This is very helpful. I'm trying to write useful reviews for indie books and failing at it. I forget to write notes while I'm reading so this is a good reminder about that. Thanks so much for filming this video.
Catching up on videos and just wanted to say I love how you challenge me to push my brain further and always try to improve my reviewing skills. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for this! I make lots of notes when I read but I tend to shy away from actually writing complete reviews because i never know exactly how to structure them or what aspects of the book to focus on, and I'm also wary of people judging my writing lol. This video has been incredibly helpful and has motivated me to write my own detailed goodreads reviews from now on, which will be particularly satisfying for me since I loathe having to just give a star rating which completely erases any and all nuanced thoughts and feelings I had about the book. thank you, again!
OK. Video relevant comment now lol Really appreciate this and gave me a lot to think about in my reviews, especially about considering the context further. Much appreciated!
I really have to say that there was not a second passing by that I did not get anything new and useful! I used to hate watching book reviews on YT because they were really boring. But your videos are the best, they include everything I ever wanted in a book review and I literally listen to it like a podcast. Thank you so so much for publishing this video. It is very useful ❤❤❤
That’s such an enormous compliment, thank you! Part of the reason I started the channel was because I felt like the quality of criticism on RUclips was kinda dire lol. I’ve now discovered many great fellow reviewers since then but I’m still so glad I built my own channel :)
Thank you so much for this Willow! I'm a reviewer but I've always been afraid to death of books, because I feel like it's a more philosophical and thematic genre sometimes, this explained how your process worked so succinctly. You continue to be my favourite reviewer, great work!
This is so helpful!! I've recently found myself pals with a handful of indie authors, and have been having a hard time knowing how to write thoughtful and helpful reviews for all their books. I've run into a lot of ways to write reviews, and I particularly appreciate the thoughtfulness of your process. Can't wait to apply this knowledge to the next one!
Well done, Willow. People read for all kinds of reasons and if they just want to escape, that’s fine. But if they want to discuss, review or critique in any way, I agree with you that it’s important to grapple with themes and consider context. I noticed your blue curtains video but didn’t watch it because I hadn’t realized what it was about. Now that I do, I’m looking forward to seeing it.
Thank you so much for sharing your process! It means a lot!!! I am now inspired to put out my thoughts on a review and create thanks to this. You are truly a blessing in the book community ❤
I loved this! Crisp , clear to the point of transparency and personal too. I totally agree with the points you raised and it also got me thinking about a few books I just didn’t gel with. Why I didn’t … There are also books that I didn’t write them off as bad books because of the things I “disliked” I could see a reason for them. I kind of said well the author is being true to themselves and how they see that character. So I don’t necessarily have to like that character to like the deeper reason for why they were created or what they stand for. For example the use of curse words.. I still cannot get used to reading them in books , at first I would think , there’s so many words they could have used instead of using a curse word … but I then said well I curse sometimes and people do curse so it might not be showing a lack of vocabulary or imagination on the authors part, just if the character was real that’s how they envision them to speak and maybe more people can relate to the character in todays world. I apologise for such a long ramble on my part , but I find listening to you very refreshing. I want to end it on this note , if you enjoy writing and even if you are not published, maybe feeling that perhaps they’re not that good. Keep doing it anyway. Ive heard franz Kafka also thought that of his stories but they have proved to be some of the most interesting works I’ve read. And I’d love to read your stuff one day. In relation to taking notes I also heard that sometimes when you’re given a gift , you don’t have to work so hard at it . Whatever works for you works for you ❤
Your video was a 23-minute encapsulation of a college-level introduction to literature course insofar as how to read and enjoy a novel. Yes, if one wants to try to become a book/critic reviewer like yourself for video production or writing for online publications, knowing these basics is helpful. Moreover, all of your well-organized guidelines are also essential skills to develop in order to fully appreciate and enjoy literature. Here you provide the necessary vocabulary of literary appreciation as a pathway to becoming an educated reader whether or not one ever decides to share their “review” of a novel. To read a work of fiction while having one’s intellect enlightened as to an author’s choice of language (diction, vocabulary, grammar, etc) and its relationship to the theme/time/character; POV (suggestion-alert your listeners to the unreliable first-person narrator and all the clues the author gives as to his/her/their reliability); character development; genre/setting; themes - the command of these elements naturally leads to quality reading experiences. I did not have the opportunity to acquire a college degree until I started a part time, course-by-course pursuit, as a 35 year old. I specifically had the goal to discover the great books I could be reading because while some of the best-sellers of the day were enjoyable, most were not. I was unable to articulate at that time that the writing was often lazy, (let’s solve a difficult plot point with a dream); unimaginative (a whodunnit that wonders of wonders gets solved and it’s the guy who you never suspected? Wow.); repetitive (another novel about the same thing you just read about in the last novel of its type), predictable (a romance where the ugly duckling girl gets the hunky guy-who would have guessed?), and derivative (as described already) crap! It took me ten years to finish that degree in literature/creative writing and ever since (as in nearly 30 years since) with each book I start, floating in the back of my mind is - how would I write my course essay on this book, which is close to what you so clearly present here. You are a gifted educator and I’m happy to be a Patreon supporter of you to help you keep going.
