I have long held a skepticism of reviews and review sites. My cynicism about the veracity of many reviews is a combination of comments made to me by reviewers, things read on blogs, and my own observations. In other words, I readily admit my opinion is based on a liberal mix of truth, fiction, and gossip (as most opinions probably are).
On the one hand, I am honestly pleased when an author I know, who has written a book I love, gets a glowing review. It gives me a feeling of satisfaction, knowing someone else recognized the strength in writing, well-developed characters and compelling storyline. There is a validation of not only my own brilliance in recognizing the book’s greatness but also the authors (admittedly greater) brilliance in writing it. But it’s easy for me to comb through the reviews on the books I’ve read, and find the reviews that I believe to be critical, fair and well-written.
The more difficult part, and where my cynicism rears its ugly head, is the books I haven’t read. I often wonder if the review site is writing the review for the author and the publisher, unwilling to give an honest review, but instead searching for the reviewer who will give the book a glowing review. I will acknowledge that there are times a second reviewer should be sought—for instance, the reviewer thought they were going to be reading an inspirational book and instead got an erotic romance, a genre they find not to their taste. That can happen. We all have genre, POV, and storyline preferences. It’s hard—some would argue impossible—to move beyond those and review a book without the color of our own biases. After all, what is the enjoyment of anything, if not subjective?
Why am I cynical of reviews for books I haven’t read? Because I’ve read so many glowing reviews of books that I thought sucked. Poor writing, muddy point-of-view (three in one sentence is too many, don’t you think?), wandering body parts (she has a hand growing from between her legs? Huh), bad editing and inconsistent storyline. In my mind, those things equal a bad book. But as one person said to me “…but the story was different and it was good.” For me, that doesn’t compensate for lazy writing and bad editing, but mine is only one opinion. And boy, when I look at review sites, that’s the way I feel! That mine was the only poor opinion of the book. The reviews glow, they gush, they praise and raise the author to deity level. In short, they aren’t for me. They’re for the author.
There are other things that lead to my inability to trust in a review on a site dedicated to that purpose: past and present reviewers who have reported being told not to write a negative review, seeing, as I skim a list of reviews, no rating lower than a three has EVER been given (why bother having the 1 and the 2 available?), reviewers reviewing books of authors they chat with daily and are, if not friends, than friendly with (it’s more difficult to say honest, not so lovely things about a book than it is to gush far and wide about it, especially when you “know” the author).
But lest I sound biased, let me say that it’s not only formal review sites, but also reviews on places like Amazon I mistrust for a variety of reasons: Authors, editors and publishers posting glowing reviews of their own works under pseudonyms and campaigning for family members and friends to do the same. The aforementioned people as well as others with an axe to grind posting deliberately rude and ugly reviews for specific authors. Reviews being posted by people who have never even read the book (Rainbow Party comes immediately to mind). And sometimes, negative reviews disappearing from listing. As an example; recently, Keishon reported disliking a book and stated on her blog she had given it a negative review on Amazon. Several days later it was mentioned elsewhere that the author had asked Amazon to remove the review—and succeeded in getting it taken down. In its place, 16 glowing reviews appeared, giving the book 5 stars—at least several written by the author’s peers and colleagues. Having not seen the review in question, except as re-written on Keishon’s blog, I can’t speak to whether it should have been removed or not. The author, on a joint blog she contributes to, reported it as a “nasty and mean spirited review” and one which “took the facets of my book that make the romance work and wrote about them as if they were filth.” Again, let me re-state: I did not see the review in question. But, as a visitor to Keishon’s blog commented, sometimes it’s the negative reviews that can drive a person to buy a book. Only 5 star reviews look suspicious. Many readers look for the books that have a balance of reviews.
I doubt I’m the only one who finds themselves turning more and more to other readers’ blogs for reviews and re-caps of books. I think there are a number of reasons for this but I’ll cite two: Bloggers rarely have anything to lose by posting an honest review and they have no one to tell them they can’t say something or have to re-write the review in more positive terms. Although the same can be said of bloggers, it’s even more difficult to know which review site, which reviewer, is giving an honest opinion every time. Is it possible their honest opinion is a glowing recommendation for every book they’ve read? Well…does the name Harriet Klausner ring any bells? Need I say more?
All of this leads me to ask, how do you…as an author, reader, or even a reviewer feel about reviews? What sites and magazines do you trust and which do you avoid? Do you find yourself depending more on blogs or do you still turn to review sites? And for places like Amazon, do you look at the reviews on a book? And in what circumstances do you think an author or someone else should get a review removed?
