What a reflection on a reflection! As a Goodreads account holder and someone who was selecting those stars for every book I read, I actually stopped rating books organically when I created the separate IG account for books two years ago. I think the pandemic was a major cause for that shift. I started reading 'closely' but didn't know what it was until recently (thanks to you) and now am engaging with books where my own questions play a major role in my thoughts about the book. How has it made me a more aware person? A better reader? A better writer? And this obsession with stars (many of which I used to gladly give on Facebook years ago) directly reflects the culture of 'sales numbers' in the book industry.
Thanks so much for reading, Sayani! I think you're really right that there's something here about data and sales in the book industry. I'm much more interested in your great questions, though, about how a book has made you more aware or better at reading closely. Those are always the kinds of inspirations that spur me to explore or buy a new book, much more than whether it got 5 stars.
Loved this idea of "reflection" over "review"! I have never had a Goodreads account either. Although my own newsletter is all about literature, writers, and books, I find it far more interesting to explore the work and author behind the work, rather than a straight review of a book. I find it fascinating to consider the society and circumstances of when it was written, its themes and structures, and so on. Your piece very much chimes with this thinking!
Yes!! This is why I love your pub so much, Kate! You're one of the writers I read and then think, "I want to read what she reads." Not because you give it a bunch of stars, but because you teach me about why it exists and what it does.
Thank you for a thought-provoking post. I stopped using Goodreads a while ago as my views went nowhere and there was little discussion. A couple of times I was berated for a negative 'review'. Heigh ho. I'd much rather write a kind of 'stream of consciousness' about how a book made me feel and what I enjoyed about it (or not) and that doesn't lend itself to stars. I recently read a non-fiction book that had been hyped over all media, and I was excited to get a copy. I was deeply disappointed by it. And also felt quite intimidated by saying so because everyone seemed to love it. Your post helped me to think about this a bit more.
Thank you for reading! I'm so glad that you're finding some ways to rethink the way you engage with or reflect on your reading experiences! It sounds like that could be a really freeing way to think through why certain books didn't resonate with you, despite high ratings.
Your comment is also making me think: Maybe sometimes we get lost in debates about our reviews being "positive" or "negative," when that's really not the best spend of our energy. Like I say in the piece, I don't necessarily care whether someone loved or hated a book; I care about WHY the book mattered, what it did, how it worked, where it stuck and where it landed. That, to me, generates such a more fruitful type of exchange than saying whether or not we liked something.
Personally I haven’t found any major difference between how people recount their reading experiences on IG vs GR. I have always found the “reviews” on GR more interesting and in-depth than the ones on IG. The feed scroll just doesn’t lend itself to anything deeper because it’s all gone too quickly. Many of the reviews or “reflections” if you want to call them that on GR answer all these questions you listed in this article. On GR, just as everywhere else, you first need to find your tribe, The people who share your sensibilities and attitudes, and then you will have a great experience. I don’t think any social media is superior here.
Hi Kinga! Thanks for the perspective on GR! I think your point about the feed--and how quickly content can disappear on IG is spot on. Finding the content creators and thinkers you resonate with is, I agree with you, what you've got to do in order to start finding your place on these platforms. For me, I'm not sure it's about any form being superior to another as much as it's about thinking through how the features on platforms (comment features, "Likes," rating systems, space for community, ad space, etc) encourage certain kinds of behaviors. And there's so much there to unpack. Thanks for your thoughtful comment and for reading my essay!
I suppose I should include a disclaimer that I am one of the top (if top is a very big place with a lot of people) GR reviewers. But if you do follow some of the top GR reviewers who read books in your favourite genres, you will so much creativity in the approach to reviewing. Some of my top most favourite reviews are the one where I get really personal and off on many tangents.
One of the very best poets and one of the most interesting modernist poetic dictums. I love that anything I wrote could conjure thoughts of WCW! Thanks for reading!
