There's a ton of us bloggers out there using Netgalley as a chance to get to read advanced reader copies of books we're highly anticipating, books we are aching to get our hands on and devour. But how do we go about the process electing what is worth reading and what's not? Do you finish every galley approved to your profile, regardless of what you think of the content?
I'm at a stage where I'm not sure what to do. I mean some titles I finish no matter what, a one star, for me, title might have qualities that keeps me reading until that final page. Initially I started out with a goal to finish all ARC's that I was fortunate enough to be given access to. That being said there are some books that just isn't speaking to me at all, do I need to finish those? Earlier I would have said yes, I felt privileged that a publisher granted me access to one of the books they had faith in(I still do) and therefore obliged to finish each one. Now I waver do I have to put that kind of stress on my persona? I tend to fall into a reading slump if I force myself to finish a book that I'm not enjoying at all.
What if I quite the book halfway or 50 pages in, do I write a short review of my impression of the book or do I decline the title altogether? I'm at a loss as to how I can do this in the best possible way for both the publisher and myself as a reader.
How do you handle the review titles you've been approved for on Netgalley?
Leave a comment and let me know.
Personally I think if you can't finish a book you should use the decline option. You can still add a comment in the review section to say why.
ReplyDeletePart of the reason I feel that way is because if only a certain amount of the title is being distributed, the publishers then have the option to offer the book to another reviewer.
I only request titles I am genuinely interested in and intend to review. Of the 100+ netgalley books I have chosen I have only declined one which I couldn't get past halfway in (over 200 pages), despite 3 attempts.
What an excellent point you make, Shellyrae.
DeleteAfter reading your comment I realized that my wording in the beginning of the post could be misinterpreted so I've rephrased parts of the post now :)
Oh, I'm at lost too. Every time I request a book at Netgalley I always request those books that I'm sure I'll like. I read the blurbs and take into consideration the genre of the book I'm requesting. Unfortunately, when I got accepted and start reading the book, I somehow realized that it just doesn't work for me. I really want books that grab me from the first line or even several chapters. But when it's not working, I really struggled to finish the book. And it does affect my reading. I'll start to procrastinate, thus the reading slump. I don't know what to do with those I requested but never got around to reading them. I'm on a book requesting ban right now but I still have lots of books to review. I wish I could get through them all before their publication. I'm really grateful to Netgalley and the publishers who let me read wonderful books so I really don't want to let them down.
ReplyDeleteSame here, I'm just requesting the books I really WANT to read. Unfortunately sometimes the book pitch is a lot better than a books content.
DeleteThere are loads of things you can do with books you don't finish. Give them away.
DeleteI cannot giveaway e-book review copies received from Netgalley :)
DeleteYeah! The pitch really gets me every time. Those blurbs are really nicely done. And yes, we are not allowed to giveaway ebooks from Netgalley.
DeleteI think that if you are not enjoying a title as much as you had hoped or it just wasn't working for you that you shouldn't force yourself to finish it. And depending on how much your read and if you feel you can write a little something that depends.... if you don't feel like you could then don't. I have one I DNF, and two I didn't get to and they are archived now. So I only request a few at a time because sometimes I can't get to them all. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI think it's a personal choice.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Chrystal. I'm thinking that I can give a short review when I feel like I have something constructive to say.
DeleteI have not declined because I found I didn't like a book, but I have declined two because the formatting was such it was impossible to handle on my e-reader.
ReplyDeleteThat is totally understandable, for me it has to be compatible with my e-reader. Reading, over a longer period of time, on my computer is just to painful for my eyes(and everyone else I'm sure).
DeleteI think that if you don't like a book and can't go on reading, you should just decline to review without worrying too much. It's true that you requested it, but sometimes the actual book is different than what they led you to believe. We'd better keep our time and energies for the books we feel passionate about.
ReplyDeleteI believe you are right, Alessandra :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts about how to handle galleys :)
DeleteI think that you can write a short review of your impression of the book. And that you don't have to read a book that you can't finish. It would only put you in a reading slump. And that isn't funny at all.
ReplyDeleteHugs mariska
No I hate falling into slumps, especially when my shelves are packed full of books I've bought and once upon a time thought I'd get to :/ So little time, so many books.
