I (mostly) don’t write reviews. This blog is about my personal experiences with the written word and my responses/reactions to some of the books I read. Occasionally that may take the form of a “review”.
When writing about a book I prefer to reveal as little of the plot as possible. Too many times my enjoyment of a book (or a film) has been compromised by knowing too much beforehand, after being exposed to the comments of careless reviewers, film trailers and book blurbs.
Any comment I make about a book is based on my opinions and feelings, which are influenced by my own spiritual, philosophical and intellectual background. Others reading the same book are likely to have a completely different reading experience. My views will be influenced by my Christian faith and will often highlight parts of a book that others may see as less relevant.
On a separate page* I keep an ongoing list of the books I’ve read. I’ve been keeping that list since November 2009. Not all of those books get a mention in a blog post, partly through lack of time but also because I don’t have anything I want to say about them. Whether I write about a book or not is no indication of its quality or whether I enjoyed reading it.
In the past I have occasionally received review copies of books from publishers and authors. In those cases I have tried to write honest reviews that give potential readers an idea of a books content while not abusing the goodwill and trust of those who provided the books.
*my “Books Read” page: https://outshadows.wordpress.com/books-read/
Some of the reviews on my old blog can be found here: http://out-shadows.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/review