Firstly I am honored that you love my work and that it got you thinking which led to this brilliant essay 🥺🫶🏼😩
Secondly, I love seeing everyone’s different opinions on what works for them as a reader/thinker/writer. It’s ultimately based on what we are hoping to get out of our time with books. I haven’t really explored Goodreads all that much but I do like to get sucked into rabbit holes in reviews there as some ppl r really smart and help me with what I’m reading but I agree with you in that nothing replaces reflections for me. And these are such good tips!!! Literally was talking about this essay w Christina and how I am taking notes on your points so I can better engage w the text / better reflect. As usual!!! You are one of my favorite (unintentional? Or intentional ?) Teachers 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼
It's "funny" because the rating systems always make me nervous because it is so arbitrary and relative : my 4 stars probably don't mean the same as yours because my expectations or tastes or experiences are different. It probably is an indication but communication wise, it's very vague and can be interpreted in so many different ways and it stops the conversation, instead of opening it. And, on the subject of books, we just want endless conversations and big emotions ! Not empty trendy pretty stuff soon to be forgotten.
Plus, generally speaking, in this day and age, I find it tiring to have to rate everything and everyone : I don't have to judge that delivery person that delayed the arrival of my non-vital package because of family issues that I don't know about, etc. And I don't think we need to have an opinion on everything all the time, but we can definitely talk about it. Ratings erase uncertainty and I think uncertainty is a place of growth. End of ramblings ! ;)
Love the specific breakdown of questions for reflection here! I’ve kind of being doing something similar on my Substack where when I “review” a book, I am doing so through 5 points or observations or questions that it left me with. I still love a longform review in NYR or Bookforum, but sometimes a reading can also be provisional and open-ended and I like that exploratory mode as well.
This is truly beautiful. I love: "To reflect is to look inside yourself at your response to a piece of writing and ask why it has had the effects it has had on you."
What a reflection on a reflection! As a Goodreads account holder and someone who was selecting those stars for every book I read, I actually stopped rating books organically when I created the separate IG account for books two years ago. I think the pandemic was a major cause for that shift. I started reading 'closely' but didn't know what it was until recently (thanks to you) and now am engaging with books where my own questions play a major role in my thoughts about the book. How has it made me a more aware person? A better reader? A better writer? And this obsession with stars (many of which I used to gladly give on Facebook years ago) directly reflects the culture of 'sales numbers' in the book industry.
Thanks so much for reading, Sayani! I think you're really right that there's something here about data and sales in the book industry. I'm much more interested in your great questions, though, about how a book has made you more aware or better at reading closely. Those are always the kinds of inspirations that spur me to explore or buy a new book, much more than whether it got 5 stars.
Loved this idea of "reflection" over "review"! I have never had a Goodreads account either. Although my own newsletter is all about literature, writers, and books, I find it far more interesting to explore the work and author behind the work, rather than a straight review of a book. I find it fascinating to consider the society and circumstances of when it was written, its themes and structures, and so on. Your piece very much chimes with this thinking!
Yes!! This is why I love your pub so much, Kate! You're one of the writers I read and then think, "I want to read what she reads." Not because you give it a bunch of stars, but because you teach me about why it exists and what it does.
Ah, thank you so much, Haley! That means a lot. And thank you for the recommendation :)
Thank you for a thought-provoking post. I stopped using Goodreads a while ago as my views went nowhere and there was little discussion. A couple of times I was berated for a negative 'review'. Heigh ho. I'd much rather write a kind of 'stream of consciousness' about how a book made me feel and what I enjoyed about it (or not) and that doesn't lend itself to stars. I recently read a non-fiction book that had been hyped over all media, and I was excited to get a copy. I was deeply disappointed by it. And also felt quite intimidated by saying so because everyone seemed to love it. Your post helped me to think about this a bit more.
Thank you for reading! I'm so glad that you're finding some ways to rethink the way you engage with or reflect on your reading experiences! It sounds like that could be a really freeing way to think through why certain books didn't resonate with you, despite high ratings.