DeleteI am feeling the same as you Mari, so I shall keep checking back at the advice everyone else has given you. LOL
ReplyDeleteGood thing to hear that I'm not alone with this dilemma, Viv :) There appears to be a nice variety of thoughts on the matter from the bloggers.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm not a blogger, I always write reviews of books, including ARCs, I win online and post those reviews to various Web sites such as amazon.com, goodreads.com, and bookmovement.com. So I think we're in pretty much the same situation.
ReplyDeleteI request only books I am sure I will like and want to finish. Sometimes I haven't liked a book as much as I thought I would, but only twice have I really, really disliked the book I chose and did not finish it. I felt terrible those two times because I knew that someone else who wanted that book didn't get it because I did. I feel like I cheated them.
Also, I would never review a book I only partially read. That really is cheating. And as a reader, I could care less what a partial reader has to say about a book.
I only request books that I feel confident I will enjoy as well. Unfortunately there are a lot of things that still can work against the novel; bad writing, lack of fantasy, poor language, no chemistry between the reader and the written word, I'm sure I could have made that list even longer.
DeleteI do not intend to fool my readers. If I'm reviewing a title that I couldn't finish it is clearly stated in the post. I sometimes want to tell my readers why I couldn't finish the book. It is a great way to get a debate going on said book. My experience is that those DNF posts often get a lot more attention than the positive reviews.
I asked a rep about that recently 'cause I was not liking one of the books I'd rec'd from the publisher she was contacting me from (if that makes sense!!) She wrote me:
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry to hear you’re not enjoying *** so far, but after all, no book is for everyone. I do hope it picks up for you, but if not, I’m sure we’ll have other upcoming books that are more up your alley!
I really appreciate her attitude 'cause it's hard to read a book that turns out that you don't like it. I knew I'd be giving a low rating if I pushed thru, which also made me feel kinda badly. Since then I've declined a few books with notes to the publisher thanking them for the opportunity. And I'm more careful when I request a title.
Thank you so much for sharing the reply with us, Laura. I appreciate it, it makes me feel a lot better for not liking a book :)
DeleteI usually give books a 100 page rule. Sometimes I'll try to push through anyway but if I ABSOLUTELY can not stand a book, sometimes I'll write a review other times I'll decline. I've only declined a hand full of titles within the 2 years I've been on NetGalley.
ReplyDeleteThere are however, a lot of titles I never got around to and ended up archived. THOSE I have no idea what to do about!
I say that I apply the 100 page rule as well, but I'm not that good at it yet. I need some more practice to be comfortable with it :)
DeleteI really do try to read all of them... Sometimes, I just run out of time. Sometimes, I don't like the book. Before I was like a nazi about finishing EVERY DANG BOOK I got from NetGalley but I've been able to loosen up a bit. I've written a few DNF reviews for them, lemme tell you. ;)
ReplyDeleteHope you find your comfort zone with this. NetGalley definitely sucks you in! ;)
Sierra @ Yearning to Read
www.yearningtoread.blogspot.com
Thanks, Sierra. NG sure sucks you in. I've been trying to stay away, well not entirely but just stopping by once a week or every-other week, from NG since January and just request one title pr. month. Doing good so far :-)
DeleteI say do the same as your do with normal requests. That is what I do in the end
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice, B :)
DeleteI've had to list two titles as Decline because I could not make myself finish reading them. I still get approved for other titles by the same publisher, so don't be afraid to decline if the book just isn't working for you:)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience on the matter, Nina. I guess that is part of what worries me.
DeleteSo I came back and check what everyone's opinion about the subject matter. I never really declined a book. But now I realized that I should because that'd make things a little more easier and will free me from "torturing" myself from reading the book. What do I do with those books I couldn't finish? I just let them expire on my reader and wait for them to be archived. I know it's bad but I really am not familiar with the "Netgalley etiquette" until now. 0.0
ReplyDeleteAh great post! I was having the same problem. I've once had an author send me a book to review. It was tough to get through and in the end it wasn't going to get a favorable review from me. I asked another author what I should do and they advised me to send an email to the author stating that it wasn't my cup of tea and that if they preferred I not review the book on my blog, that I would be okay with it. The author was totally cool about it and even thanked me for sending the email to them instead of blindsiding them with a negative review. However, with netgalley, I've only ever declined 2 books that I was unable to read/finish because they were archived on me. I was currently struggling with another book that just wasn't working for me when I found this post. Thanks! I declined the galley and wrote a note in the review section as to why I declined it and thanked them for the chance to read the book in the first place.
ReplyDelete