Everyone’s heard about writer’s block and the many ways that writers fight it and try to get past it.  It’s something that every single writer experiences at one time or another and each time it’s a matter of either pushing past it or waiting it out.  Sometimes the words just don’t want to come and forcing them makes it even more difficult.

Lately I’ve started to wonder…is there a similar experience for reviewers?  Let’s call it “reviewer’s block” for lack of a better term.  Reviewing is most definitely a form of writing so it makes sense that at times it would be…well difficult.  I’ve experienced this myself quite a few times and am curious to see if others agree with me.  I’ve noticed that my reading patterns definitely have a cyclical nature to them, but so does my ability/motivation to review.  There have been times where writing a review comes easilyand I could whip out several in the span of just a few days.  Hell I’ve had a couple months in the past where I wrote a review every single day!  Then there are the other times when it seems close to impossible to form thoughts about a book to put together a review.  Where each word is like pulling teeth.

I’ve read several books recently that I haven’t reviewed and I’ve been pondering why.  It’s possibly because the books just didn’t elicit very much of a reaction from me.  They weren’t bad by any means, but they were okay reads, something to pass the ungodly number of hours I spend on the train commuting.  A few years ago it would have been nothing to read the book, decide I’m never going to read it again, pass it on and never give it a second thought.  But since I entered the world of reviewing, I’ve gotten to the point where I feel actual guilt for each book I read that I don’t review!  But then I think of how there just aren’t enough hours in the day and wonder why I feel like I must torture myself to write a review when I feel like there really isn’t much to say beyond, “It was an okay read but nothing spectacular.”

At the same time, I’ve definitely learned something about myself that I had a suspicion about but now I know it’s fact.  I don’t really enjoy having a long list of books I must review.  The more books I have to review, the slower I seem to go!!  It might be because it seems like an unsurmountable task to get through, even though I can logically admit that slowly but surely I’d make it through.  My brain instead gets sidetracked on other books or other projects and the poor books I’m meant to review don’t get finished.  And the books I do read don’t get reviewed either!  Rock, meet hard place, y’all have a lot in common.

As the weather improves and we enter the awesomeness of summer, at least in my hemisphere, I don’t think my pace with reviewing will necessarily increase, but right now I’m hoping to get over the top of the hill and go back to a steady pace of reviewing.  I will defeat my reviewer’s block!  Right?

Are there others out there that have had the same kind of experiences?  Do you find that you go through phases where you just can’t put together a review to save your life?  What did you do to get back into the reviewing groove?  Do you think it’s possible to simply burn out on reviewing? 

No I’m not talking about elections, especially since politics is at the very top of my list of topics that I like to stay away from. Instead what I’d like to discuss for a bit are the sites out there that provide a water cooler of sorts for readers to gather and discuss books, and how the ratings seem to be a bit skewed at times.

I have a very OCD brain, so when I discovered LibraryThing a few years ago it made me insanely happy. Perfect, I thought to myself, a place online where I can create a catalog of my books so I can cross reference what I have and group and sort and just revel in the list of my thousands of ebooks. And I’m not joking when I say thousands, but then I’ve talked about that here before. LibraryThing has a very spreadsheet-like layout which works really well for me and I simply adore it. At the time I didn’t know about Goodreads but I’ve also started to use that as well. There’s yet another site called Shelfari that I don’t use but it’s the same concept and I’m sure there are others out there. All of the sites are used by readers to create a catalog of books they own, read, want, need, love, etc.

In addition to creating lists upon lists, readers are able to provide ratings of books and their own reviews. In general, all of the sites have become a great resource for readers, a place to gather and discuss books in all their glory. Goodreads in particular has really taken off in this area, and there are groups and a plethora of interesting conversations going on through the site among readers from all over the world.

The ratings in particular are quite useful, from my perspective. Not many readers want to sit down and write a review, but a lot more are willing to put a star rating on a book with just a simple click. And some even jot down a few quick thoughts to let other readers know what they thought of a book. Just like with review sites, the ratings are always subjective and each reader is very different. Similar to on Amazon, all ratings are combined together to create an average score for a book that any reader will see at the top of the information about a book.

