On Comments and "Great Reviews"

Friendly friends, I'm not going to lie to you; in fact, I endeavor never to lie to you, even when I have to tell hard truths. I unashamedly love comments. When I wake up and check my email and have a bunch of comments, I am ecstatic. A thoughtful comment is approbation. It tells me that not only did you read my post, but it in turn inspired thoughts in you. This is the start to a discussion and I LOVE bookish discussions, because, hello, book blogger. Comments can be such positive affirmation that I do not suck at what I'm doing.

This is how comments make me feel.

However, I'll admit that there are some comments that I would rather not see. All of the bloggers in the audience can surely relate to this. Some comments seem like empty gratification, intended to blind you to the fact that they didn't read your post with flattery. I regularly get comments that say "great review" or "thanks for the post," but that don't say anything else. While I'm sure it's not always the case, such comments often feel like an inducement to get me to comment back on that person's blog.

Here's the thing: I don't think I ever need to hear great review from anyone. If you have a meaningful response to my post, whether it be on my blog, on Twitter, or on your own blog through a discussion post inspired by and linked to mine, I can tell that you actually appreciated what I was doing. Without any thoughts to back it up, the "great review" comments look like a nicer way of saying tl;dr. Of course, some of this is my fault, because most of the comments like this are giveaway entries, which, by the way, will not count.

Edit: For clarity's sake, I'm speaking to comments that consist of those couple word comments that say nothing but "great review" or something similar, or the ones that accuse you of not liking a book you gave 3+ stars to. Adding "great review" to reflections on the review is totally legit. :)

Comments don't have to be essays to be meaningful, but they should be reflective and suggest that you've read at least some of the review, and considered it. Heck, I even like getting comments saying that the reader only looked at the rating because the book's at the top of their pile and they're excited or concerned. I get that. I've had brief comments that were thoughtful, just a short sentence. It is possible to be brief but still indicate that you really did read the post.

Personally, as a commenter on other people's blogs, I try to comment only when I have something to say, usually something either terribly weird, wordy or both together. Almost never do I use the phrase "great review." I guess I would need to ask some of the blogs I comment on the most to see how they feel about my comments and whether the lack of a specific complimentary phrase leads them to believe I think their reviews suck and I comment for RTs or something, but I doubt it. I think that taking the time to actually respond to a long post shows your interest in the subject matter. I personally try only to say that a review or post is great when I have been just completely blown away by its awesomeness.

Posts that make me go like this, basically.

If you've commented with a "great review" on my blog, don't feel bad. Now that I'm coming to the end of my rant, I'm not entirely sure where to go from here. I don't want to tell you that my way is the right way. I still will appreciate the fact that you took the time to comment on my blog, even if you did it for a comment in return. Just know that I personally, unless I'm really bored that day, only return comments on meme posts, because that's the deal, and to ones that are incredibly thoughtful. If someone comments with a standard response, I would only feel like putting that much effort into returning the comment, and I would rather not comment at all if I can't leave something funny and thoughtful.

Other bloggers, how do you feel about comments on your blog? Readers, what are your commenting strategies? Thoughts, anyone?