February 15, 2022
Have You Lost Your Heart in a Book?
What Makes a Book too Good to Review Properly?
I’m linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl: Top Ten Books Too Good To Review Properly. This post is also an entry for the 2022 Discussion Challenge hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight.
Have you lost your heart in a book?
Have you been at a loss for words?
Quite often when I attempt to write a review for a book I’ve really REALLY loved, I have a difficult time finding the right words to convey my thoughts. I’m lost for words! Whether you are writing a review or telling your best friend about a book, can you relate to my feelings? Which reviews are the most difficult for you? Which reviews are the easiest?
Why do I find it difficult to write reviews for books I’ve loved? It seems that writing a review for a book I loved should be the easiest to write. This is my reasoning for why it isn’t: I form an emotional connection with books I really really love. I leave a piece of my heart between the pages. A connection we make with a book is personal and when your heart is involved, it makes expressing thoughts coherently in a review more difficult. I fear you won’t feel the same connection or understand it.
The following list is a sample of the types of books I find it difficult to review because I’m lost for words. They are all 4.5-5 Star reads and are on my lifetime favs list and highly recommended. (reviews are linked)
What is one book you feel is too good to review?
Join the discussion in comments.
***This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
(in no particular order)
1
A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
…difficult to review because…
all the poignant themes that gripped my heart….and that last father/son section…all the tissues
2
The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom
…difficult to review because…
uniquely personal and affects every reader differently
3
The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede
…difficult to review because…
the amount of kindness, sacrifice, and generosity is too much to list…also because it could have been any one of us on one of those planes that day…how many of you have received kind help from a stranger?
4
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
…difficult to review because…
poignant end of life reflections
5
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
…difficult to review because…
all the love for brave Eleanor and you have to experience the ending for yourself (IYKYK)
6
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
…difficult to review because…
so very emotional!
7
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
…difficult to review because…
can’t give away the sacrificial friendship aspect…and BOOM (!) I’ve already said too much! (IYKYK)…
(trust me, you want the audio format for this one!)
8
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
…difficult to review because…
Backman and the heartfelt and emotional content
9
The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger
Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family by Mitch Albom
…difficult to review because…
memoirs (how do you review someone’s life experience?)
10
Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott
…difficult to review because…
(representative of all the incredibly difficult and emotional WW11 fiction I’ve read)
memorable characters, poignant themes
QOTD:
Have you read or reviewed any of these?
What’s one book you have found difficult to review?
Happy Reading Book Worms
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
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Project Hail Mary and The Day the World Came to Town were both excellent!
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-books-too-good-to-review-properly/
I’m happy to hear we share the love!
Like you, I find it harder to write reviews for books I fell in deep love with than any others. You just want to get it right and find the correct words to do it and your feelings justice. Great choices here, Carol💜
Thanks for understanding Jonetta! 🙌💖
Oh, yes, Gilead!
All the love! 💖
Interesting questions…I think the easiest books for me to review are the ones that I liked, but didn’t love. Those are the most balanced reviews I write anyway! When I adore a book, I tend to gush. When I don’t, I tend to be too harsh/critical. I rarely find myself without ANY words (in fact, I usually have the opposite problem), but I do often find myself without the PERFECT ones, especially when I’m trying to describe a book I really loved.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Yes! Perfectly stated!
All of these are new to me. I also shared favorites (4/5 star reads) today. Have a great week. https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2022/02/top-ten-tuesday-wow-books.html
Finding Chika is excellent on audio with his recordings of her sweet voice. 💕
Awww! It’s been a while but I think I did hear that audio! Thanks for stopping by and commenting Janice!
Great list!
I have read 4 (underwhelmed), 7 (loved it and reviewed it!) and 8. Loved it and just wrote a couple of sentences on it. Indeed maybe too emotional for me to write a real review
Thanks for sharing! So much depends on the emotional connection!
Good list this week, Carol. I had trouble finding that many.
My quiet/silent TTT this week.
Thanks Marianne! 🙌
I agree with Eleanor Oliphant. Also just about anything by Fredrik Backman (especially “A Man Called Ove” and the Beartown books), “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett, and most recently, “Margreete’s Harbor” by Eleanor Morse and “The Keeper of Stories” by Sally Page.
So much! A lot of my rating goes into how the book made it feel- good or bad!
That emotional connection is everything!
Excellent reasoning and explanation. I find it very difficult to review Memoirs. It is someone’s story and although there might be some aspects of the storytelling to comment on, it is very difficult. I also have a tough time reviewing a book where it is really difficult to steer clear of spoilers. I have read or listened to 6 of these books and they are all in my favourite list as well, Carol.
Reviews are not as easy as they might appear! I struggle in the areas you mentioned also!
Yes to The Day the World Came to Town and Project Hail Mary! Both of those could have made my list, as well.
Both so memorable! I’m happy to hear we share the love Dedra!
It’s so hard when you feel like that about a book! I just talk about my emotional response and encourage people to read it!
My reviews seem to fall apart after the word WOW! 😂
Beasts of No Nation is too grand for words. The movie adaptation does it no justice. So much power, pain, and strength
Thanks for sharing.
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I agree that reviewing books I absolutely adore can be difficult. It’s easier to go into specifics about things that bug you, honestly. When it comes to books you love, it can just seem like a lot of gushing without being able to put into words what it is that struck you so much.
Exactly! 5+ star ratings are the most difficult! How do you describe that emotional connection?!