I wanted to note that after finished writing this and uploaded it yesterday morning, at some point in the afternoon, the original review reappeared back on Amazon.
by AngieW January 11th, 2006 at 7:08 amReviews, except by people I know (even if it’s just online on a messageboard), neither sway me against or for a book.
Partly it’s that I believe an understanding of said reviewer’s taste is required for you to give the review any weight at all.
The other thing is the typically 4/5 star reviews given. Sure, it got pubbed, but there are good pubbed books and bad ones. The gushing makes me sick.
by May January 11th, 2006 at 7:48 amI like what Keishon said in her comments.
One thing I learned is that when an author doesn’t like a review she reads, she can ask all of her author buddies to join in the fun and have them leave glowing reviews whether they’ve read the book or not. So, no, I don’t give much credit to Amazon.com reviews. Never have really and this experience only has proven the point that many of us have always speculated about: that authors have their fan/author base bail them out of bad reviews, so that their book can have all **glowing** positive reviews (gag).
by Ruth W January 11th, 2006 at 8:01 amToo much gushing makes me wary of the book. I’ve actually stopped reading a few epubbed authors because of too much gushing from their fans. Not fair, perhaps, but that’s what I’ve done.
And I think it’s true that reviewers reviewing authors they are friendly with and “know” on the internet don’t want to give poor reviews. There’s a certain “high” that comes from having someone (an author in this case) talk about how much they love what you wrote. So sometimes I believe reviewers just write glowingly, knowing they are pleasing the author and not really caring about being unbiased.
Well…there’s a reason I stopped reviewing other than my blog.
by Nicole January 11th, 2006 at 8:03 amTo be blunt: phoney reviews are a cheap fraud.
by Bernita January 11th, 2006 at 8:32 amA common excuse is that someone else is doing it, so why should I or my favorite author suffer in comparison because my/our reviews are honest? And so the cheating competition expands.
Another cause is a certain illogical mind-set as well as a failure to discriminate between the writer and her work added to a kind of ego identification: I loved so-and-so’s first book.Fav. Awesome. She is really nice on her blog.Therefore this book MUST be good too.
The phoney pro/anti reviews are usually easy to spot though.
I tend to ignore reviews.
OK, you’re talking about the review for Wolf Tales, so I have to tell you that Kate specifically said she didn’t care if people posted good or bad reviews, she just didn’t want that review to be the only one people saw. She did not ask for people who hadn’t read the book to make something up.
I haven’t read Wolf Tales so I don’t have an opinion on the book, but those are the facts on the Amazon review situation. She didn’t ask for praise.
by Charlene Teglia January 11th, 2006 at 8:43 amYou’re correct Charli. That wasn’t clear in my post. I apologize for that omission. I probably could have dedicated an entire post to Amazon reviews.
by AngieW January 11th, 2006 at 8:49 am[...] Piggybacking on AngieW’s post today at RTB . . . no matter the reason, even if the comments are hurtful or disparaging or venomous, should an author ever manipulate her Amazon reader reviews? [...]
by alisonkent.com » Blog Archive » Micro-Managing Reviews January 11th, 2006 at 9:16 amI review on my blog. I try very hard to be honest. If I had a problem with something, I state it. But I review with the purpose of sharing my thoughts on a book, not stroking the author’s ego.
I’ve had authors visit my site and comment on my review, which I appreciate. I’ve been asked to review second books when I’ve also reviewed the first. But I figure my reviews are for the people reading my blog, who know I read alot and are interested in my thoughts on a book.
When purchasing a book, I’m more likely to judge it based on what friends have said or an excerpt than an Amazon review. Since I don’t know the reviewer, I don’t know their bias.
