Sunday, February 28, 2016

Off-Topic Sunday: Perils of Delayed Book Reviews


Welcome to Off-Topic Sunday, a tag that I'm using to post whatever is floating in my head that I want to chat about. For the most part, they'll be book-related but you may occasionally see some non-book-related posts/rants as well.

Today I want to talk about the perils of delaying writing reviews whenever you finish a book. I've been there. I'm sure we all have. You just finished an amazing book. Your mind is filled with thoughts about it and you can't wait to share your views with the rest of the online book community. But then real life gets in the way. You need to go to sleep (because you stayed up until 3AM reading the book). You need to eat, or go to work, or run an errand, or you want to dive straight into the next book. Or sometimes, maybe like me, you found something better to do at the time and you procrastinate.

Then hours or days go by, and that initial excitement you had regarding writing your review fades. For books you've picked up yourself, you may just never get around to writing that review. However, for ARCs, where you are obliged to review, you may be sitting in front of your laptop and not remember enough about what you read to make it a meaningful review.

I have been there so many times it's not even funny. Recently, I have come up with a new way to tackle this particular problem. While it is not an original or new idea, I am finding it's incredibly effective for me.

It's this: carry a small notebook.

I find myself scribbling in it at odd times throughout the day. Sometimes while I am commuting to work on the train. Sometimes while I am lying in bed, about to go to sleep. But because I have the small notebook with me at all times, I find myself more encouraged to write down thoughts on books whenever I finish them. So that even if I don't get around to writing a book review until a few days later, all my thoughts are still there - ready to go.

What about you guys? Do you have problems with writing delayed book reviews? If so, how do you tackle it?

1 comment:

  1. I do have a problem with delaying book reviews. I sometimes delay them for so long that the reviews I need to write start piling up, and then I get stressed out. The stress forces me to sit down and write them. I spent most of my blogging time last week writing a bunch of book reviews.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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