So I've received a lot of questions from people asking me how I remember certain details to review on my blog reviews and I decided to write a Jess' Book Advice for it.

Perhaps.. if you call it advice.

If you're like me, you read a lot. And once you read five or six books a month, its hard to keep track of what books included what, and what scenes made you feel a certain way.

I know so many people who use a variety of ways to write their reviews and remember specific details but I'll only be talking about my own tactics.

During my early days of book blogging, I used my notebook to write down specific details. For those who didn't know, I love notebooks and journaling -- I have a journal for basically everything. 

This was a really fun and easy idea to jot down notes, although it was quite an annoyance where I'd have to pull out my notebook and my book every time I was reading or had an idea or a reaction about certain scenes and characters. 

I wanted something portable and quick where I can read, write my reaction, then continue to read without worrying about the pile of things on my lap. Literally.

That is when I started using GoodReads. 

Throughout the years, I've always used GoodReads to track the books I read and how many books I've read throughout the year which I think is a great tool. 

But GoodReads does have this tool where you can track your pages along the way; I believe it's called Update Progress. It's much easier to find on the GoodReads app but online is fine as well!

This basically allows you to fill in what page you're reading or what percentage if you're reading on a Kindle or listening to the audiobook and if you would like, write a comment.

In the comments section of the Update Progress, I like to write a comment on my reaction to things, the writing, how I feel about characters, etc. And that also allows you to look back on your comments whenever you would like. I find this tool to be very easy and convenient as I don't have to open up so many things in order to jot down reading reactions.

If you follow me on GoodReads, which you definitely should -- link is here, you will find myself writing very broad reviews for the books I've read. This also helps me gather the key elements of the book that I can write in my review.

As for the rating aspect, I usually rate books by plot execution, writing style and characters then somehow find a medium between the three.

Some key aspects to think about when rating books is to remember what genre they are in. I see so many people put all book genres and age groups under one rating system forgetting that certain books are aimed to certain ages.

For example, I've see so many people rate Middle Grade books as the same standard as adult fiction: "This book was okay. I feel like it wasn't as complex as I was hoping for."

Remembering that certain books are in certain genres and aimed towards certain age groups is crucial when writing your reviews.

Once I have gathered all my key opinions and find an appropriate rating, I start piecing my review.

Writing a review, for myself, doesn't take me very long since I've already gathered my pieces I need to write them. On average, it takes me about one hour to write a review although everyone is different.

Of course, what works for me, may not work for you. I've seen people use other tactics like writing in their books (annotating), using sticky notes etc. it's just a matter of what works best for the reader!

I'd love to know how you review your books! Let me know in the comments section or on my Instagram!