CARAMEL’S CORNER

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I want to give some attention to some areas I think I have been neglecting. One of the areas I have been neglecting is books…

…to correct that, I am introducing CARAMEL’S CORNER!

CARAMEL'S CORNER

I buy the books of other WordPress writers, mainly because I want to support them. But it has been brought to my attention that I could go further in supporting them, by reviewing their books. So…I am going to start a READING CORNER on my blog. Just what you never realized you needed….but now you are not going to be able to go without!

I am going to focus on books I have bought and read that were written by WordPress bloggers. Now…you are going to have to cut me some slack to begin with. The truth is…I don’t know where to begin with writing reviews. I have been reading the reviews other bloggers have written and hopefully learning something.

bloggging6I am a little nervous about the responsibility of reviewing another writer’s book. What if I did not enjoy it? What if it was full of spelling mistakes? I don’t plan to list all the faults I may pick up on. I want to support other writers, not slate them. So my plan is to write sweet Caramel flavoured book reviews. I am not going to score them. I am going to tell you what the book is called, who wrote it and where you can find their WordPress blog…and then I will tell you what I enjoyed about their book…without dropping any spoilers! Spoilers are baaaaaaaad!

Turns out writing interesting book reviews (without sending readers to sleep) is not easy.

Yes…this is why I have never attempted book reviews!!!

Anyway…I have forty paperback books I bought from other WordPress writers and ten Kindle books. I prefer reading paperbacks, because staring at my laptop (I only have Kindle on my laptop) strains my eyes.

cc1I am always looking out for books written by WordPress bloggers, but before everyone starts sending me links to their books, I want to mention that I am a little fussy with books…only in that I don’t want to read about things that are going to give me nightmares. I have been the victim of a serious crime, so anything that is violent, disturbing, or features demons, vampires or horror…I just can’t read that kind of material. So, on occasion I have chosen not to buy a WordPress blogger’s book because I know I cannot read it.

I do love reading, chick-lit, poetry, children’s and young adult books, non-violent crime-solving, action and suspense so long as there is no gory violence, fiction and non-fiction that promotes more awareness in all aspects of mental health, stories about life and love and learning about oneself, growing as a person, becoming stronger.

readsI even bought a WordPress bloggers book (in complete naivety) which turned out to be quite an education in…”human biology”…they obviously missed that chapter in science lessons at my high school.

Most of my reading has been the classics, which I have read and re-read because I loved them so much the first time round. But wanting to be supportive to other bloggers, I have bought a lot of new books…and read them…and now I am going to review them – ta da!!!

Reviews a la Caramel!

Anyway…I am waffling now…my point is CARAMEL’S CORNER posts will be making an appearance on my site, and within each one I will be sharing the fabulous books written by other WordPress writers…and I shall be attempting to review them without offending anyone!!!

Relax, Read, Silhouette, Woman, Dog, Hang, Tree, Pet

31 thoughts on “CARAMEL’S CORNER”

    1. Thanks Stuart, that’s very kind of you to say. My own blogging is just a little hobby that helps record things I don’t want to forget. I am a chatterbox…and sometimes there is not enough time in the day, or enough ears around me to say everything I want to say about life. So having this blog to capture some of what means a lot to me is very helpful.

      Attempting reviews is very new to me…I have set myself a little list of things I don’t want to do:
      * drop spoilers
      * score books
      * point out perceived faults
      * discourage the writers of the books I am reviewing

      So each review I am hoping will be enjoyable in itself, but they are going to be about what I personally enjoyed about the writing and I hope they will be encouraging and supportive to writers and anyone thinking about writing. I think it’s brilliant that so many bloggers have written a book, and I would love for them to be sure that they are bringing enjoyment to others.

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    1. I have a huge desire to support other WordPress bloggers with their writing….but at the same time I don’t want to traumatise myself with material that would upset me. I have always been selective with my choice of entertainment and books. Although I love variety, the list of things I don’t want to read about is probably longer than the list of what I do want to read about.

