush over the great ones, going on and on about details and such.... the ones I do not care for get a paragraph of description, perhaps I comment on the authors writing style...
I have an especially difficult time over books I feel "lukewarm" over. It's hard to find anything particularly good or bad to say about them.. most of the time I'm just bored by them and bored by writing the review lol
I'm dealing with that with the book I finished yesterday.. I'll link back to the review of it once I finally get it spit out.
I often have a hard time writing about books that I've really loved or that have significantly impacted me. I provided a link to a review I wrote for Bibliobuffet over The End of America by Naomi Woolf. It was hellish to write, but I finally hammered out something halfway decent. And it was a controversial book, which added another layer of difficulty.
I keep going back and forth in my head about better ways to do it...like keeping copious notes and writing as I go along. But in the end, I just sit down and start typing.
Some books are more difficult than others...off the top of my head, can't think of one to link. Maybe later...
Oh, after reading Lydia's comment, I thought: yes, that's it! The books I'm not crazy about are the hardest!
I find it way easier to talk about things I didn't like than the things I did. The hardest reviews to write are the "5 star" reviews. I feel like I won't get my point across about how much I loved it. lol
I hate reviewing the books I am not overly fond of - or cannot make myself finish (rare).
I love to write reviews for the books that I like.
The summary comes last. If I started with the summary, the review would never get posted. As it is, there are a few reviews on my blog that I copy and paste the publisher's synopsis *gasp*.
That being said, there are some books that make me speechless...truly and utterly dumbfounded. Usually, it's the books I love that give me the most grief. The Book Thief. The Shadow of the Wind. These are two books that I just can't seem to review without stumbling like an idiot. I revisit my reviews of them often, and cringe that I've actually allowed myself to post such rubbish. I know, you wanted GOOD reviews that we've toiled over. Mine are HORRIBLE...but I won't link to them, I promise.
Happy reading!
Just another manic monday...wow I really like your post's title. ;-)
All the time I find it difficult to write a review -- I finally concluded the fact that I lack the knowledge to write good reviews. But I like to write anyway so I'll tolerate the pain of reviewing books for the sake of my love for writing.
So looking forward to your review of Last Chance Saloon! I loved that book when I read it in college!
Hang in there on the Tolkien. I also struggled to get through them, but in the end I was able to say I had read the whole cycle, which every well read person should be able to say, I think. My issue with the series is the lack of female characters of any depth. I realize that most of the characters are meant to be archetypes, but the whole "brothers in arms" thing didn't really speak to me. Though I did appreciate the slog that Frodo and Sam go through to get to Mordor-talk about completely unglamorizing war and violence...
Hey you! Sorry I"m posting here but tried the email address I had for you and it's not active any more. How are you doing? Hope all is well!
Wanted to see if you've gotten a review copy of my latest book [WINGING IT: A MEMOIR OF CARING FOR A VENGEFUL PARROT WHO'S DETERMINED TO KILL ME, Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books--we're sort of pitching it as David Sedaris meets Marley & Me with a deadly beak] and if you're interested in reviewing. if so let me know and I can get a copy to you!
thanks!
Jenny Gardiner
Just checking in to give you <a href=">my March 2010 read list</a>.
The hardest books for me to review are those I hate... which are few and far between.
I think my approach is fairly middle of the road. I apply the same concepts I've utilized in professional experiences and it allows me to keep a balanced outlook. There are so many nuances that factor into ones opinion. I try to distance myself from the personal side in some regard, to see the product through unbiased eyes. I strive for commentary that's objective, positive, and factual most of all.
I'm not a book blogger per se but I do write a review for every book that I read. I just don't read as much as you book bloggers do. I think if I felt pressure to hurry up and read and review on a schedule my brain would hurt because it would turn into work - an assignment. So I can see how writing a review could make your brain hurt. I like to read and I like to write so for me it is most always a pleasure. Some like to read without all the reviewing. That's OK too. I am surprised that so many commenters here struggle with writing reviews for books they didn't like. Is it because they feel obligated to be polite since it is an ARC? I most respect reviews that are honest and tell it like they felt - good, bad or indifferent.
Hey! Where are ya? Missing your posts!
I have a hard time with books I don't really enjoy too much. I don't want to be too negative, but sometimes I really struggle with not coming off as harsh as it sounds in my head.
Ha ha that would be all of them. I guess I am not creative enough but I keep muddling away at it.
I agree, the ones that I didn't like are hard to review.
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Yes, the really good books and the indescribable ones are the most difficult. The bad books are quite easy to review. :) But I do tend to spend a lot of time writing my reviews regardless of how much I liked the book.
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