So I realized I haven't updated y'all on my life in a while, and that's because it's pitifully boring and busy. That's the life of a double-major college kid, y'all.
Instead, I'll update you on all the important things going on over here at WORD!
In progress: Cross-posting my reviews to Amazon and B&N
I'm currently in the process of cross-posting all of my review to Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It's slow going, as I'm updating each review on WORD as I go along. (You'll see why below.) You can check out my profile at B&N or on Amazon if you're so inclined. And yes, I'll still be posting them here and on Goodreads.
In progress: Updating reviews with Buy | Borrow | Brush Off
So I'm adding a new little section to the top of all of my features, right under the summary, that says Buy | Borrow | Brush Off. The one that applies to the book will be bolded -- it's a quick way to see what I thought and will balance out the Overall Ratings & Final Comments section at the bottom, I think. Lemme know what you guys think of it! Remember, for a link of every review I've ever posted on WORD, just click over to the reviews page.
Completed: Review purge
Speaking of where you can find my reviews, I've also been going through and either rewriting some of my old ones or purging them. When I first started, they were all of a paragraph long and said a whole lot of 'nothing, so I'm went through and cleaned up and cleared out!
New page: Thoughts on and discussion posts
The thoughts on and discussion posts, of which there have been a lot of late, have their own page and button on the sidebar for easy access! They're be organized by category - discussions on writing style, gender and sex portrayals, whitewashing and cover discussions, etc.
New blog series: Characterize
I'm trying my hand at a series of blog posts! You may have noticed the two posts that have gone up so far for Characterize, my new blog series on developing strong characters in YA and what that means for different people. They'll all be listed on the thoughts on page, but for now, you can click over to the tag link and check them out. They're awesome! The next one up will be Nova Ren Suma's on the 22 (this Saturday)!
New website: Parasol Protectorate
As everybody knows, I absolutely adore Gail Carriger and her work. That has exploded into a fansite. We'll see how it works.
For you: What do you want to see on WORD?
I enjoyed this one a lot -- the beginning takes a few seconds to get into, but given that it's only a minute and a half, it's worth the set-up of establishing the 1920s time period. It's certainly creepy and should reflect on the book well, I think.
Endlessly by Kierstin White
I smiled? But that's about the only positive thing I really say for it. I liked the video parts but, as with most trailers, it was way too text heavy and really didn't say anything about the book as a whole.
Defiance by C.J. Redwine
While I'm excited for this book, the trailer does nothing for me. Is what it's saying cool? Sure. But it's all text and, while the effects are cool, I could have gotten the same thing by reading a book flap.
Black Isles by Sandi Tan
The video was cool, if basic, but again -- awfully text heavy, and it doesn't actually say anything about the story. In some trailers, that may work, but in this one I just shrug and say that it's overdramatic.
What applies to books applies to their trailers: show, don't tell! The only one that does that here is The Diviners.
What do you guys think?