I can review books I dislike so much better than books I love. Books I love I end up just being like HOLY THIS IS AMAZING 😅 I was always a science girly, okay? No one is reading my reviews on goodreads anyways, it’s really just so I’ll remember how I felt about books because my memory is horrible.
I agree with pacing, it is very important. I have to admit I am definitely one for not always thinking about the politics of a book 😅 I find annotating a book allows me to focus on the different themes/politics being explored more
This video reminded me of Terry Eagleton's How to Read Literature, he also starts his book with a group of students' discussion about Wuthering Heights, maybe you also have a copy of that book 😊
this was lovely to watch! I write medium-sized reviews on Goodreads and I'm trying to not overthink things, because I read a lot and I don't have that kind of time! But I do take notes in a document on my laptop with almost every book (if I have interesting stuff to say). The thematic / political aspect is my favorite, but lately, the past few months, I feel like my (leftist) politics is kind of ruining my reading and I got to a point where I am very very critical. And it feels like I'm overthinking things? For instance, I read China Mountain Zhang, a 1992 SF for book club and I had complaints that even the other anarchist in the group didn't care about. And he's usually very critical. Idk why I'm confessing this here, I guess I think it's an interesting question of how to balance being mindful and aware of what we're reading while at the same time being able to enjoy things!
Leaving a nice comment for your recent short here, hope that's OK: Could agree with you more. We are who and what we are and that's wonderful and amazing and the only downsides are literally dysphoria (if one has it. No transmed here), which we take steps to address, and other people being gross. People being bigoted isn't a reason to not do anything (outside of directly protecting, making decisions for oneself) [Oh no! My "ones" are giving member of the Murak-army]. Just wanted to share my support and that I'm right there with you, and that this sentiment and Nvr Pass and Gender is Borining by She/ Her/ Hers are everything. Love, support and solidarity ❤ (if it's not OK to post this here. I am more than happy to delete or be deleted. Last thing I want is to provide a lightning rod for fuckwits)
This was well-explained and super helpful. Sometimes it is hard to put an order to the jumble of thoughts and feelings I have on a book, and this outline will certainly help me focus 💜 Just joined your patreon!
It's kinda off topic, but I just read an article in the guardian (I dont usually, it got recommended to me) that we should abolish literary genres, and I thought it was so weird, and it sounds more like the problem is, that some people think some genres are above others and that that its judging...but I think its just really helpful in finding what you want to read and a book can be more than one genre, I dont get what the problem is. xD
Themes are so important!!! It's like a little window into the author's soul. I love the ethnographic elements of writing, like how Kurt Vonnegut has a minimalist, blue collar style of writing, which is likely due to the fact he worked a menial job for decades. Themes go so far beyond the book itself! It's the author's life, laid bare on paper! You just have to dig a little. Also! When you said "I keep everything in my head and it's always busy", I was like "oh! A fellow ADD nerd!" And felt so justified when it was confirmed 😅 How do you manage to make and edit reviews with ADD?! It must be a gargantuan task to not ramble and get lost in tangents! Especially with immense passion, it must be hard to refrain. Any tips there? 🫠
For someone who doesn't like teaching, you're doing an excellent job. This was very useful.
This is very helpful. I'm trying to write useful reviews for indie books and failing at it. I forget to write notes while I'm reading so this is a good reminder about that. Thanks so much for filming this video.
"An author who respects my time is an author I'm going to appreciate." THIS.
Catching up on videos and just wanted to say I love how you challenge me to push my brain further and always try to improve my reviewing skills. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for this! I make lots of notes when I read but I tend to shy away from actually writing complete reviews because i never know exactly how to structure them or what aspects of the book to focus on, and I'm also wary of people judging my writing lol. This video has been incredibly helpful and has motivated me to write my own detailed goodreads reviews from now on, which will be particularly satisfying for me since I loathe having to just give a star rating which completely erases any and all nuanced thoughts and feelings I had about the book. thank you, again!
This is such a helpful video. I love the way you clearly lay out the tools and explain your methods so well. Thank you for sharing!