Along with readers, there are also a lot of authors that are active on sites like Goodreads. This makes sense of course since authors are very often avid readers themselves. By adding their own books to the site catalogs, authors gain a promotional tool and provide readers with information about their stories. However lately I’ve noticed an interesting trend. Many times I see an author add their own work to the site, and also provide a rating. Now, authors put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into their writing and most of the time feel that their published work is deserving of a high rating, and rightfully so. But when it comes to a site where readers are rating a book that they’ve read, is it fair for authors to be providing a rating of their own work? Of course an author is going to give their own book 5 stars, but what does that then do to the rating overall? Do readers realize when they are looking at an average score, that it could be based on a few reviews from readers as well as a rating from the book’s own author?

I’ve heard that some authors feel it just doesn’t look right not to have a rating for a book in their catalog, so they rate their own book as well using the 5 star rating. I don’t recall ever seeing a site provide the option to say, “I can’t rate this because I’m the author” or “I’m the author so I’m going to rate this but don’t include it in the average rating.” From an author’s perspective, they really aren’t given an alternate option on these sites. Of course, since the sites really are designed more for readers that seems fair. I find it interesting when I see a book with a 4.5 overall rating but then when looking into more of the detail find that most of the ratings are 3 stars or lower but with the 5 star rating from the author the average stays up high. I’ve learned to always take the average rating with a grain of salt and pay more attention to the details, but not everyone takes that time.

Do you think it’s fair for authors to provide 5 star ratings of their own books? Do you look at the overall rating of a book on these sites? Would your desire to purchase/read a book be affected by the overall rating? Should these sites provide an alternative for authors?

*And for those that might be curious, the picture above is indeed an iPhone but it’s not *my* iPhone and yes, it really does ask you to rate an app when you are deleting it from your phone. Crazy, I know.

I admit it…I’m an addict.

Now, don’t be thinking bad things about me just yet. I admit I’m an addict, but at least it’s an addiction that isn’t necessarily harmful to my health. What am I addicted to? Books. Yes my friends, my addiction is to books.

This addiction started at a young age, and I happily put some of the blame on my parents who encouraged my addiction. I was bought lots of print books and read like mad, easily finishing a book a night. Of course, at that age, the books had big print and not that many pages, but it still meant that a lot of paperbacks went in and out of my bedroom. As I got older, I started buying different kinds of books, but the frequency didn’t slow down. In fact, I’m ashamed to say, it increased and and quickly surpassed my ability to actually read the books I purchased. Did that slow down my purchasing? Heck, no. I have many books in my house that I bought with the best of intentions…and that I still haven’t gotten around to reading. Yet I keep them, hoping that someday I will find the spare time.

Of course with print books, there’s a limitation forced on an addict that’s not necessarily easy to change. Physical space. When the books start to pile up on the floor as the bookshelves fill up, at a certain point it’s just not physically possible to bring in more books without getting rid of some. I mean, who wants to share their bed with piles of books that no longer fit on the bookshelves or on the floor? Not I…

Then a few years ago something happened to greatly intensify my addiction. I discovered ebooks. What a brilliant concept!! I can buy books to my heart’s content and not have to worry about bookshelves that are going to crack under the combined weight of too many books. Perfect! Or is it?

My addiction now has a direct feed of instant gratification, and thanks to the click of just a few buttons I can download numerous ebooks to my computer. I don’t have to worry about bookshelf space (though hard drive space might become an issue at some point) and I don’t even have to leave the house to do my shopping!

What is the end result of this? I now have a TBR list that has exploded past the point of being at all logical. I have more ebooks than I could possibly read in a lifetime, and am constantly adding books to the pile. It’s too easy to buy ebooks and then never get around to reading them! I see interesting blurbs, I get intrigued by a sexy cover, I read a review that peaks my interest and I go buy. I never give a thought to the hundreds and hundreds (and I’m not exaggerating here) of ebooks languishing on my TBR list.

I can admit my addiction, but I haven’t yet found a way to curb it. Despite knowing that I have more than enough to read, I keep finding new ebooks that I just have to purchase, that I just have to read. It’s getting to the point where I forget what I actually own, because I have so many ebooks!

Am I the only one afflicted with this addiction? Do other readers find it hard to resist the lure of new ebooks? Has anyone successfully beaten their TBR list into submission and gotten their addiction under control? Do you have any words of wisdom to a fellow addict?