Racing through a book suggests real pleasure, but the ones that enter our lives, and stay, involve a different process, I think.
— Guy Gavriel Kay (@guygavrielkay) September 22, 2013
This could just have been a throwaway comment from Mr Kay, but it's stuck with me for the last few days and it got me thinking about why I like the books I like. There are books that stick in my head, where I can recall the storyline and the characters without issue. American Gods by Gaiman, Lions of Al-Rassan by Kay, Stormcaller by Lloyd and Night Watch by Pratchett to name a few of the more memorable ones. They make me think of the structure of the worlds, the interactions between the characters and never really leave me.
Other books are a hoot to read, and then they fade into the background. They do not really make me think too much about anything further than what's on the page and re reading the books wouldn't really cross my mind. Sanderson, Brett and Weeks fall into this category for me. I still enjoy reading them, but they do not get me thinking much after I put the book down. It was a fun read and that's that.
So, in saying this, I'm revamping my reviewing style and scoring of said books in the coming weeks. Some good books will get a lower rating purely based on if I feel it would stick with me on the long run. This will be mentioned in the review of course. This process is going to take a while to perfect, so bear with me. Books that has already been reviewed and scored will keep their score, since that was what I felt they deserved at that time. I see this as an evolution of my personal tastes and feel it needs to be included in my future reviews.
How would I know if a book has really moved me? We'll have to see what I come up with!
I find that a very difficult thing to gauge. Sometimes I rate a book very highly, give it a rave review, discuss its themes, world, etc. and a couple of months down the line I've mostly forgotten about it and never speak about it. Then there are more mediocre books that somehow stick with me. I find myself mentioning them to people because of some interesting detail or whatever.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if anyone can really incorporate that into their rating at the time of posting a review. The only way to tell if a book will stick with you is to wait a while and see if it sticks with you. Like look back over last year's books and see which ones made the strongest impression.
It won't be easy, but at least the scores are going to be lower in general I think. I'll also try to explain my thinking regarding the stickiness - if you will - of the book on the long term.
ReplyDeleteThat would be interesting :)
ReplyDelete