Blogger Confidential: First Reviews

Have you ever been faced with an issue while reading or blogging and thought: I wonder what other bloggers think about this? No matter what genre or audience you blog for, we all face the same problems. Are you a publisher or author wondering what goes on in a blogger's (and by extension a reader's) head?

Blogger confidential is a series of 10 questions asked to 13 bloggers about the nitty gritty details of blogging. Everything from what prompts a blogger to pick up a book, to what happens when a book doesn't live up to its hype. This series was inspired by Wastepaper Prose's Author Insight series. Learn more about the Blogger Confidential series on its main page.

What was the first book you ever reviewed on your blog? If you could rewrite that review today, how would you do it differently?

"My first review on my blog was on March 8, 2008. I reviewed THE YEAR OF THE FOG by Michelle Richmond. Since it’s two short paragraphs long, I’d definitely lengthen it quite a bit! Pre-blogging, I wrote (and continue to write) blurbs for book club web sites. My blurbs couldn’t be more than 250 words so it was a challenge to teach myself to write longer reviews!" Jenn from Jenn's Bookshelves

"The first book I ever reviewed on The Story Siren was Prey by Lurlene McDaniel. I had several other reviews on a different blog that is no longer in existence! Honestly I don't think I would do it differently. My style has evolved and I hope that it continues to do so. Every little step is crucial, and I wouldn't change that!" Kristi from The Story Siren

"The 1st book I reviewed Shades of Midnight by Lara Adrian back in March 2010. Its such a horrible comparison to how I write my reviews today. I plan to fix it at some point to add all the missing content." Yara from Once Upon a Twilight

"The first book I ever reviewed on my blog was the VERY FIRST ARC I ever received. In fact, when I got it I didn’t even know there was such a thing as ARCs. My grandma knew I was a HUGE Shannon Hale fan, so she got an ARC of Book of a Thousand Days from her friend (who is the director of a local library) and gave it to me.

Would I rewrite it? I don’t think so. There are definitely some of my early reviews that I look at and cringe, but they mark my progress as a book blogger. If I get rid of the bad ones, what makes the good ones “good”? And I’m rather proud of that review. It was the first review I’d EVER written, it’s what started me on my blogging journey, and it’s still my favorite book of all time." Enna from Squeaky Books

"Our first review was GRACELING by Kristin Cashore. Our formatting was a little scary, we gave away too much of the story, and it was way long but the heart of the review still fully represents us today." Stacy, Shannan, Nancy, and Sarah from Girls in the Stacks

"I can't seem to find the first actual book I reviewed on my blog because I originally started on Myspace and their blog system is very wonky. My first review was of the Avalon High manga by Meg Cabot. I don't know if I would change much- I like how I did the summary (I used to write my own for the first couple months) and there isn't much else to say. I may have tried to include more about how the translation to manga worked, in terms of story and characters and all that, but since the book itself was so short, I do feel like I said as much as I could." James from Book Chic

"Pixie: Prada & Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard – not sure what I would change. It’s a good review, maybe add some more content.
Stacey: Eon by Alison Goodman – and like Pixie I probably would just go back and add more content, it’s a really short review." Pixie and Stacey from Page Turners Blog

"Oh gosh. Don't make me go back to that. I don't even like looking at my very first reviews." Katie from Katie's Book Blog

"The first book I ever reviewed on Reading Vacation was Project Mulberry. For sure there are things I would change. I think I gave away too much of the story – too spoilery! I have learned to stay clear of spoilers. I also would elaborate more about what I actually thought of the book." Melina from Reading Vacation

"Wow, I don't even remember. Holly's Inbox was one of my first and it was the first time an author of a book I reviewed found me. It was very exciting. I don't think I would have changed much - I blog pretty similarly as I used to, only now I have a template for my reviews (and a bit of practice so I feel it's easier to write a review than it was when I first started)." Wallace from Unputdownables

"The first book I ever reviewed on the blog was Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change a thing. Not because I thought it was perfect or anything but because it was an honest review that came from the heart." Lynsey from Narratively Speaking

"My first “official” review on Novel Novice was for Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder – which I think is pretty amazing, considering I’d never met Lisa at the time, and now we’re actually friends in real life. (Yay for local authors!) If I were to rewrite the review, I’d probably try to tighten it up. I blathered on a bit – which I am wont to do occasionally, but I try to curb it as best I can. I like to think I’m getting better at getting to the point." Sara from Novel Novice

"Choker by Elizabeth Woods I think my review for the book is just fine, actually I think it’s pretty well written for the first one we posted on the blog. I just don’t really like the formatting for the posts we used when we first started the blog like we before we knew how to block quote. Other than that, I think it looks pretty good." Jacinda and Jasmine from The Reading Housewives of Indiana