BookBlogWriMo 2015 - Day 13: #FiestyFriday - How Do You Approach Writing Negative Reviews?

Today's Topic: How Do You Approach Writing Negative Reviews?

Yay another easy question!

As I said yesterday, I really don't like writing negative reviews but I will if they are necessary.  I'm not one to sugar coat the truth although I will admit that I try to see the good in everything (which is why there are so few books that I rate under 3 stars).  I do have a strategy though!

Whenever I read a book, after I finish I put together a list of everything that I want to mention in my review and all the points I want to make.  If there are more bad things than good things, it ends up being a negative review.  However, I try to put at least one good thing about the book in my review.  The author spent so much of their life on this manuscript and the least I can do (in my opinion) is to be courteous and acknowledge that they did try to make it interesting.

Especially if something is an R&R book, I'll be as courteous as possible.  If it is an R&R book, I'll try to have a conversation with the author and let them know in more detail what exactly I think went wrong and what I think they could do to make it better for other people to enjoy.  It may be a simple fact of missing information where the author thinks something in their head but they don't put it on paper and then the reader doesn't pick up on it.

I also make sure to always note in negative reviews that it is entirely my opinion and that someone else might enjoy it.  I say that in positive reviews but I try to make it even more clear in negative reviews.  The aim of this blog isn't to criticize everything with no feedback - it's to help both authors and readers and to provide honest and productive feedback.

How do you approach negative reviews?

BookBlogWriMo 2015 - Day 12: #ThrowbackThursday: Favorite Book Review(s) That You've Written

Today's Topic is: Favorite Book Review(s) That You've Written.


Ho Hum.... this is really difficult because I've written a LOT of book reviews!  I'll link to three that I especially like!  I actually don't really like the negative reviews I write... Not entirely sure why that is but I just hate rereading them and writing them.  I write them and get it over with!  So anyway, here they are!

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This book was just so amazing and I really liked how I tried to be really thorough while also not giving too much away.

 Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

This was just a fabulous book to end a series with and I really liked how I tried to structure the review so that I didn't forget anything.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I really liked how I structured this review into a list - it helped me to not forget anything and emphasize the things I wanted to emphasize!

So that's that!  This is just a really hard topic for me because I honestly don't like picking favorites!  I like all of my reviews (except for maybe the oldest ones...) and it feels too much like bragging for my tastes.  So anyway!  Do you have any favorite book reviews?

BookBlogWriMo 2015 - Day 11: The Mind of a Book Blogger

Today's Topic is: The Mind of a Book Blogger.


My mind is kind of strange and can jump really quickly from trivial things to really deep questions about the universe.  Here's short overview of what I think about!


7 AM: .................  Do I have to get up right now?  I can sleep for at least 5 more minutes............

7:05 AM: ............. huuuungry.  Breakfast is definitely a good idea right now.


Haha yeah so basically all morning until about 9 AM I'm really out of it but still try to be present so I can socialize and all.  I usually think about what I have to get done before school that day or what I need to do during school.  And also making sure I have all the right notebooks with me for the day.

After lunch rolls around, I start thinking about what I have to do at home that night and if I have anything going on.  Normally I only have stuff after school on Monday's, Tuesday's, and sometimes Friday's although once in a blue moon there is something every day.

The last period of every other day of school is an ASR period which is basically a study hall where you can go to whatever room of the school you want to get whatever done.  Normally, I go to a computer lab or something and I start thinking about what posts I should start or if I should go through emails or spend my time doing homework.  I feel so much more productive at school so I try to get all my homework done before I leave school whenever possible.

At night is usually when all my weird thinking happens.  I'll read an article or a blog post and start thinking about space, or the space-time continuum, or the benefits and risks of genetic engineering, or whether or not color exists at all, or if we exist at all, or if other dimensions exist, or if the string theory is true.  Weird, deep stuff.  I actually really like thinking about deep questions rather strange questions like if penguins have knees or not.  I'm more of a big picture kind of person and whenever that topic is brought up it just annoys me for some reason.  A lot of people say I don't seem like a deep person but I guess there just aren't many people in the world that can discuss deep things like that that I've met.  Or maybe it's just people in my age grouping.  Anyway!


I feel like I got sort of off topic there...  I guess my point is, I don't spend a lot of time (or really any time) brainstorming for my blog or for my writing or for anything.  I'm more of a 'sit down and do it' sort of person.  The best ideas for me come when I sit down to do something and they just come to me.  Or perhaps I'm just not consciously thinking about it... it's all just stewing in my subconscious...  We'll never know!


What do you think about?  Do you do a lot of brainstorming for different projects?

BookBlogWriMo 2015: Day 10: #TenOnTheTenth (even when it isn't the 10th...) - Top Ten Favorite Books

Today's Topic is: Top Ten Favorite Books.


This is probably slightly inaccurate because this is like asking me to pick a favorite child!  These are all pulled from my favorites list on Goodreads (see it HERE) which only consists of the books I've posted a rating for so far.  So it doesn't include any of the books I've read recently that I haven't written a review for yet!  But here goes nothing (in no particular order of course!).

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin

Finding What Is by Tabitha Vohn

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

What are you favorite books?  Do we share any?