Willow, you never fail to amaze me. This was so brilliantly explained! You incredible human being 🥺 Sending so much love to you! 💕
Wow, thank you so much!
I found this so interesting. Thanks for sharing your process.
So helpful! Thank you ☺️
Taking notes while watching
OK. Video relevant comment now lol
Really appreciate this and gave me a lot to think about in my reviews, especially about considering the context further. Much appreciated!
Just popping in to say you’re one of my fav RUclips book reviewers. Your videos always come across as very thoughtful.
Thank you so much for creating this video! I found your points about themes and politics particularly insightful!
I really have to say that there was not a second passing by that I did not get anything new and useful! I used to hate watching book reviews on YT because they were really boring. But your videos are the best, they include everything I ever wanted in a book review and I literally listen to it like a podcast. Thank you so so much for publishing this video. It is very useful ❤❤❤
That’s such an enormous compliment, thank you!
Part of the reason I started the channel was because I felt like the quality of criticism on RUclips was kinda dire lol. I’ve now discovered many great fellow reviewers since then but I’m still so glad I built my own channel :)
About to start my own channel and this couldn't be more useful!! Thank you!!
Thank you so much for this Willow! I'm a reviewer but I've always been afraid to death of books, because I feel like it's a more philosophical and thematic genre sometimes, this explained how your process worked so succinctly. You continue to be my favourite reviewer, great work!
This is so helpful!! I've recently found myself pals with a handful of indie authors, and have been having a hard time knowing how to write thoughtful and helpful reviews for all their books. I've run into a lot of ways to write reviews, and I particularly appreciate the thoughtfulness of your process. Can't wait to apply this knowledge to the next one!
Well done, Willow. People read for all kinds of reasons and if they just want to escape, that’s fine. But if they want to discuss, review or critique in any way, I agree with you that it’s important to grapple with themes and consider context.
I noticed your blue curtains video but didn’t watch it because I hadn’t realized what it was about. Now that I do, I’m looking forward to seeing it.
Thank you so much for sharing your process! It means a lot!!! I am now inspired to put out my thoughts on a review and create thanks to this. You are truly a blessing in the book community ❤
This is extremely helpful! Thank you so much. I'll re-watch and take notes 😉 (I'm one of those avid note-takers!)
I loved this! Crisp , clear to the point of transparency and personal too. I totally agree with the points you raised and it also got me thinking about a few books I just didn’t gel with. Why I didn’t …
There are also books that I didn’t write them off as bad books because of the things I “disliked” I could see a reason for them. I kind of said well the author is being true to themselves and how they see that character. So I don’t necessarily have to like that character to like the deeper reason for why they were created or what they stand for.
For example the use of curse words.. I still cannot get used to reading them in books , at first I would think , there’s so many words they could have used instead of using a curse word … but I then said well I curse sometimes and people do curse so it might not be showing a lack of vocabulary or imagination on the authors part, just if the character was real that’s how they envision them to speak and maybe more people can relate to the character in todays world.
I apologise for such a long ramble on my part , but I find listening to you very refreshing. I want to end it on this note , if you enjoy writing and even if you are not published, maybe feeling that perhaps they’re not that good. Keep doing it anyway. Ive heard franz Kafka also thought that of his stories but they have proved to be some of the most interesting works I’ve read. And I’d love to read your stuff one day.
In relation to taking notes I also heard that sometimes when you’re given a gift , you don’t have to work so hard at it . Whatever works for you works for you ❤
Your video was a 23-minute encapsulation of a college-level introduction to literature course insofar as how to read and enjoy a novel. Yes, if one wants to try to become a book/critic reviewer like yourself for video production or writing for online publications, knowing these basics is helpful. Moreover, all of your well-organized guidelines are also essential skills to develop in order to fully appreciate and enjoy literature. Here you provide the necessary vocabulary of literary appreciation as a pathway to becoming an educated reader whether or not one ever decides to share their “review” of a novel. To read a work of fiction while having one’s intellect enlightened as to an author’s choice of language (diction, vocabulary, grammar, etc) and its relationship to the theme/time/character; POV (suggestion-alert your listeners to the unreliable first-person narrator and all the clues the author gives as to his/her/their reliability); character development; genre/setting; themes - the command of these elements naturally leads to quality reading experiences.
I did not have the opportunity to acquire a college degree until I started a part time, course-by-course pursuit, as a 35 year old. I specifically had the goal to discover the great books I could be reading because while some of the best-sellers of the day were enjoyable, most were not. I was unable to articulate at that time that the writing was often lazy, (let’s solve a difficult plot point with a dream); unimaginative (a whodunnit that wonders of wonders gets solved and it’s the guy who you never suspected? Wow.); repetitive (another novel about the same thing you just read about in the last novel of its type), predictable (a romance where the ugly duckling girl gets the hunky guy-who would have guessed?), and derivative (as described already) crap! It took me ten years to finish that degree in literature/creative writing and ever since (as in nearly 30 years since) with each book I start, floating in the back of my mind is - how would I write my course essay on this book, which is close to what you so clearly present here.
