I realised this week after I'd added a link to Sitemeter and a couple more links to Blogs I'm Watching, how complex my initial blog page is becoming. So I've done a little modification of the layout and put my list of 2008 reviews on its own dedicated simpler blog called Smik's Reviews. I'll see how that works. It does mean I have to do one more thing with my review once I have written it, but I will still post it here. Smik's Reviews will only contain the links.MYSTERIES in PARADISE however does not even pretend to follow KISS principles. It may be that you are finding the page slow to load. Let me know via a comment if you will. You might be able to identify what is making it too slow.
I've spent most of the last few days catching up with email and other people's blog postings via my RSS reader. I was away for the first 4 days of the week with work and it's amazing how things mount up in just a really short time.
This week's posts:
- The Amazon UK BestSellers in Crime Fiction
A couple of books not yet released have made it into the top 10 already! You might like to comment on which in the list you have marked down to read. - Progress Report: BENEATH THE BLEEDING, Val McDermid
What I've been listening to in the car. I'm about half way, so these are my first impressions. - REVIEW: WASH THIS BLOOD CLEAN FROM MY HAND, Fred Vargas
My rating 4.7. Well worth the read. - Weekly Geeks #13 - Author Photos
I set up a challenge/competition with photos of a dozen Australian crime fiction authors. - Author Photos Revealed
The response to my challenge wasn't exactly overwhelming. Two correct sets of answers so I revealed which names belonged to which photos. - Australian Literary Awards 2008 - who will the PM choose?
Well, this weekend he's in Beijing watching the Olympics, so I guess he's not reading anything. This award has two tax-free prizes of $100,000 each on offer, and Mr. Rudd gets the final say. Crime fiction writer and poet Dorothy Porter is one of those on the list. - One of those trails
This is an illustration of how one thing leads to another. Starting off on One Minute Book Reviews I came across a different reviewer who uses a scoring system which requires ratings in 7 categories. Not for me I'm afraid. I'll still go with my "gut feeling", essentially subjective, system.
I also commented in this post how I am still posting under duress. Blogger decided last week that I was a potential spammer, then decided I wasn't, but has still got autosave turned off and every time I save I have to do "word verification". Very annoying but I've just applied to have it reviewed yet again. We'll see if my faith in Blogger as a good, easy to use, blogging site is restored. - REVIEW: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Stieg Larsson
Another really good read, but not if you don't like long books. I compared it to a turducken. - 2008 Shamus Awards Nominees
I've only read one of the books listed in this shortlist.
- now - WHITE NIGHTS, Ann Cleeves
- next - THE LONE TRAVELLER, Susan Kelly
- then - LITTLE GIRL LOST, Susan Kelly
- audio book - BENEATH THE BLEEDING, Val McDermid
3 comments:
Interesting, the book rating question. My own "system" is subjective as well. Usually, I know very well when I've finished a book--often before, frankly--what its rating will be. Sometimes I'll be torn over whether to give something, say, 3.5 stars or 4, but the question is never about more than a half star. It kind of feels like grading. I've toyed with the idea of having a more scientific approach to it--it appeals to the inner Teuton in me--but I've never done it consistently.
Other folks?
Book rating is always subjective and I constantly second guess whether to put my grades on reviews or to hope that my words convey enough of what I thought of a book!
Sometimes with the grades I do find myself second guessing the grades later down the track.
By the way, have you seen this this list
I rarely seem to get below a 4 these days, yet other people who use a similar scale seem to rarely get above it. I put it down to the fact that nearly all the books I read come from recommendations on the various lists I belong to. Some of the books I like evoke very different reactions from other readers. But in the long run the rating I give relates to how I felt about it. I think anyone who thinks they are using an objective rating is just kidding themselves.
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