Jim Murdoch’s last post: In the beginning was the sound… (part one)

I get what you mean about not wanting to say what others are saying about a book – but I’m too afraid of contaminating my own thoughts to want to read other reviews, and I don’t think it’s worked against me too much so far.

I probably should start including quotes though (hey, an excuse to cover Living with the Truth in purple post-its – or would you prefer another colour?). I do always have a pic of the cover – which generally has an Amazon affliate link if anyone bothers to mouse-over it. I should probably include a ‘click to buy’ note somewhere!

Once I have the book in my head and some idea how I’m going to tackle it I’ll go ahead and read all the reviews I can find so that I don’t simply say what everyone else is saying or if I am then I want to make sure I’m saying it in a different way.

It’s important to me to include decent, representative quotes from the book. I like to hear the author’s voice not the reviewer’s. It’s also of paramount importance that I don’t reveal any major plot points and that can be hard because often the end is when the author ties everything together and the book makes sense. It’s helpful if I can find a similar author that my readers will recognise to use as a comparison.

I don’t have a particular shape for a review other than ending it with a recommendation and a brief author bio. I do always make a point of including a sizeable picture of the book’s cover. I don’t like stars myself. There are too many factors to consider. I’m been told several times that my reviews make people want to read books they’ve never heard of. That’s good but I also take the responsibility quite seriously. This is a personal recommendation. I’m not sure what I’ll do if I find myself in a position where I need to review a book I hate. Make up new rules I guess.

Hope this is of some help. It’s a bit rambley. It’s late. I’m tired.

Jim Murdoch’s last post: In the beginning was the sound… (part one)

Anyway, thanks for commenting on this post, Nick – and in response, I much prefer being an amateur reviewer, and definitely one who does it for the love of it.
OK, I do feel a certain obligation with books I’ve been sent, to produce a timely and coherent review, but I’ve been lucky so far that I’ve enjoyed all of my ARCs. I’m dreading getting one that I find really hard to read, and that I might end up forcing myself to read.
The other novels I’ve reviewed are ones I’ve bought or picked up at the library, and I’ve definitely chosen to review those just because I wanted to.
It’s not something I’d ever want to do for a living though – and I imagine that as a pro reviewer that it might be difficult to read things ‘cold’ the way I did with The Gone-Away World.

I really liked your article in The Telegraph by the way – I’m so glad that when (if) I finally produce something worthy of sending to an agent, I’m not going to have to contend with something like that!

Fiendish: well, being a technical writer, I pride myself on being able (in theory) to write in a concise and clear manner. Sometimes, anyway. I’ve found that having a structure to my reviews helps me make sure that at least most of the info I want to include gets in there though.

Margaret: thanks for the compliment! And I don’t really include much author stuff beyond things like it being a debut novel, or else if they have something really well-known (as with Joanne Harris).