For as long as I’ve been writing reviews, I’ve tried to make them as in-depth as possible. I’ve tried to get out all the thoughts I’ve had while reading that I could form together to work cohesively towards one general point.
But now I’m wondering: is that necessary?
Recently, I wrote my first batch of mini-reviews, due to the fact that I had too many book to review and too little time. Today I was planning to write another batch, and I was thinking how much nicer it is to write them. Mini-reviews don’t require any sort of orchestration or deep consideration- I just write what I think. But wait.. isn’t that what a review IS? Or is supposed to be, at least?
So, what it really comes down to is what YOU, as a reader of blogs, think.
Do you want long reviews with a lot of information to form a decision about a book, or are you ok with something short and sweet- just general thoughts? Do you like lists? Paragraphs? Blurbs? Do you want spoilers, or avoid them like the plague? There are so many ways to review, and that’s one of the things I love about blogging. Everyone has their own preference as to what they like to read, but the blog community is so large that I’ve realized EVERY style of possible review is going to appeal to SOMEONE. For example, I’ve been thinking about a “you’ll like this book if..” section. Such as, “You’ll like this book if you like strong female characters, light romances, love triangles, amazing world-building, etc..” I think it’s a great nod to the tl;dr’s, and can help people decide whether or not they’d want to read a book. So in the end, long, in-depth reviews are nice, but maybe they’re just not my thing.
So what do you think? What sort of reviews do you like the best? How do you write YOUR reviews? Leave your thoughts in the comments section and, as always, thanks for visiting!
Danni Mae 
Sometimes I want to read a review but if its really really long I’ll probably just skim it. The “You’ll like this if” is definitely a good idea! If you don’t really have the time to go into extensive detail then I would say do whatever works for you. My review vary on the book but usually will contain spoilers and I go into detail only about the things that I think are important (which can sometimes lead to a mini rant) Either way, there are pros and cons to both so I think you should do whatever you’re most comfortable with
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I love the mini-rants! Even if they’re spoiler based. If I know I won’t be reading a book, or if I don’t care a whole lot about it, I don’t mind spoilers at all, but reviews based on spoilers are fun to read, especially if it’s a low star book. Thanks for visiting!
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I am currently holding a survey on my blog and one of my questions was “what kinds of reviews do you like reading most?” and there were a lot that chose the options “dot point form” and “mini reviews”. I guess they’re more direct and cut to the chase? I dunno, I’ve personally always loved reading in depth reviews, though of course mini reviews are easier to write lol. Very interesting question!
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Thanks for the input! I figured most bloggers would like shorter reviews because I imagine a lot of the time, reading reviews is more about commenting on a blog to get views than it is about actually reading the review, sadly, so it makes sense that people would like them shorter. Honestly, I like all forms of review!
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Less wordy is what I prefer. I loved your recent post with the mini’s. I tend to get a little chatty with some of my reviews, but that usually happens more when I am complaining. I really just need to know that a fellow blogger liked it or didn’t and the basics of why.
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But I love to hear people complain! I love people’s ranty trash reviews more than I like some books
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I’m a big fan of mini reviews because they are very concise and to the point! I also find them way easier to write because I don’t feel like I need to go into deep detail about every aspect of the book.
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That seems to be the general consensus when it comes to blogger preference. Wasn’t expecting that! Thanks for visiting!
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I think it’s all personal preference as a reviewer I have a hard time writing short reviews as usually there is so much that I want to write, but if I write a short review and have nothing more to say I am okay with that as well, it jsut doesn’t happen often. I don’t read as fast and review a book once I finished it, so I don’t often run into the problem of having too many reviews to write. As a blog reader I like both the longer and the shorter reviews. I don’t really mind the lenght. I think as a blogger you should write your reviews the lenght that works best for you. As you mentioned I think there is an audience for every review style. I usually like most different review style that I’ve seen so far, although I do prefer reviews without spoilers unless it’s clearly mentioned.
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Yeah, I almost never put spoilers in my reviews. Actually, I’m going to review Firsts soon and that will be the first review I’ll have posted with significant spoilers. I also don’t usually read books fast enough to have too many for review, but I went on a long blogging hiatus and read a lot of books in that time, so I do now. Too bad I can’t make a habit of it! Thanks for visiting!
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I’m terrible at this because I like reading short reviews, but I WRITE MEGA LONG ONES. XD And I feel a bit bad about it! But apparently once you get me started about a book, I’m so not likely to stop any time soon. hehe. But I do like bullet-point list reviews and mini reviews and I like reviews that get straight to talking about the goods and bads of a book. *nods* I use my star-ratings as the overall “I don’t want to read the review, I just wanna know what rating she gives it” in case people prefer that. OH. And someone once requested the “if you like this you might like that” so I do have that in my review section now!! I also think those kind of things are handy because if you’ve read one of the books I’m recommending “For fans of” then you get a vague idea of what the reviewed book is like too!
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Yeah!! And those “you’ll like it if” sections are good for when you’re new to a blog and don’t know if you’ll like the same books as that blogger. Also a good way to tell if you’re going to like a certain hype book or now. I don’t mind the long reviews on your blog at all, though! Often because of the gifs. I really need to learn how to use gifs.
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We live in a world of instant gratification. Mini reviews will help people read more reviews while catching up on their blogs. Long posts by anyone, are usually skimmed through.
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Yeah, I didn’t want to say it but I know that’s the case. It’s sad, considering the work that goes into some reviews, but I do agree it’s better to keep it short. People want a general gist when they’re not looking for a book discussion. I like to read long reviews mostly on books I’ve already read to see what other people thought of them.
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Oh, it’s not only with book reviews. I hope I didn’t offend you. But I find in all posts across all blogs, you find comments & more profound thoughts on shorter posts. The reality is people don’t have the time to read everything on every blog. With short & sweet you have abetter chance to have your entire message read. I keep my posts under 300 words. But I write poetry and fiction so that is easy for me. I enjoy reading your. I find you review differently than others. Just keep your stuff fresh and you will always have your following.
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You didn’t offend me at all! Actually, it’s refreshing to have someone that speaks the truth about people paying more attention to the short posts because of tl;dr, because in all honesty, I think it’s something everyone does. And haha, I didn’t know my blog was any different than others! I thought I was just another generic reviewer =P But thanks!
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No, you are not a generic reviewer. Your blog offers more than reviews. I like that you give the old fashion stars. I think in one review I read before the holidays you even spoke reviedwed the characters. You have posts about the saddest death or something like that. I found you unique. If you like, I will visit and read some of the other stuff you have that aren’t directly book reviews. I found them to be interesting topics I want to read..
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Feel free to steal some, too! These things are meant to be discussions and I’d love to see what other people think about them
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I will harrass you with comments this weekend. Smiling.
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