Author: Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

FEBRUARY 18: CHANGING BOOK RATINGS/REVIEWS (NICOLE @ THOUGHTS STAINED WITH INK)

Prompts: Do you ever change your rating/review for a book? When or why would you consider doing so? Do you think people should be allowed to change their ratings/reviews? Is it important to make it known what the previous rating/review was if you’re changing it?

Welcome to the middle of February for another LTB, everyone. I’m definitely excited by today’s topic. It’s something that I sometimes think about, but I’m not sure I’ve ever really done in my reviews. Can’t wait to hear what you all think about it!

As a general case, I won’t usually go back and change a rating on a post that has already been published. I’m usually just too lazy, and the adjustments I want to make aren’t even that large (usually a change by a half a star Drink Me Potion). However, I do think about it often whenever I compare book ratings. Sometimes I finish a book and I rated it a 4, and the next book was better, but I don’t want to give it a 4.5. That makes me struggle a bit because giving two 4s make it seem like I liked them equally, when really I’d much recommend/prefer one over the other.

I think the main reason for changing a rating is when you think back in retrospect. When you first finish a book and all the adrenaline or dopamine and rush of emotions may actually affect your perception of the book you just finished. I sometimes will sit with it before making a final rating and I can make a more objective rating. That being said, a rating is totally subjective so sometimes I’ll just rate it exactly how I feel. Isn’t that the point?

While I don’t think it’s necessary or unnecessary to make your changes public, I think it certainly could be cool to see why someone changed their opinion! I certainly wouldn’t mind going to someone’s review and seeing they changed their mind over time for some reason. I think that sometimes, with more experience or more books, the way we feel about an old book can change. I mean, after all, don’t we all have different opinions about books we loved as kids?

One thing I will admit though (whether good or bad), I do tend to temper my own ratings when I learn what others think about it. Sometimes everyone will hype it up and perhaps because of that I won’t like it as much as I expected. Conversely, something I really enjoyed I may not rate as highly because others I talked to didn’t enjoy it as much for some reason. Do any of you experience that? I start off thinking I have a great book on my hands, 4.5/5. Someone tells me it was only a 3/5 to them for whatever reason. I then start reconsidering my own opinions and re-evaluating whether I’ve been too lenient. In that kind of scenario I’d likely end up rating it a 4/5! Does this happen to anyone else?

Not sure if I should hold onto my opinions more firmly. I think really considering what others say and see if their logic holds can provide a more objective review. But are reviews supposed to be completely objective? Most definitely not. Still, a part of me wants people to agree with my rating, so I guess at the heart of hearts that’s why I do it.

Let me know below if any of you can relate!

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

FEBRUARY 11: TOPICS THAT CAN’T/SHOULDN’T BE REPRESENTED IN FICTION (MIKAELA @ MIKAELA READS)

Prompts: Are there certain topics that can’t or shouldn’t be represented in fiction? If so, why shouldn’t they be? Do you think problematic/controversial issues in society should remain strictly part of the real world, or should they be explored in fiction? Should the ability to write about problematic or controversial topics be limited to certain people?

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH! Today’s topic is actually quite similar to last week’s, but perhaps looking at it from a different perspective. If what I say today sounds familiar, now you know why. Can’t wait to hear what all of you think about it too!

I think I will just start with my overall thoughts, which really reiterates what I said last week on LTB. I think in general there aren’t any hard and fast rules against topics or relationships, etc. in general. When we start glorifying things and inadvertently teaching it to the next generation, then it really gets more contentious. But as a general rule I’d say most things shouldn’t be banned—freedom of expression is at play here I think.

I think the prompt really hits the heart of the issue. It’s the representation…in fiction. I’d much rather people explore controversial topics in a fiction rather than in real life. I’m especially thinking of the dystopian fictions with this train of thought. Something like Orwell’s 1984 really has some controversial things happening, but yet is great social commentary and of course, a classic.

There is some danger in who is exploring these topics. I’m not sure if it’s the contentious/problematic topics that are really at stake. I think it might actually be the sensitive topics (e.g. racial discrimination) that really have a huge impact these days in how it’s portrayed. I don’t think it needs to be limited to certain people, but I certainly hope people do their research before writing about such topics.

Thinking practically, I don’t think I have ever run across a topic that I felt like shouldn’t have been touched in a fiction. However, I have definitely thought many a time that some topics were not dealt with properly in the book, and I know many share this same sentiment. So overall I think most topics (until proven wrong) are okay, but just make sure the research is done and hopefully it’ll be okay.

What do you all think? Have you come across topics that you felt like should have just been left out/never approached? I’d like to hear what they are!