Your comment is also making me think: Maybe sometimes we get lost in debates about our reviews being "positive" or "negative," when that's really not the best spend of our energy. Like I say in the piece, I don't necessarily care whether someone loved or hated a book; I care about WHY the book mattered, what it did, how it worked, where it stuck and where it landed. That, to me, generates such a more fruitful type of exchange than saying whether or not we liked something.
Absolutely. I need to work a bit harder at it!
Personally I haven’t found any major difference between how people recount their reading experiences on IG vs GR. I have always found the “reviews” on GR more interesting and in-depth than the ones on IG. The feed scroll just doesn’t lend itself to anything deeper because it’s all gone too quickly. Many of the reviews or “reflections” if you want to call them that on GR answer all these questions you listed in this article. On GR, just as everywhere else, you first need to find your tribe, The people who share your sensibilities and attitudes, and then you will have a great experience. I don’t think any social media is superior here.
Hi Kinga! Thanks for the perspective on GR! I think your point about the feed--and how quickly content can disappear on IG is spot on. Finding the content creators and thinkers you resonate with is, I agree with you, what you've got to do in order to start finding your place on these platforms. For me, I'm not sure it's about any form being superior to another as much as it's about thinking through how the features on platforms (comment features, "Likes," rating systems, space for community, ad space, etc) encourage certain kinds of behaviors. And there's so much there to unpack. Thanks for your thoughtful comment and for reading my essay!
I suppose I should include a disclaimer that I am one of the top (if top is a very big place with a lot of people) GR reviewers. But if you do follow some of the top GR reviewers who read books in your favourite genres, you will so much creativity in the approach to reviewing. Some of my top most favourite reviews are the one where I get really personal and off on many tangents.
Makes me think of William Carlos Williams and “no ideas but in things.”
One of the very best poets and one of the most interesting modernist poetic dictums. I love that anything I wrote could conjure thoughts of WCW! Thanks for reading!
No problem.
Firstly I am honored that you love my work and that it got you thinking which led to this brilliant essay 🥺🫶🏼😩
Secondly, I love seeing everyone’s different opinions on what works for them as a reader/thinker/writer. It’s ultimately based on what we are hoping to get out of our time with books. I haven’t really explored Goodreads all that much but I do like to get sucked into rabbit holes in reviews there as some ppl r really smart and help me with what I’m reading but I agree with you in that nothing replaces reflections for me. And these are such good tips!!! Literally was talking about this essay w Christina and how I am taking notes on your points so I can better engage w the text / better reflect. As usual!!! You are one of my favorite (unintentional? Or intentional ?) Teachers 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼
TLDR; GREAT ESSAY
You’re the best. Thanks for always reading!!!
It's "funny" because the rating systems always make me nervous because it is so arbitrary and relative : my 4 stars probably don't mean the same as yours because my expectations or tastes or experiences are different. It probably is an indication but communication wise, it's very vague and can be interpreted in so many different ways and it stops the conversation, instead of opening it. And, on the subject of books, we just want endless conversations and big emotions ! Not empty trendy pretty stuff soon to be forgotten.
Plus, generally speaking, in this day and age, I find it tiring to have to rate everything and everyone : I don't have to judge that delivery person that delayed the arrival of my non-vital package because of family issues that I don't know about, etc. And I don't think we need to have an opinion on everything all the time, but we can definitely talk about it. Ratings erase uncertainty and I think uncertainty is a place of growth. End of ramblings ! ;)
Love the specific breakdown of questions for reflection here! I’ve kind of being doing something similar on my Substack where when I “review” a book, I am doing so through 5 points or observations or questions that it left me with. I still love a longform review in NYR or Bookforum, but sometimes a reading can also be provisional and open-ended and I like that exploratory mode as well.
Thanks so much Tia!
This is truly beautiful. I love: "To reflect is to look inside yourself at your response to a piece of writing and ask why it has had the effects it has had on you."
Thank you for this! 🧡
Thanks Kolina!!
I am so glad I read this. Really great tips