Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Ten Years Later: Becky's 5 W's (Or More About Becky)

On April 19, 2007 I asked myself some questions. Today I'm updating my answers because a LOT has changed in ten years.

I keep six honest serving-men:
(They taught me all I knew)
Their names are What and Where and When
And How and Why and Who.

From "The Elephant's Child" by Rudyard Kipling


What is the purpose of "Becky's Book Reviews"?

To promote the love of reading by sharing reviews of all the books I read. The focus is on BOOKS, BOOKS, MORE BOOKS, and also what I think about those books!

What do I look for in a book?
  • Character-driven books with substance
  • Action-driven books with amazing premises
  • Good, solid writing no matter if they're character-driven or action-driven
  • Books that are near-impossible to put down
Where can you find my reviews?

Essentially my reviews appear at my two blogs: Becky's Book Reviews and Operation Actually Read Bible.

Also Goodreads.

And occasionally Amazon when a publisher requires an Amazon review.

Where do I get my books?
  • Review copies sent by publishers
  • Review copies sent by authors
  • Library Books
  • Library Books Through Inter-library Loan
  • Borrowed from Friends or Family
  • Gift from friends or family
  • Bought
When is the site updated?

Becky's Book Reviews usually has a new review every day of the week. This isn't a solid-promise because there have been times I've failed to do so. (Like when I was in the hospital 12 days unexpectedly!)

Operation Actually Read Bible features two to three book reviews a week. All reviews which appear here are linked to in my monthly reflections post. 

How do I choose what to review? 

Mostly whimsy. I read what I feel like reading at any given moment. Library books have a due date attached. New library books especially have a due date attached! Blog tours have a due date attached as well. But mostly, I decide what I want to read next.

I have a theory that entering the library boosts my curiosity. I love, love, love to browse. And so you never know what I'll check out at the library. Since I have to pay $50 for my library card, library books do tend to get preference over review copies. For better or worse. But I feel the library card is worth every penny.

How do I approach writing reviews?

My goal is to both describe the book--give an honest peek into what the book is like, what it's about--and share what I think about the book. By doing both I hope that even if the person reading my blog has completely different tastes in book, they can still know whether any specific book is likely to appeal to them.

How long does it take me to write a review?

It varies. I've written reviews quickly--ten minutes or so. But I've also labored over reviews taking hours to come up with a first draft and then revising further another day! So it depends on the book.

How do I feel about spoilers?

Essentially my view is that if a book is forty-to-fifty years old and likely to have at least one film or tv adaptation from it, it is open to spoilers. Charlie gets the chocolate factory. Scrooge is a changed man after being visited by three spirits. Elizabeth and Darcy live happily ever after. Jane Eyre marries Mr. Rochester. I will not purposefully spoil newer books.

Why do I continue to blog? 
  • Because I can't stop reading.
  • Because I don't want to stop reading.
  • Because I don't know what I think until I try to put it into words.
  • Because If I'm going to go to the trouble of putting it into words, it might as well be public.
  • Because I like being part of the reading community. Especially the reading challenge community. 
  • Because it's satisfying to look back and see what I've read and how I felt about any particular book at the time.
  • Because I'm thankful. Thankful that I have made the friends I have--in part because of the blog. Thankful that I have received the books I have. Thankful that I am able to keep reading, to keep hosting. 
Why two blogs instead of just one? 

That's a VERY good question. Both blogs reflect who I am as a person and reader. Operation Actually Read Bible is where I blog about my faith, the Christian books--fiction, nonfiction--I read, the quotes I'm loving, all of my weekly Bible updates, the occasional movie/music review. It is very much ME. No holding back, just me loving God and loving theology. I don't deny my faith at Becky's Book Reviews. I don't try to hide the fact that I'm a Christian. But the focus is on everything else. Emphasis on everything!

I tell myself that it's for readers I separate things out. That the fan of Becky's Book Reviews would lose patience, lose interest if I included the faith-driven posts here. And that the same would be true at Operation Actually Read Bible. Those looking just for Christian books would be impatient and out of sorts if they had to wade through reviews of everything else--every genre for every audience.

But is that the real reason?! I'm not sure. I think I just like the design and layout of both so much that I couldn't bear to let the other one go.

Why do I include what I include in my bibliographic "citation"?

I use that term loosely because it's one of my own devising.

Title. Author. Illustrator (if applicable). Year of Publication. Publisher (if I have the book handy and especially, especially if it's a review copy). # of pages. Source of book. 

The title and author are obvious givens. You couldn't really review a book without mentioning these two!

Year of publication. This matters to me. Not just because I'm focusing on everything new-new-new. Though that is a part of it. (When it comes time to nominate books for Cybils--if it's a children's or teen book--this is essential.) But because I like to keep track. Is it new? Is it old? Is it likely to be in print? out of print?

Publisher. It's a matter of gratitude on the one hand. If a publisher sends me a book, the least I can do is mention the publisher by name! It's a matter of courtesy on the other hand. Treat others the way you want to be treated. When I come across a book I want to read, I want to know the publisher too!

# of pages. Again this is personal preference. I think this can tell potential readers a lot about a book, what kind of book it is, what age group it's for, how much time and commitment it may require.

Source. This is a must. Not because without disclosing it I'd be prone to dishonesty and bias. But because I think it doesn't hurt to be upfront and straight forward about where I got a book.

Who am I? One person sharing opinions on books because I read a LOT. I am more than a reader. I'm not only a reader. But this post is long enough!!!

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2 comments:

Susan said...

You have to pay $50 for your library card? Crazy! I have cards with both my city and county library systems and they don't cost me a penny. All those library fines, though ... ouch!

Paula Vince said...

Congratulations for 10 years of blogging. I read somewhere that the average blog's life span is about 3 years, so it's great that you've far surpassed that, and so prolific too. I'm hoping to get that far with my book blog too (for reasons you've listed here). So far my former blogs have all fizzled after a few years.
I like your stance on spoilers. I agree, after a certain amount of time, some books are fair game. A friend told me she was chastised by some readers after reviewing a book set on board the Titanic, because she revealed that it sank!!