Category: Discussions

Random Bookish Thoughts: Book Ratings

Posted November 13, 2014 / Discussions, Other Memes, Weekly Memes / 29 Comments

BOOK RATINGS. I saw a Twitter conversation a month or so ago about the ratings that bloggers and readers give to books. These ratings could be on Goodreads or on blogs. This person thought that if someone’s Goodreads ratings average was too high, they weren’t critical enough – and therefore their opinion was not valued in the community. They should not bother with book blogging or reviewing, because they were not actual critics of books. I didn’t even know how to formulate a logical tweet in response, so I let it be. And by let it be, I mean let it stew for months until I was able to come up with this post. But Taylor pretty much sums up my reaction: I think that’s bullshit. I should go without saying that all opinions can be valued as long as they are not particularly offensive, racist, sexist, etc. Who gets to determine if someone’s opinion is valuable or not?? Not some random guy on Twitter, that’s for sure. Let me back up a little bit and talk about ratings in general and my thoughts on them. How I rate books on my blog I use my little heart system here on the left to rate books. I DO use half-hearts (quite a bit, actually), as the bottom of the graphic shows. I don’t think it’s possible, for me at least, to give EVERY book I read a dead-set rating between 1 and 5 without any halves. The 5 heart rating is given to books that […]

Random Bookish Thoughts: Growing Pains

Posted October 21, 2014 / Discussions, Other Memes, Weekly Memes / 14 Comments

GROWING PAINS. If you’ve been following my blog since the beginning, you’ve probably noticed a lot of changes. I’m trying to figure out what works best for me, my personality, my reviews, my followers, etc. I’ve changed around the format for a lot of posts/memes/reviews because my blog is still having growing pains. I only started this blog in July and so far the results have been pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. In four months, I’ve gotten 3,600+ paigeviews, 700+ comments, and 180+ followers between WordPress and Bloglovin (not to mention the ones on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, etc!). I’ve been trying hard to make my blog the best it can be for you guys, for myself, and, if I’m being honest, for publishers! I’m hoping to get more ARC approvals and book mail in the near future. I would be interested in hearing some of your thoughts on my formatting, and I’ll go into some of the changes/formats I’ve tried to initiate recently. Types of Reviews This has been the major area of frustration for me. I started this blog with just writing one long paragraph review, but started noticing other bloggers were splitting them into sections; I gravitated towards that because it made them a lot easier to read. I could even skim it if I really wanted to. So now, I’m trying to figure out the types of reviews I want to use, how to keep all of the fonts consistent, and make sure the posts are […]

How Do You Buy Books?

Posted October 9, 2014 / Discussions, Features / 20 Comments

I guess the emphasis should be how do YOU buy books? I can assure you I know how to buy books and I’m not asking for your help. I’m curious, how do you go about buying books? How do you decide what books to buy and the format they’ll be in? As you know, I read and listen to books in a variety of formats. I think most readers, in general, read books in multiple formats too. Everyone knows that for the most part Kindle books tend to be cheaper than physical copies, and audiobooks tend to be the most expensive of all without a subscription to a service. There are a lot of things to consider when buying a new book and choosing the format you’ll “read” it in. I know I can be cheap and just buy the Kindle version, but maybe I’m missing out on gorgeous fonts and covers and the feel of a real book that needs to be seen in person. I could go with the audiobook but maybe I’ll regret using my credit on it and the story isn’t a good fit for listening. I like to switch it up as much as possible so I can have variety in what kinds of books I read/hear and when. I like to alternate between Kindle and real books, while always having an audiobook for the times of day when I normally can’t read. How do I decide what book to read in which format?? Why is […]

Random Bookish Thoughts: Blogging Schedule

Posted September 25, 2014 / Discussions, Other Memes / 15 Comments

Today’s Topic: Blogging Schedules! Random Bookish Thoughts, a “meme” that (ironically, based on today’s topic) has no real scheduled posting day. Any time I think of a random bookish topic, I’ll share my thoughts on it. You’re encouraged to join me in the comments if you have any thoughts, too! Do you have a blogging schedule, or do you post whatever, whenever? What’s your schedule look like if you have one? How often to you post reviews vs. memes/other topics? I started this blog without any intention of creating a schedule for myself. I joined in on a weekly meme for each day of the week (aside from weekends) because I wasn’t sure what to post. You’ve heard my thoughts on weekly memes before. I like them – I think they can help inspire you to post when you normally may not cover that topic or even write on your blog for the day. Everyone’s responses are different and interesting; it brings people together. Aside from those memes, I posted reviews whenever I happened to write them; I posted other recommendation lists whenever I was inspired to. Now that I’m entering the third month with my blog, I have definitely created a blogging schedule that I (mostly) follow. I like to post every day on here, even if it’s just the daily meme or a recommendation list.

Random Bookish Thoughts #1

Posted August 3, 2014 / Discussions, Other Memes / 0 Comments

Week of 7/28/14 As I blog more and more, I’m constantly thinking of little things throughout the week that I wish I could tie in somewhere into my blog. I don’t want to go crazy with too many posts, especially if it’s just one little thought that popped into my head. I’ve decided to start up a little weekly feature of my own… It’ll just be a way to put down my thoughts throughout the week and then post it every Sunday. I can’t believe I got my first advanced copy approved through NetGalley! Yes, I already posted about this but seriously I’m so happy – it’s worth mentioning again. I’ve been noticing Before I Fall on a lot of blogs lately, being recognized by both bloggers and famous authors. This book is so great; I’m really glad it’s been getting praise! If you haven’t read it yet, DO IT. (Book is by Lauren Oliver) Jesus Christ why didn’t I read Gone Girl sooner?? What a book. I’m listening to an audiobook after I told myself I wouldn’t… and I’m having the same experiences I’m having before. Maybe this deserves a post of it’s own, but I just can’t get into audiobooks. I absolutely LOVE the idea of them – “reading” wherever you go (especially while driving and getting ready in the morning), but the narrator’s voice totally affects my thoughts on the characters. I don’t know why; I just can’t separate it. I’m going to keep trying though because I […]