Guidelines

• Reading always comes before blogging as though I enjoy blogging it is reading that is my passion. Reading more may mean blogging less and that’s fine. Sometimes life is also allowed to come before reading, sometimes.
• I started writing Savidge Reads as a personal journal of all things bookish and not for anyone else such as publishers/authors or blogger fame/hits (though it is lovely that you pop by) and that is what I always need to remember; or I could become a bit of a dickhead and no one likes an egotistical/self important blogger, nor do we need any more of them.
• I also need to be myself so if that means being slightly snarky, tongue in cheek, giddy, downright cross or any of the spectrum of emotions that go on in my head – this is fine. There is no need to be offensive or uncouth, yet I don’t need to be polite for the sake of it either. Yes, some negative reviews might just be on the way when called for, not just to be an arse. After all we all read some stuff that we just think is a bit ‘meh’ or even complete bobbins.
• I want to read older stuff and discover lesser known/left of field stuff. I love Fiction Uncovered and would really like to uncover more fiction that might have been missed and that is quirky and should be read. I want to go off and be a bit rogue basically, hopefully introducing you to new books and not just be one of the hundred people reading and then writing about the same book. That said…
• I will still be reading new stuff but not every ‘big book’ that is hyped to ridiculous proportions, yes I do mean The Bone Clocks which I am so bored of hearing about. At the same time there are authors who I love that are getting (from previous experience I have had) deserved hype like Ali Smith, Ian McEwan or Neil Mukherjee and so as I would be reading them anyway they don’t count.
• I am happy for publishers to still send me books, I love a new book and it still feels like Christmas every time, yet things need to change. I was sent a autobiography of a jockey last week and I hate horses, we all know this what is the world coming to? Also, I won’t be reading e-book copies, I won’t be doing any blog tours and I don’t want to feature author videos when I haven’t read the book just to earn brownie points. I have created a more in depth Review Policy here.
• Reviews will probably get a bit longer, chatty posts a little bit shorter or longer or stay the same. Though I may again break this rule when I have read a few duds or books I don’t have much to say about. Reviews with spoilers in will say so.
• Blogging doesn’t have to be daily. It doesn’t even have to be every other day! I know, who knew?
• Over all, I want to read by ‘whim’ I don’t want to be reading to deadline unless I set one myself. This is of course instantly hypocritical with projects I have going at the moment like Trespassing with Tremain and the ‘on pause but back soon’ Persephone Projects . yet these are based around personal little reading goals or pacts I have with myself. If you crazy kids want to join in that’s lovely, I might just not jump on board anyone else’s challenges, no offence.
• I will comment back and respond to savidgereads@gmail.com more. I kinda like you lot you see.