Friday Hop Huit

Q: 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!

I'm not overly keen on love triangles because though I think it isn't impossible to love two people and figure out which you like more, I don't imagine them coming in such a short time of one another.

No, but my biggest peeve is the romance found in many books. Not that I dislike romance, but reading about falling in love for me is more important than the problems after love. I dislike that modern romances focus on people having problems in love. It's really, but also depressing. I want to see them fall in love so I know why they love each other. Which brings me on to the peeve: Love at First Sight. Every time I read this, I am convinced, somewhere, a cute animals breathes its last breath. I like the idea of love at first sight, but I don't want to hear about it. Everyone worldwide in a good relationship will tell you they went out with each other because they liked each other and that that grew over time.

It's a personal thing, I think, but I doubt (I actually know, from hopping around) I'm alone. When I fall hopelessly in love, it will be with someone I find engaging to be with and someone I cannot understand for the life of me. Also, people are clever in love. Even if I did fall in love upon meeting someone for the first time, I would get to know them before devoting myself and doing something stupid.

There is no end to the amount of (successful) films out there that reiterate this. People may be good looking, and have a good public personality, but you'll only ever love someone you truly know. And you have to know them before loving them, because love will blind you to there faults. What comes to mind for me is Shark Tale but that's just me.

Writing Reviews 101: What's your process for writing book reviews? 

Any tips or suggestions you would recommend to other bloggers?

Gah.

I'm still new and learning, so there are better posts out there. Seriously, go read them. Everyone on this hop that I read has said something better than I could. Still, I'll tell you what I do. And I beseech you to criticise me and help me learn or believe in my method more.

I write my review after finishing the book: either immediately or a day or two after. For me, it's nice to get an overall view, but specifics are going to tip the scales more in terms of buying. So if I wait, the things I think of should be the main points of interest for the book. I try to cover Characters, Plot, Why I bought and romance, but I just do that because I think they're always main issues. If the writing is good I'll also mention that. And I try (if I can) to focus on exactly how I responded to the book- if I felt any particular emotion while reading. Books are an emotive medium, and it helps to know how they'll make you respond. For example, if I'm depressed, I want a engaging, mostly happy book.

Also, it should be your review. When I first started writing my reviews, I found myself comparing how I wrote to other bloggers. Don't do that, ever. You'll sound much more honest and be much happier if you write how you want. As that saying goes: "It's better to be a first class version of yourself, than a second class version of someone else." It didn't say that word-for-word, but I hope you get the gist of the idea.

Happy hopping (and thanks for coming to the end of the hop since I left this so late!)