You are a gifted educator and I’m happy to be a Patreon supporter of you to help you keep going.
Thank you so much 💜
Great video about the science of reviewing.
I can review books I dislike so much better than books I love. Books I love I end up just being like HOLY THIS IS AMAZING 😅 I was always a science girly, okay? No one is reading my reviews on goodreads anyways, it’s really just so I’ll remember how I felt about books because my memory is horrible.
I agree with pacing, it is very important.
I have to admit I am definitely one for not always thinking about the politics of a book 😅 I find annotating a book allows me to focus on the different themes/politics being explored more
This video reminded me of Terry Eagleton's How to Read Literature, he also starts his book with a group of students' discussion about Wuthering Heights, maybe you also have a copy of that book 😊
Never heard of it! Might check it out!
Oh, I just remembered who Eagleton is lol I’ve read his books Why Marx Was Right and On Evil. Loved both!
this was lovely to watch! I write medium-sized reviews on Goodreads and I'm trying to not overthink things, because I read a lot and I don't have that kind of time! But I do take notes in a document on my laptop with almost every book (if I have interesting stuff to say).
The thematic / political aspect is my favorite, but lately, the past few months, I feel like my (leftist) politics is kind of ruining my reading and I got to a point where I am very very critical. And it feels like I'm overthinking things? For instance, I read China Mountain Zhang, a 1992 SF for book club and I had complaints that even the other anarchist in the group didn't care about. And he's usually very critical. Idk why I'm confessing this here, I guess I think it's an interesting question of how to balance being mindful and aware of what we're reading while at the same time being able to enjoy things!
I very much understand how you feel and where you’re coming from!
Leaving a nice comment for your recent short here, hope that's OK: Could agree with you more. We are who and what we are and that's wonderful and amazing and the only downsides are literally dysphoria (if one has it. No transmed here), which we take steps to address, and other people being gross. People being bigoted isn't a reason to not do anything (outside of directly protecting, making decisions for oneself) [Oh no! My "ones" are giving member of the Murak-army]. Just wanted to share my support and that I'm right there with you, and that this sentiment and Nvr Pass and Gender is Borining by She/ Her/ Hers are everything. Love, support and solidarity ❤
(if it's not OK to post this here. I am more than happy to delete or be deleted. Last thing I want is to provide a lightning rod for fuckwits)
This was well-explained and super helpful. Sometimes it is hard to put an order to the jumble of thoughts and feelings I have on a book, and this outline will certainly help me focus 💜 Just joined your patreon!
Thank you so much!
oh hey you! ☺ I loved this video too. What a gem!
@@the_eerie_faerie_tales Fancy seeing you here!
@@Kritz_Reads love this channel ☺
It's kinda off topic, but I just read an article in the guardian (I dont usually, it got recommended to me) that we should abolish literary genres, and I thought it was so weird, and it sounds more like the problem is, that some people think some genres are above others and that that its judging...but I think its just really helpful in finding what you want to read and a book can be more than one genre, I dont get what the problem is. xD
I find that taking notes when reading sometimes takes me out of the story. Any suggestions on how to stop that from happening.
Nope, sorry
I wish you would give classes(?) Maybe Udemey(?)...im over reaching here I know❤
I’m definitely flattered, thank you!
I have a beginning of a book, would you review my 6 page novel.
No, but I’ll edit it! Here are my services: willoweditsbooks.myportfolio.com/work
Themes are so important!!! It's like a little window into the author's soul. I love the ethnographic elements of writing, like how Kurt Vonnegut has a minimalist, blue collar style of writing, which is likely due to the fact he worked a menial job for decades. Themes go so far beyond the book itself! It's the author's life, laid bare on paper! You just have to dig a little.
Also! When you said "I keep everything in my head and it's always busy", I was like "oh! A fellow ADD nerd!" And felt so justified when it was confirmed 😅
How do you manage to make and edit reviews with ADD?! It must be a gargantuan task to not ramble and get lost in tangents! Especially with immense passion, it must be hard to refrain. Any tips there? 🫠
I actually get asked for tips for reading, reviewing etc with ADHD and I honestly don’t know! I have no idea how I manage it, and I’m sorry 😭
@@WillowTalksBooks Oh no! There's no hope 🥲
I really enjoy your videos. Thank you.