"I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us." Franz Kafka
For any author who would like his/her book to be reviewed, contact me. Poetry books too are solicited for reviewing. However, there are some genres I tend to avoid. Feel free to ask me.
gautami.tripathy[at]gmail.com
I must mention here that I read at my own pace and depending on my mood. Don't ask me to hurry.
The world of blogging is continually changing. Share 3 things you think are essential, tried and true practices for every blogger and 1-3 new trends or tools you’ve adapted recently or would like to in the future.
The usual, I think...I have some views which I say often enough. I will again repeat those here:
1) Keep your reviews simple, and to the point. We don't want the story. We want only your views.
2) De-clutter you blog. Too manly blings put off the readers. I totally detest music, blinking stuff and also I don't like white fonts on black background. It hurts my eyes and I think it hurts many other's eyes too.
3) Keep commenting forum reader friendly. As we all know blogger has introduced the embedded comment box, and it has been a while now. Somehow I don't find it user friendly, especially if one uses word verification. Why do I have to click it at least thrice to get my comments through? It truly pisses me off. I also don't like the Disqus/intensedebate way of commenting. Both take a while and I kind of desist from commenting there unless , it is something I can't miss. Open id is a good way. Wordpress uses it, although it is somewhat different. Commenting on wordpress blogs is a pleasure. I don't mind comment moderation and/or word verification, but both being used together, is not a good option. Have either of the two, not both.
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17 comments:
Those are all great tips!
Great points, and one I haven't seen mentioned yet today! Especially 2 and 3. I really struggle to read/comment on some blogs for exactly the reasons you cited, which is too bad because I'd like to do both!
Yes, yes, yes! I totally agree with your #3. I have ranted about embedded comments with word verification before!
1.Yes! Simple reviews are a must for me to read them. If it starts to get past a few paragraphs, I pass.
2.Yes! I'm simple so I prefer things that are. You'll feel that instantly on my blog. I came for the content, I shouldn't be distracted by the extras.
3. Yes! I don't like having to click multiple times to post a comment either. I actually just figured out that even works. Before, I would just leave the page. But I truly think people don't know if their blog is doing that. Also I'd rather not hunt to find where to comment.
I hate those word entering things, but I really hate when blogs have both words to enter and moderation. UGH...And those embedded boxes that take forever...and my computer at work never lets me use those embedded boxes, so I don't comment a lot of the time when I'm in the office.
Thanks for the tips
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I commented earlier but I suppose it didn't go through. So I'll try it again. :-)
I don't like disqus either, I'm thinking about adding comment luv.
I don't mind lengthy reviews or reviews that tell the story if they forewarn with a spoiler alert, sometimes I like the whole story because I don't plan on reading the book anyway and it;s like having Cliff notes. It all depends on who is doing the review. Sometimes short reviews can still be too long depending on the writer.
I despise captcha. I often don't visit blogs that do because it's uses more of my time to enter the letters and I often comment using my iPad and it's really irritating to have to enter in letters over and over when you have on auto correct.
Thanks again for stopping by my blog and commenting on my tips. :-)
I agree - if you have word verification, don't moderate comments too. Use one or the other.
And I really dislike the embedded comments with word verification. My comments get lost when I don't realize there's another step to publish my comment.
I'll have to fix my comment box! Thanks for the tips.
Book Dilettante
i so agree re the bling & especially any that makes the page load slow like music or videos and some animation scripts. besides i'm often listening to music of my own choosing and it's beyond annoying. i usually close the tab immediately
and readable fonts are essential for me as i have vision issues as it is
great advice!
I have enjoyed your BBAW postings this week.
I think we have all become much more of a community this week.
carol
great advice here thanks especially the comment stuff.
I thought about mentioning the auto-play music but decided not to. Nothing gets me to click away from a blog faster.
I use IntenseDebate because it's got so many more features than Blogger's native comment system does, but I know it gives some people fits and I've lost some commenters as a result. (But it does allow for commenting under your Twitter or Facebook ID, which may help.)
And I agree that captcha + comment moderation = overkill.
I don't like, I think it is Typepads, word verification. Sometimes it takes me more than once to figure out what the heck the letters are. I do admit it annoys me!
Oh music/sound effects on a blog drive me crazy too - and I am totally with you on the commenting thing!
Shelleyrae @ book'd Out
Great points. Your the first to bring up music, absolutely that should be removed.
I learned about comments early on, that is a great tip.
I use the embedded commenting, but I turn the word verification off and just moderate the comments myself. I actually only do that because then I can be sure I see all of them.
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