R&R Review Monday: Our Souls To Keep by Gary Caruso

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Our Souls to Keep #1

Goodreads Blurb:

"After seventeen-year-old Wake Reynolds agrees to trade his life to prevent the damaged soul of his suicidal mother from the fiery tortures of Hell, Satan strips him of his humanity and forces him to become a demonic collector of souls. With no memory of his human existence, Wake preys on defenseless teenagers until they willingly end their own lives.

After many years of loyal service, something inside Wake is changing. Images of a forgotten life, lost human emotions begin to emerge. As Wake struggles to keep these new sensations hidden, Satan orders him to corrupt the soul of a pregnant girl, Annemarie. Beautiful, gentle Annemarie. From the moment Wake sees her, she brings lightness to his blackened heart. If he chooses to defy Satan and spare the lives of Annemarie and her unborn child, his mother’s soul will writhe in Hell’s deepest pit for eternity. Annemarie or his mother? It’s a choice no one should have to make. "

BookBlogWriMo 2015: Day 9: #MotivationMonday - How Do You Make Sure You Post To Your Blog?

Today's Topic: How do you make sure you post to your blog?


This is actually an easy prompt to answer!  I post to my blog because I feel like, by starting this blog, that I owe it to the authors that I've accepted R&R's from as well as you guys - the people who read what I write - to post something.  It's not that you make me feel obligated to post, it's just that I want to post good things for you guys if that doesn't sound too weird...

I've made a commitment to you all and the authors and I really don't like letting people down.  My personality is one where I want the best for people, no matter the personal sacrifice I have to make.  That and I just really enjoy talking to you all!  Blogging allows me to simply say what I can't say to the people I know in real life because no one I know really reads like I do.

If I really don't feel like posting, I tell myself that I have to.  It's as simple as that.  And unless I have a really good reason, I'm not taking a hiatus.  It's just unacceptable to me.  And anyway, if I want to try to write for a living, I'm going to have to get good at writing through all of the doubts, you know?

Sorry I really don't have any good advice for you guys... I'm just a super disciplined person...  For better or for worse!

Do you talk to people in your non-virtual life about your blog or your reading?  What do you do when you're feeling unmotivated?

BookBlogWriMo 2015: Day 8: #SuperSunday - What Makes A Book Blog Work?

Today's Topic is: What Makes A Book Blog Work?


The best I can do for this prompt is to simply tell you how I keep this blog running!

Blue Eye Books has only been a thing for about a year and a half and it's really a small miracle that it's still here!  I'm such a procrastinator that some authors are probably kind of upset with me for taking so long to read their books.  All I can say in my defense is that I have a LOT of stuff going on in my real life right now and in the past year so it's been difficult to put together quality reviews for authors that deserve them.

So how is Blue Eye Books still alive?  I like to think it's persistence but honestly, it's probably mostly me being stubborn and wanting to help all of those authors out there that want to have their books known to the world.

Here's a list of everything I do on a weekly basis that keeps this blog up and running!

1.  Review writing.  This is the staple of any book blog and it's the backbone of mine.  You may have noticed that I'm getting away from the memes a bit and back to my roots as a book blogger.  I really love writing reviews and I read a LOT of books so I'm in no shortage of material!  It's the time element that gets difficult.  A lot of times, I'll read a book twice - the first time for overall feelings and enjoyment and the second time for key moments and actually remembering the entire book as well as writing notes.  That whole process takes about 4 hours total.  Then comes writing the review.  I can actually put together an entire review post in about 30 minutes.

2.  Email.  My email inbox is crazy.  I get about 100 emails on any given day with 60 that are in there as reminders to myself.  Yeah... I'm really not that organized when it comes to task lists.  People keep telling me I need to create a task list and just go down the list but that just doesn't fit with me.  If I send an email to myself, I'll actually see it every time I open my email and I'm constantly reminded.  I subscribe to almost every blog I follow through email so I'm sure to visit them.  I love reading other people's posts and commenting so that usually takes an hour and a half every day.

3.  Updating the review list and currently reading.  I usually do this once a week (normally on Sunday's).  I'll update the review list by adding reviews that were published that week as well as updating my currently reading with whatever book I'm reading at the moment.  I can't update it every time I start a new book because I would be changing it every two days and as I said before, I usually go back and reread books anyway.

4.  Designing new graphics and learning to code.  I've been wanting to change my blog design for a while but I don't know enough about code yet so I've been taking an online course through Khan Academy to learn coding along with my school work.  However, I can design new graphics for new features on the blog through Canva so I usually do that a couple times a month.  It normally takes me about 30 minutes to design a new graphic if I already have a picture in my head of how I want it.

5.  R&R's and author coordination.  This includes responding to R&R requests, blog tours, and other things involving speaking to authors and publishing companies.  I've actually cut off R&R requests for the moment until I finish my list and I've only been signing up for the bare minimum of blog tours because of my major time issues.  So for now, this is really only like 30 minutes a month.


The life of a book blogger does take some serious work but honestly, if you really love doing it all, it doesn't feel like work.  The fact that I have to do college essays, scholarship essays, school, NaNoWriMo, BookBlogWriMo, and research projects really takes up my time and is the only reason I've been really behind this year.  Senior year is more crazy than I anticipated!

How much do you put into your blog?  Is it worth it to you?  What are the biggest things you do as a blogger?