As most of you who read book blogs, I’m an avid reader who can go from one book to another without a break and I can go through them very fast. I started reviewing the books I’m reading a while back because it forced me to take at least a few minutes to think about a book before moving on to the next one and it helped me remember and solidify what I had read.  I’ve learned a number of things since I started reviewing books on this blog and various other sites on the web.  It’s been interesting!

1       There are a lot of really good books in the world!  Since starting this reviewing stuff, I’ve been offered a lot of books that I would never have seen otherwise through author giveaways, site giveaways and Netgalley.  Most of them have been really good and I’m thrilled to have expanded my reading horizons so much and discovered so many wonderful writers even within the same genres I’ve always loved.

2       There are a lot of really bad books in the world!  If you are a self-published author, I think your best time and money are put into have a professional editor work on your book.  And really bad books can come from mainstream publishers also.  Some are so bad you just amuse yourself by reading passages aloud to your family and some are so bad you just give up after 100 pages.  It’s amazing to see what can get published these days.

3        Most authors sincerely want to know what their readers think of their work.  I haven’t communicated with any authors who didn’t want an honest opinion.  I know they must be out there because of what I see posted on other sites but I haven’t encountered them.  The ones I’ve communicated with are people who love what they do and hope you love it too but really do want honest feedback.

4        Other readers are the coolest people in the world!  The conversations with other readers through comments on my reviews, reading their reviews and blog posts and participating in discussion groups is so much fun!  People who sincerely love to read a good book are people worth interacting with.  They are fun, smart, literate (obviously), polite and use good grammar!

While reading has always been one of the loves of my life, spending time with the online book community of readers has made it even more enriching.