I have had an unspoken goal this year of reading books that would normally be outside of my preferences. The hope is that this could do one of several things: 1) Open me up to a new favorite author or genre, 2) expose me to new people groups that I might not otherwise see (especially in historical fiction or non-fiction), or 3) help me avoid book ruts where I feel like I always read the same thing over and over again.
Of course this comes with some risks: 1) I know what I like and I like what I know, so these new books have to earn their way in, 2) I will be uncomfortable at points in the reading of these books, or 3) how do I write a review for a book that wasn’t for me after all, but that I could still see why others might like it.
Now after reading several books that have stretched me, and after giving some thought to how I should write reviews, I have settled on this.
- If I loved the book, I will treat the review like any other book I have loved and will review accordingly.
- If I didn’t finish a book, or struggled to get through it, I will likely pass on a review. (Side note, I have no interest in bashing books or authors, especially when I know I was never the intended target audience.)
- If I “liked” the book, or at least can see why other people might, I will write a shorter review, prioritizing what I did like and making clear that it was not a book “for me”.
And, in a more general statement, I have been going through a stretch where I am managing some internal struggles, particularly in the realm of mental health. With that in mind, focusing on the positives of what I read, and projecting that out as gratitude toward the authors, I believe will be a healthy experience for me. Likewise, I must be kind to myself and not expect my reviews to look like those out there who do amazing written or video reviews. Any reviews, especially positive ones, are better than no reviews.
Hopefully, this all translates to a flurry of upcoming reviews over the days and weeks to come as I catch up on my backlog of pending reviews. I truly have enjoyed several reads this year, and I would love to see others reading those stories as well.