After reviewing novels and collections of stories for over twelve years, I do have some strong opinions and specific ideas about it.
The duty of a book reviewer is not always to be a merciless or merciful arbiter of a book’s value, but also to help those ones deciding to read the book to find the special qualities contained within. Even in a book I don’t particularly like, there are often good things that could be pointed out to the potential reader. By the same token, I might really, really like a book and still find some shortcomings.
Usually I will have read at least one review of the book I’m currently reading. That’s how I decided to read it in the first place. Since I don’t get paid for this reviewing, I only read books I think I will like. Sometimes when early on I’m having trouble following a book’s plot, I will read more reviews just to help me follow the story.
I give up on books real easily, even sometimes with authors I know and like. If I don’t completely finish reading a work, I won’t review it. Hence I have a somewhat positive view of most of the books I do finish.
I always try to give some idea of the work’s plot, characters, and setting in my review without revealing any plot resolutions or surprises. As I am reading the work, I try to think of and write down single words or phrases that best describe this book and set it apart from other works. I will usually use these words and phrases in my review.
As you probably have noticed, I often like to use quotes from the work, because I have found that this is the best way to showcase the author’s style of writing. I like to use shorter quotes that still capture the spirit of the work.
I always keep my little notebook handy to write down notes about the book I’m currently reading. Quite often I will wake up at around 6 AM with some idea that seems brilliant at the time and occasionally I will incorporate these ideas into my review.
The grade I give a work (I do give nearly every work a grade) reflects my final visceral reaction to the work. It is not a score sheet of the pluses and minuses of the various qualities I point out in the review. Although it doesn’t happen often, I could imagine really liking a work that is poorly written or disliking a work that is well-written.
Finally, I must say that I do like reading and reviewing, because otherwise I would not have stuck with it all these years.
Tony's Book World 
Posted by Lisa Hill on March 5, 2022 at 4:00 AM
Twelves years, that’s a serious contribution to literature!
I enjoyed reading this. It’s pretty much what I do, except that while I grade things at Goodreads, usually 4 if I really liked it and 3 if it was enjoyable, I don’t on my blog.
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Posted by Anokatony on March 5, 2022 at 6:49 AM
Hi Lisa,
I guess I picked up grading fiction from the Complete Review, if you are familiar with that site. That’s been one of my favorite places to go on the internet for a long time.
Lately, before I decide to read a new novel, I check its score on Goodreads. If it’s 4.0 or more, I think the book must be pretty good. If it 3.5 or less, I might decide not to read it after all.
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Posted by Lisa Hill on March 5, 2022 at 8:55 AM
Oh, yes I love The Complete Review, and you may have noticed that I quoted from Michael’s book in my review of Thomas Bernhard’s Correction. That book is my go-to source for literary cultures I don’t know much about.
Re GR, I ignore the 5s and the 1s, and I read the reviews of the 3s and the 4s if they’re by my friends or people I follow there. It works well enough for me. I just don’t do it here on the blog.
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Posted by Anokatony on March 5, 2022 at 8:17 PM
I did not know that M. A. Orthofer had a book. I would be interested in that book.
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Posted by Lisa Hill on March 6, 2022 at 7:48 AM
It’s excellent. I haven’t actually reviewed it per se, but I often refer to it in some detail in other reviews, for example when I read and was disappointed by the VSI about Russian Lit, see https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/11/10/russian-literature-a-very-short-introduction-by-catriona-kelly/
For anyone who reads widely from around the world, it’s an essential reference IMO.
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Posted by Anokatony on March 6, 2022 at 9:43 AM
I just purchased it, ‘The Complete Review Guide to Contemporary Fiction’ by M. A. Orthofer.
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Posted by Lisa Hill on March 6, 2022 at 12:14 PM
Excellent!
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Posted by BookerTalk on March 6, 2022 at 7:48 PM
Im impressed by your systematic way of approaching reviews. Keeping a note of key words or quotes and ideas is a good idea – it would certainly help me because I tend to be slow in writing reviews and then often struggle to remember what I thought bout the book
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Posted by Anokatony on March 6, 2022 at 8:33 PM
Hi Booker Talk,
My notebook is mostly scribbles that hopefully I will be able to read. Frequently for quotes, I will only write down the first few words, the page in the novel and its location (top, near top, top-mid, mid, mid-bot, near bot, bot). Then when I transcribe it to my computer notes, I will usually expand it to the full quote.
From my computer notes, the reviews sometimes nearly write themselves. I usually wait a couple days before writing the final review, and without my notes, I probably would be lost.
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Posted by BookerTalk on March 7, 2022 at 1:29 PM
More systematic than my own practice of sticking post it notes onto passages that caught my eye!
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