Many of the were great, some of them not so much.
I think I was getting a bit overwhelmed by writing these and then more and more books just kept pilling up that I just stopped. It happens especially when it is honestly probably just a project for myself. At which point, this post may or may not get to anyone else, but that's okay. I've still been reading though some dry spells have happened.
Anyway, going forward I figured I'd be a bit more methodical than I had been before. For the most part, before I was just typing out my thoughts and hoped they'd make sense and flow. But now I'm making an assignment out them.
Each of the posts from now on will be more organized, like I would probably do if I were writing it out on paper or literally doing it for an assignment for a class. My potential lack of BS words would probably get me lower grades in a college class, but, hey, I already graduated from there so their grades mean NOTHING! After all this is mainly for myself in the first place (even though, funily enough, it started out as an assignment in college).
1. I will start out each post with the Title and Author, and potentially the book number of the series it's in.
2. I'll give the Book Summary that I find on Goodreads.
3. Will be my General Thoughts or Impressions about the book.
4. My thoughts on the Plot and Themes of the book. I'm trying to get into the "Self vs _____" ideas again and am interested in the critiques that the author is looking at.
5. My thoughts on the Setting and how easily I was able to get lost in the book. If it was jarring or strange or brilliant. Some authors do a really good job at world building, others not so much and I don't get as lost as I would like.
6. Oh! The Characters! Characters can make or break a book. If I don't like the POV character, I will put the book down. I've done that a few times with books I've listed here. My DNF list isn't long, but most of the time I didn't finish a book because the MC annoyed me or there was too much Spice for my liking.
7. Speaking of Spice. I'll give a 0-5 rating on Spicy Chilis. I do not read spicy books. If there is a 5 on this list it will probably be on the DNF list and get 1 star.
0 - "This is a Children's book or nonfiction of some kind"
1 - The Suggestion of Romance, Serious Flirting /"Guess what? We held hands!"
2 - Light Romance, "All we did was kiss"
3 - It Got A Little Passionate There/ "The curtains fell and the scene went black"
4 - "Poetic Intimacy" / Curtains were open but nothing was seen
5 - Smut/P*rn -- I will stop reading
Most things I read are probably between the 0-3 range. I get iffy when it comes to 4's and will drop the book so fast if it gets beyond there. It would have to be the most amazing book I've ever read before then to make me continue reading. So if you're looking for those recommendations, you might consider a different blog or let me give you a different recommendation. There are plenty of other brilliant books.
8. Writing Styles and how different authors do write differently. Different ages mean different ideas of writing. Modern writing is not like Shakespeare, who didn't writing like Jane Austen, who wasn't Tolkien, who wasn't a 1980's fantasy author. Different audiences, different reasons to critique, and different world all together. All in all they are fun!
9. And lastly, my Overall thoughts. Often short, they will be my excitement for the next book, or final thoughts that didn't necessarily fit in to the other categories I listed above.
How I do this is subject to change, as nearly all things in this world are. Over the next weeks, I'll be publishing more reviews of the books that I read over the last year and a half. It's a lot and I enjoyed almost every minute of it.
It's kind of interesting to see how my reading habits have changed over the course of a year. In the colder months, I am more willing to just sit down and read the "harder" books, the longer books, the books from a different age; while in the summer, manga and graphic novels alongside young adult books tend to be the thing that sparks my interest.
I wonder what your reading cycles look like?
I hope you enjoy your own reading journeys and that I might be able to help someone find a good book to read.
Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year
Caitlyn
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