Friday 5 August 2011

Favourite genre...?

I'm being asked a fair bit what I think about certain books, what sort of books do I go for etc, etc and these questions used to be easy to answer as a teenager - horror and fantasy with maybe a bit of thriller added into the mix. But then I added more to my repertoire and suddenly it's a case of me just telling people 'I don't care about the genre as long as the description appeals to me and makes me want to read it.' Which comes across a bit of a fence-sitting response, even to my ears & even though I know it's true. Granted I will still head for the same section in the bookshop but that's more out of comfort from an old friend that I seem to be drifting further away from after a much shorter period.

Then I'm asked what I thought of certain books and I'm afraid of giving a different reaction to what the person asking expects. If it was a recommendation from them and they thoroughly enjoyed it I have to think of replies that a politician would be proud of if I didn't like it. I know everyone has different tastes but some of these 'classics' just aren't appealing and I won't read them for the sake of being able to say 'Oh I've read such and such, of course.' It's basically book snobbery - and I don't discriminate against which books I choose to dislike ;D

The hardest thing, though, out of all of this is being asked to describe a book. If someone wants to know what a book is about, even if I've just that second put it down, I end up having to try to remember what's on the back or putting basic notes into bullet points in my mind... and that doesn't really help sell what I may describe as a great book!

So, as a challenge to me, from this point on I'm going to start writing a review about every book I read that will start the day I finish The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (really good book!) As with every book reviewer this will be from my own p.o.v so if you disagree or feel differently, feel free to tell me.

P.S - Having just ordered my friend's first published book that is due to be delivered mid-September, look out for a review for "The American Dream Reversed" by Bianca Philipp, once I've finished rereading it (I helped check it over before it was sent off). To be able to read it before then - here's the link: https://www.createspace.com/3624762.

So, until my first ever book review, ciao all!

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