"Tiger and I thought it might be time to start a meme to discuss some of the frustrations that are unique to book bloggers. What happens when the hobby you love becomes more of a chore?This meme will appear on the first and third Mondays of the month. Tiger or Karen will give us a question to respond to and a linky for sharing our responses and developing community.
This week's question is: Spoilers in reviews: Do you read them, do you include them? How do you describe (or avoid describing) spoilery parts of a book?
I have to confess that I very seldom read reviews for books I have not read but it is not because I am worried about spoilers. If it is already sitting on my TBR mountain, I don't want to know what others have thought about it. I want to form my own opinion. I'm pretty impressionable and am afraid that their opinion will color my opinion about a book. I will read reviews if I haven't yet made up my mind about whether or not I want to read a book. After I have read a book I do read the reviews to see if the writer and I felt the same way. I like to see other people's impressions of a book and see what they thought was important.
Spoilers don't bother me as a reader. I often re-read books which means that I already know the story so I am apparently reading if for some other reason than plot. Telling me major plot points won't keep me from reading a book that interests me. However, I do know that a lot of people are bothered by spoilers and I try not to include them in my reviews. I try to be really vague if I have to deal with any spoilery bits. Since I usually don't give a complete plot summary in my reviews, avoiding spoilers is less difficult. I tend to talk about the characters and how I felt about them. I will also talk about the writing style and how engaging I thought the book was.
One time early in my blogging, an author did ask me to remove or rewrite something that she felt was too spoilery and I did. I have been more conscious about including spoilers since then.
This is my take on spoilers. What is yours?
I am like you about reviews. I don't like to read one if I am planning to read the book soon. I DO like to go back and read them after I've finished to see if they agree with me. And I like reviews for helping me find new books for my TBR. I try not to use spoilers, and when I do, I try to warn readers about them.
ReplyDeleteI also avoid reviews before I read a book. But afterward it's game on! I love comparing my views against another reviewer, especially if I loved or hated a book. Books that didn't really move me to feel either way, I'll leave alone.
ReplyDeleteI skim reviews for an overall idea before I read a book but not detailed reviews. It doesn't influence my reading but I don't want it to influence my reviews.
ReplyDeleteOnce I'm done reading and reviewing I read them all! lol
I had an author ask me to as well. I forgot to mention that. I try not to give away too much though..
ReplyDeleteThis is my first week doing BBC.. Here's my post:
http://www.bookmarkyourthoughts.com/2012/04/book-blogger-confessions1.html
I pick out the books I read based on reviews. I don't need to know every plot twist, just the general idea and what sort of reader might be interested in the book. I try to avoid spoilers in my reviews, and if I feel one is realy necessary, I'll warn that it's coming.
ReplyDelete