Blog is such a fun word to say. Bloooooog. Blog blog blog blog. It always makes me think of Bob Loblaw's Law Blog on Arrested Development (best TV show ever).
I couldn't find a clip of him talking about his law blog, but you get the idea.
For blogging on blogging day, I'd love to pose the question - what do you look for in a blog? My friend Allison touched on being personal and getting to know the blogger through their posts. But where do you draw the line? I do get somewhat personal on Twitter, but I almost feel as if I can't here. I want to keep things professional because I want publishers to take me seriously. I want them to respect me. I feel that if I start writing about my personal life or my career as a voice actor that I might diminish their view of me as a professional book blogger. I try to let my personality shine through in my reviews. I think it is what makes me stand out as a reviewer and I know it's what I look for when reading reviews - personality. I like to read reviews that have a life of their own and aren't just straightforward critiques.
How do you guys feel about this? What do you look for in a review?
My blog only started having book reviews the last six months, before that it was just my personal blog. I sometimes wonder if I should "spin out" the reviews to another place, but that is just one thing to do! I believe that there are definitely arguments in either direction, but you have to do what feels right for you.
ReplyDeleteDo you want to have a more personal touch, or are you happy with it like it is? That is what is most important.
In my opinion it's a good idea to seperate "business" and personal entries, mainly for the reasons you mentioned yourself. One who is interested in your reviews might not be interested in your personal life as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for the reviews, they're mostly subjective anyway. I read reviews to see what other people _think_ - I don't expect anyone to tell me whether a book is good or not. Let me decide that. The reviewer should introduce the book, write down what he/she liked, disliked, etc.
Because it is such a subjective matter no matter how hard you try, I think it's perfectly reasonable for you to openly show that it's YOUR opinion by shining your personality through, with your choice of words.