Currently:
When reading physical or kindle books I’ll highlight and take notes as I read. I generally am highlighting or take notes on parts of the story that I like or are important. I don’t focus on how I can talk about certain parts of a story while I’m reading. If I were to do that it would make me feel like I’m reading the book for the sole purpose of writing the review which is not the case. I just love to read. The review comes because I’ve found that I love talking about the books that I read. A review allows me to do that. Most of the time, after I’m done reading I’ll look over my notes for a couple of minutes and then churn out the review pretty quickly. I handwrite every review and then type it into a blog post. For some reason, it’s much easier for me to think when I’m writing with a pen and paper (I usually freeze up at the sight of a keyboard). The reviews aren’t very long so I rarely have to edit. Sometimes I’ll sit on a review because I need to think about the story. Sitting on a review makes it much more difficult to put ideas to paper.
When listening to an audiobook on Libby or Audible the process is generally the same. However, I take fewer notes. When I’m listening it’s harder to retain information so I have to focus all of my attention on the narrator. If I were to be thinking about taking a note I’d likely lose my place or miss something. I guess that means that I’m a visual learner. Not entirely sure.
Where I need to improve:
My biggest flaw is the lack of source material used. I’m constantly highlighting and taking notes yet I don’t use any of those quotes in the actual reviews. For some reason, I find it hard to integrate quotes. Recently, I’ve been reading a ton of reviews by Petrik Leo. He posts all over the place. Generally, he will just present a quote between paragraphs. Sometimes he’ll discuss them and sometimes he won’t. I think that would be a good starting point.
There is a lot more where I can improve but focusing on one place that I can improve will likely be more effective. Depth, expansion, themes, and literary techniques all need to be improved but that’ll have to be done later down the line.
Hoping to improve with every post!
Go check out Petrik Leo!
https://novelnotions.net/category/book-reviews/petriks-reviews/
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