New Year, New Decade, New Blog (with spoilers)
TLDR; Before going any further on this blog... If it's a book you already read, read the post about it. If it is a book you never plan to read, read the post about it. If it is on your to-read list, don't read the post, just ask me what I thought about the book and I will give you a non-spoiler review :)
I am always reading (I mean, ALWAYS). I track the books I read on Goodreads religiously. When I complete a book, I mark it as "read" and I give it a rating (1 to 5 stars) but I would say only maybe 30% of the time I actually write any sort of review. When I do write a review, it's not one of those lengthy reviews rehashing the story but it is instead just a few sentences about the impression the book made on me. That sort of review is helpful to me when I pull up a book on Goodreads to see how I liked the book, but honestly it doesn't do much more than that.
Because I read so much, people often ask me for book recommendations or ask my opinion on a book. Here is where the problems start. I read so many books and I read them so quickly that a lot of the time I find the details of the plots slipping through my fingers. I am currently a member of four (yes, FOUR) book clubs. So that is four "required reading" books a month. Sometimes I read the chosen book a month or two ahead, especially when I am relying on the library to get me the book. So then, by the time book club comes around I can barely remember the character names, much less the plot of the book. I know, it's shameful.
This year I thought I would start off with a little something new. I have tried to do a reading journal in the past, where I actually have a notebook with handwritten notes in it about the books I have read. Let's just say I failed at that. When I am discussing a book, my brain goes at about 150 MPH and my hand does not write nearly that quickly. So I ended up with these pitiful half-complete summaries that I just gave up on. But let me tell you... I can type FAST.
Then I had this brilliant idea - make a digital book journal! (I know what you are thinking... with these sort of amazing invention ideas, you are probably surprised I am not a millionaire already.) Why not write these summaries/reviews on Goodreads, you ask? Brilliant question... and here is the twist with this blog. This blog will have spoilers (it's in the title). The idea is that when I finish reading a book, I can come do a (for lack of any better term) "brain dump" on the book. The reason for this is so that when I post my monthly reading wrap up on social media and someone asks, "Hey how did you like that book - you know the one that you just finished 3 days ago?" I won't stare at them blankly or run to Goodreads to read the summary of the book and try to remind myself of what the book was about. (Yes, it IS that bad.) Instead, I can run (not physically, but just pick up my phone) to my blog and read my summary (WITH SPOILERS) so that I can give some honest feedback about the book. (Don't worry, I don't tell the spoilers to other people asking me about the book!) By being able to skim through my thoughts from fresh after reading, it will help me recall the emotions the book brought out in me, whether I liked the story line, who the hell the characters were... you know... basic stuff.
The reality is that I have this feeling that once I start actually writing these things down, I will likely recall them anyway and won't find myself referring to this blog as often. But - it will be here for you when you want to "discuss" a book. Did you just read a book you saw that I just read? Then come here and read my summary then comment on a post (or be super original and give me a call!) and say "hey, let's discuss this... I hated that guy too!"
Oh, and for my friends who won't read a book until they know whether the ending is happy or not (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!) you are welcome to come here and read the spoiler summaries... but do me a favor and just don't tell me about it!
I am starting this off with the books I read in 2020, but I may go backwards and do a few summaries from the end of the year - especially for the books that I have already read that are for book clubs still to come (because now you all know that I will have no memory of them and will do very little to add to a valuable discussion).
I hope you enjoy what you read, but please don't yell at me because I ruined a book for you. I mean, the word SPOILERS is in the title of this blog. Seriously.
I am always reading (I mean, ALWAYS). I track the books I read on Goodreads religiously. When I complete a book, I mark it as "read" and I give it a rating (1 to 5 stars) but I would say only maybe 30% of the time I actually write any sort of review. When I do write a review, it's not one of those lengthy reviews rehashing the story but it is instead just a few sentences about the impression the book made on me. That sort of review is helpful to me when I pull up a book on Goodreads to see how I liked the book, but honestly it doesn't do much more than that.
Because I read so much, people often ask me for book recommendations or ask my opinion on a book. Here is where the problems start. I read so many books and I read them so quickly that a lot of the time I find the details of the plots slipping through my fingers. I am currently a member of four (yes, FOUR) book clubs. So that is four "required reading" books a month. Sometimes I read the chosen book a month or two ahead, especially when I am relying on the library to get me the book. So then, by the time book club comes around I can barely remember the character names, much less the plot of the book. I know, it's shameful.
This year I thought I would start off with a little something new. I have tried to do a reading journal in the past, where I actually have a notebook with handwritten notes in it about the books I have read. Let's just say I failed at that. When I am discussing a book, my brain goes at about 150 MPH and my hand does not write nearly that quickly. So I ended up with these pitiful half-complete summaries that I just gave up on. But let me tell you... I can type FAST.
Then I had this brilliant idea - make a digital book journal! (I know what you are thinking... with these sort of amazing invention ideas, you are probably surprised I am not a millionaire already.) Why not write these summaries/reviews on Goodreads, you ask? Brilliant question... and here is the twist with this blog. This blog will have spoilers (it's in the title). The idea is that when I finish reading a book, I can come do a (for lack of any better term) "brain dump" on the book. The reason for this is so that when I post my monthly reading wrap up on social media and someone asks, "Hey how did you like that book - you know the one that you just finished 3 days ago?" I won't stare at them blankly or run to Goodreads to read the summary of the book and try to remind myself of what the book was about. (Yes, it IS that bad.) Instead, I can run (not physically, but just pick up my phone) to my blog and read my summary (WITH SPOILERS) so that I can give some honest feedback about the book. (Don't worry, I don't tell the spoilers to other people asking me about the book!) By being able to skim through my thoughts from fresh after reading, it will help me recall the emotions the book brought out in me, whether I liked the story line, who the hell the characters were... you know... basic stuff.
The reality is that I have this feeling that once I start actually writing these things down, I will likely recall them anyway and won't find myself referring to this blog as often. But - it will be here for you when you want to "discuss" a book. Did you just read a book you saw that I just read? Then come here and read my summary then comment on a post (or be super original and give me a call!) and say "hey, let's discuss this... I hated that guy too!"
Oh, and for my friends who won't read a book until they know whether the ending is happy or not (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!) you are welcome to come here and read the spoiler summaries... but do me a favor and just don't tell me about it!
I am starting this off with the books I read in 2020, but I may go backwards and do a few summaries from the end of the year - especially for the books that I have already read that are for book clubs still to come (because now you all know that I will have no memory of them and will do very little to add to a valuable discussion).
I hope you enjoy what you read, but please don't yell at me because I ruined a book for you. I mean, the word SPOILERS is in the title of this blog. Seriously.
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