I think the question of why people review books on social media sites is really interesting. Like you, I personally review books because I like to look back at what I've written and remember how I felt about a book. I don't write my reviews hoping to generate followers - I'm too old (55) to care about popularity contests - and recognize that my reviews will get limited readership. I'm honestly just excited if someone in my small BL, GR or blogger community likes my review or finds it interesting in some way. A cherry on top if they find a new read that they may not have otherwise encountered.
I also just love books and reading. Being able to participate in a community that feels the same way is fulfilling and inspiring. Writing keeps my brain working, I learn about web mark up language and WordPress formatting and I get to chat with people who share the same love of books and reading.
To answer your second question, I do not tailor which books I review based on how many other people have reviewed the book. I also don't try and find something "unique" to say about the book in an effort to stand out from other reviews/reviewers. Again, my reviews are primarily for my own enjoyment - as an example, I'm getting a chuckle lately from taking pictures of my read book with one of my cats and then using that for my review of the book. Small pleasures.
Count me among those who finds your reviews interesting. I do find, though, that when a book lacks reviews or when it only has a review or two that doesn't do justice to the book I'm more likely to invest the time needed to review it. That was certainly the case with one of the reviews that I posted this weekend.
For the most part, my motivation for reviewing echoes that of @UniquelyPortableMagic.
I also enjoy that reviewing makes me think about the book even more.
I'm really more interested in writing the review for myself, as a note or as a reminder, than for anyone else, and certainly not to market the book or attract followers.
I also sometimes put more effort into a review of a book that is not well known, "neglected", or does somehow stand out from the crowd in other respects for me.
Btw, thanks for leading me to The Neglected Books Page - I have fallen down the rabbit hole and have already added 4 more titles from his reviews to my TBR.
I love that part. It's like another level of engagement with the book. It's also part of the reason I find it more difficult to write a review for a book I really liked, I end up feeling like there so much to say and no real good place to start.
Unless you use the broadest and most generous definition of 'review', what I do doesn't really qualify, and I only write about books on BookLikes. Both of which probably go a way towards answering the first question. :) But in addition to the excellent points Uniquely Portable Magic and BT made, I'd also add that I write about the books I read because of the conversations that are sometimes generated by the posts (as well as those generated by other people's posts). There's only one person in my RL that loves reading like I do, and we don't have anything in common reading-wise; when we do read the same book, we struggle to find common ground. So the conversations we have here are a big incentive to publish my thoughts.
I don't tailor my reviews to anything, although I do get a kick out of being the first to write about a title; it's a small and probably meaningless way of letting future history know that the book was seen and read.
I also just love books and reading. Being able to participate in a community that feels the same way is fulfilling and inspiring. Writing keeps my brain working, I learn about web mark up language and WordPress formatting and I get to chat with people who share the same love of books and reading.
To answer your second question, I do not tailor which books I review based on how many other people have reviewed the book. I also don't try and find something "unique" to say about the book in an effort to stand out from other reviews/reviewers. Again, my reviews are primarily for my own enjoyment - as an example, I'm getting a chuckle lately from taking pictures of my read book with one of my cats and then using that for my review of the book. Small pleasures.
I also enjoy that reviewing makes me think about the book even more.
I'm really more interested in writing the review for myself, as a note or as a reminder, than for anyone else, and certainly not to market the book or attract followers.
I also sometimes put more effort into a review of a book that is not well known, "neglected", or does somehow stand out from the crowd in other respects for me.
Btw, thanks for leading me to The Neglected Books Page - I have fallen down the rabbit hole and have already added 4 more titles from his reviews to my TBR.
I don't tailor my reviews to anything, although I do get a kick out of being the first to write about a title; it's a small and probably meaningless way of letting future history know that the book was seen and read.