Kirstie is an Australian book reviewer, and an editor at Fremantle Press. She likes to read historical fiction and fantasy in equal doses, both YA and adult. Alongside this blog, she also runs an Instagram and YouTube channel where she shares other bookish content and her love of reading.
Genres Featured on Upside-Down Books
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Contemporary
Science Fiction
Memoirs
Non-fiction will be considered, particularly those featuring Own Voices and Climate Change themes/topics/authors.
Review Content
All books read are reviewed, whether they are good or bad. Honest opinions will always be shared and any books received for free in exchange for review will be marked as such.
Not currently accepting independent review requests
Reviews are spoiler-free unless otherwise stated. All of reviews are posted on Goodreads prior to publishing them here (Goodreads profile).
Monthly Feature
//currently on a hiatus from this – plans to resume 2022 //
Past to Paper
Past to Paper is Kirstie’s original monthly feature that combines a love of history with books. Each month one topic is featured on a certain historical period and its presence (or lack thereof) in literature is discussed.
Contact
email: ozbooksnail(at)gmail(dot)com
Hi, I wanted to leave a comment on your post re: ARC’s and the life of a reviewer, but there’s no place to do so – are comments closed?
The comments: Getting ‘free’ books/epubs has a cost – your time and effort to read and then write the review. The person who doesn’t ‘pay’ appropriately eventually gets taken off the list of the people who provide the ‘free’ items.
So, if you measure your time against the cost of the book, who comes out ahead? It’s a serious question, because I’m wondering if passion for the books (and getting lots of them that you’d read anyway) is worth more than money.
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Hi! I’m sorry about that, the comments are definitely open so I’m not sure why you were unable to comment there.
In regards to your question, I guess it comes down to you, personally, and how you see the reviewing process. For me, I love reading and I love reviewing; I don’t see it as time consuming or “payment” as it’s something I enjoy doing. In that sense, for me it is fun and a privilege to receive books for review.
Maybe if it feels too much like an obligation or a task then reviewing ARCs is not for you. Unless you requested the book, you should not be under any obligation to read it. If you did request it, then fair enough – if you don’t then review that book and the “payer” as you say decides not to send you anymore, that makes sense. My advice would be to know how much of your time you feel like dedicating to reviews and to request accordingly.
So it’s really totally up to you! But I wouldn’t say that there is a negative “cost”, at all, when it comes to writing reviews. Hope that answers your question!
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I’m not actually a review, but an author, and was wondering why reviewers do so much, what the value is to them …
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Fair enough! And because we love it is the simple answer!
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Hey Kirstie! Do you ever do audiobooks?
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Yes ☺️ All the time!
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Interested in trying something different and fun?
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Hi, Kirstie! Fantasy and dragon lover here, and when I saw your dragon snail icon, I was like, “Ooh, so cool!” Snails are actually pretty neat, too, aren’t they? And their shells! So a dragon snail is just awesome!!
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