      Even as a child, I was fussy….I loved Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, Secret Seven, Mallory Towers…but had zero interest in any magic trees. I never read any Harry Potter books, but loved Beatrix Potter. I started reading Charles Dickens and was fascinated by the vivid characters he portrayed….but many of his books did depress me. But when it came to rich characters I thought he was brilliant Leo Tolstoy’s books were very absorbing, but I also often felt a little depressed. Same with the Bronte sisters. . I loved Jane Austen because reading her books was always a delight. But my favourite books were from Alexander Dumas and Victor Hugo. They had so much action and I did not find that they lowered my mood as much as Tolstoy did.

      When a writer can pack in humour, action, deep feelings, courage and something inspirational into a story….well…that to me is an awesome read. But I never did get on with fantasy creatures, fairies, magic, or aliens. I think I prefer real life settings.

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    1. I learnt a new word today…I had to google mahusive. ❤
      My challenge is how to make book reviews interesting. I sometimes notice that other bloggers have lots of likes on their normal posts, but when they post a book review, the number of likes drops dramatically. So I want to make each post worth reading.

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      1. One way is combine a shortish post on a theme you’ve picked out from the reviewed book and then segue into the review. Barb Taub does that brilliantly (if sometimes at length) when she reviews for Rosie’s Book Review Team. Her blog is grand anyway. She reviewed one of mine and found a theme I didn’t realise was in there! Here’s an example https://barbtaub.com/2020/06/16/special-hell-for-cliffhangers-plus-yafantasy-done-right-bookreview-the-phantoms-curse-by-shelleywilson72-humor-tuesdaybookblog/

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        1. Thanks Geoff…I will take a look at her reviews.

          One thing I was concerned about was how many bloggers gave away too much of the plot, and even the ending during their review….then offering their own verdict and saying how they would change the storyline. I don’t want to do anything like that. I thought it was quite disrespectful for a reviewer to start claiming they could do so much better.

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          1. I agree. Most of the book review bloggers i follow give a fair review and are good about plot spoilers. Some include a section where they make it clear they include plot spoilers which i think is fair. I’ve not come across those who seek to improve but i agree that’s not really on. The thing i guess anyone who reviews has to fight against is the tendency to give a good review so as not to offend. I occasionally do reviews and never give a star rating so i let my reviews speak for themselves.

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    1. Yes…I have already prepared a post for Zion…..
      I am doing things in advance and scheduling them to be published on Saturdays…

      …however for the next couple of months….every other week will be an award post, and a CARAMEL CORNER post. So I think the Zion is due to be published in October.

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    2. I have two other books from you as well. I have not reviewed them yet…but once the award posts are out of the way, I think CARAMEL’S CORNER will be every Saturday for a while. So it should speed things up a little.

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    1. In these dark times, when many are losing joy and hope, not knowing what tomorrow will bring, what the world needs a baking book from Gary…truly! It would lift their hearts and inspire them!!! ❤

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  7. Great idea! I still have no idea how to write a “real” book review. Non-fiction I’ve gotten reasonably comfortable with, but anything other than that I feel particularly clueless (not that I’ve let that stop me). Most of the blogger books I’ve read have been really good, but for the few that have had major weaknesses, I’ve just ignored those and focused on what was good.

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    1. I have decided I am going to “wing it”. I have so many reviews from other bloggers and I just hope they are going to be a positive rather than a negative, an encouragement rather than a discouragement. So long as I steer to showing appreciation for the effort it takes to write and publish a book, I am sure I am going to be able to be supportive.

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    1. I will work on what I can say that is accurate and positive about books that were not my cup of tea. ❤

      Recently a very kind blogger read and reviewed my book. I think him an absolute gem for writing my story of love and emotions and mental health challenges. He was very complimentary even though it was a genre he would not normally choose. If he can do it!…I must apply myself to supporting writers because of their hard work and effort.

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