Me: [sits down to write a blog that isn’t about Asia or coming home}
Me: [gets up for a jumper, looks at BuzzFeed, brews a coffee]
Me: nope, got nothing
[cont. for three weeks]
In light of my resolution to blog frequently/do interesting things/get my shit together, I’ve been brainstorming blogs I could do regularly, and so far I’ve come up with: the Six O’Clock News (again), book blogging (again), and the 50 blogs challenge I started and joked would take forever… two years ago. The problem is, the news makes me want to go back to a Cambodian island. I read very few blogs. And I can’t stand book reviews.
Whenever someone reviews a book and says they didn’t like, say, a certain character, if I read the book I also don’t like that character. If someone says they loved a plot twist and I read the novel, I feel obliged to like the twist. I’m also always on the lookout for the twist. Often the twist is shite because I knew there would be one. I do not want to inflict anything similar onto other people, so I stopped book blogging. But that’s not the attitude. After several seconds of thought, I’ve come up with a new way to review books that’s quick to read, offers none of my opinions and will let you know if this is the next book you should pick up. So sit down and enjoy the very first instalment of Read, If You Like…
The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins (2015)
Read, if you like…
- Unreliable, unlikable narrators
- Domestic dramas
- The first person
- Thrillers of any kind
- Multiple points of view
- Trains
I’m not being facetious on that last one. There are rather a lot of trains.
And there you have it. If you haven’t read The Girl on the Train, now you have a reason to if you like any of the above. Geddit? Read, if you like…?!
I’m trawling my way through my to-read shelf, but if you have any recommendations for books, do your own Read, If You Like… in the comments!
Francesca's Thoughts 
I think if you write a book review, you have to offer an opinion. Did you actually like “The Girl on the Train?” It’s OK if you didn’t like it. Readers understand (at least, I do) that book reviews are very subjective, and that’s the whole point. I enjoyed “The Girl on the Train” a lot, and it’s OK if you or other reviewers didn’t. Happy reading!
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I tried writing opinionated book reviews for a few months and hated it (I also never read opinionated reviews), so I’m going to try this for a while instead. I was quite ambivalent towards ‘The Girl on the Train’, I liked the twists but none of the characters resonated enough that I’d bother reading it again. Happy reading to you too!
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