Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: Does a cluttered blog have you not returning? By cluttered I mean too many columns, small type, too many photos, difficult to follow, etc.
Well…the biggest reason I don’t return to blogs is sheer lack of time. But that’s on me! When I choose a blog to follow, layout could be a factor, but not a big one. As long as it’s not so crowded or poorly formatted that physically reading is a challenge, I’m probably okay. (A nicely formatted blog could be a plus, though.)
If it’s cluttered in a content way–difficult to follow, ideas pinging about, lack of coherence, that would certainly disincline me to continue. That’s basically just a particular subset of “poorly written” though, and I can’t say it’s one I’ve seen too often. Occasionally I see a book blogger with a very complex template (specific questions they answer every time, a series of rated categories like characters or plot arc, etc) but I’ve usually seen that done to good effect, not so much in a cluttered way.
The two big reasons I’ve had for not following a blog? They don’t read books I’m interested in, and that’s just different interests, nobody at fault–or they summarize more than they review. I’ve seen a lot of “book review” blogs that give four paragraphs of plot summary, then two sentences of what they thought about it all. And I just don’t find that engaging! I want to know something of the plot, obviously, but when I read blogs, I want to know what the blogger felt about the book. I can find plot summaries on Goodreads if I want more detail. (And sometimes reviewers put up the Goodreads summary, and then go into copious summarizing, which is sort of this issue squared.) Considering how common this is, I guess that’s a normal review style? Never one I enjoyed reading, though.
What causes you to not continue reading a blogger? Is clutter a factor in your choices?
Clutter is not really a factor for me, either. I do agree that a plot summary masquerading as a review is not very helpful. I see that all the time on my Kindle, when I browse for a new book. I’ll check reviews and the percentages of people who liked it as factors in whether I want to purchase it and read it. The least helpful reviews either summarize the whole book (sometimes with spoilers, too) and don’t give the author’s opinion about the book, or don’t provide any plot summary and end up just saying some brief variation of “I liked it.” or “A good read,” etc. But it takes work (and talent!) to provide a cogent review. That’s why some people are paid to do that!