by Stacie January 11th, 2006 at 9:49 amI see everything you’re saying Angie, and I do agree with most of it. A HUGE problem is that there are “drive-bys” where a poster has a grudge, jealousy, etc. against the author. I know of several big authors who have discussed this, and said it was so obvious that they now dismiss any Amazon reviews. I had a similar problem where the poster posted two back-to-back reviews, (one was a one-liner that said something like “If I could give this a half star I would”) I’m guessing these two were under the same IP address. I mentioned it to Amazon because it was so obvious. The made-up name had only done one review–mine, and the one right before it had only done one review in 2003 and mine. I mentioned it to Amazon that I thought it must be the same poster. They took the one-liner down with the fake name, and kept the other but put [...] everywhere there was something highly offensive taken out. I think that’s acceptable, where if something is blatantly offensive to any reader that Amazon can edit it. It still downed my book–that’s fine–but it wasn’t offensive any more. I did ask my chat group, and only my chat group, for any one who has read my book–and that means *read* my book–to post their opinion. I did not ask for a glowing review, I wanted their honest opinion and prayed it wasn’t a one-star. I’ve had a couple of so-so reviews, some reviews that confused me or were’nt so hot(4 stars, but “this —” drove me crazy…?) 3 stars because they didn’t get the Pagan rituals. A one star that just flat out didn’t like the book, a two star that cut to the bone. That’s fine. What isn’t fine are the obvious mean-spirited jealous or grudge-holding reviews that you know are hit and runs. I’ve been overall fortunate that I’ve had *a lot* of 5 star reviews from people I don’t know, and really just a few from people I do know, but did read the book. I would never want a review just to make it sound like it was good when the book wasn’t. Forbden Magic went into its third printing within 3 weeks, so it must be doing okay. And really, you know what? Amazon reviews truly mean nothing. They’re a drop in the bucket. What means something is the buzz your book creates so that people recommend it by word of mouth. Now that’s what it’s all about.
by Cheyenne McCray January 11th, 2006 at 9:53 amHave to say I’m wary of blog recommendations for romances, just because of the nature of the on-line community. Even if friendship doesn’t come into it, politeness may: if you’ve followed author X’s blog about her long road to publication, and empathised with her delight at seeing the book finally published - maybe even received a free ARC in her competition - how hard-hearted would you have to be to write a dismissive review?
I like Amazon reviews - you can spot the axe-to-grind and the five-stars-because-I-know-it-will-be-great-when-I-read-it reviewers fairly easily, and get a sense of what others felt about the book. Only really works for me when several people have contributed: I agree with you that it’s hard to know what to make of a lone review, unless you’ve some idea of the person’s taste.
I suppose I think authors should be wary of removing reviews - a critical review often sparks a dissenting good review, and the nature of on-line book buying is such that you [I, at any rate] don’t buy a book that hasn’t been reviewed or blogged about somewhere.
Lastly, a word of praise for Rosario - I find her reviews insightful.
by Marianne McA January 11th, 2006 at 9:53 amI totally agree, Chey. And actually, it was partly Forbidden Magic I had in mind when I wrote that bit about one of the reasons I’m wary of Amazon reviews is because of the “grudge” posters.
But maybe the question is, who should judge what is a grudge review? What seems like a grudge review to you or I, might not seem like it to the next person. It’s an interesting quandry. Where is the line drawn?
by AngieW January 11th, 2006 at 9:59 amI have a couple of thoughts–let’s see if I can make them coherent.
1) I read reviews to refresh my memory about a book, or to get a more detailed idea about a book that’s been recommended to me. Like you mentioned, sometimes the negative reviews are more informative than the positive ones.
2) One reason I think for the small number of one- and two-star rated reviews is that reviewers often get a choice of books to review, and Amazon reviews in particular are by people who expected to like the book. If all the reviewers were given a completely random selection of books, I’m sure you’d see more of a bell curve in the review ratings.
3) Now to the subject I’ve been struggling with for a while. I wholeheartedly agree with you, Angie, about what constitutes a “bad book.” Amazingly, there are a lot of people who don’t think the same. I’ve seen glowing reviews for books I could barely read, they were so poorly written.
I don’t think that can all be attributed to the author’s buddies trying to help her out. I’ve had discussions with friends who’ve loved books I thought were horrible, and I’ve come to the conclusion that, hard as it may be to wrap my head around, different people see different things in books.
There are, apparently, people who overlook or don’t even notice glaring writing errors in favor of descriptions, plots, or characters. Me, I’m all about the writing, and as long as there is a plot, I don’t care much what kind it is (well, unless it’s a secret baby one–I do have some standards).
by Darla January 11th, 2006 at 10:01 amIt’s true, Angie, where do you draw the line? I think if it’s totally blatant that’s the case, then it could be considered a drive-by. But yeah, where do you draw the line?
by Cheyenne McCray January 11th, 2006 at 10:22 amAs a published author (Undead and Unwed, The Royal Treatment, etc.) I’m sort of amazed that *other* authors even care about Amazon reviews. Doctors can only be reviewed by other physicians, you can’t supervise teachers without a graduate degree, you can’t get a doctorate without the help of someone else who has one…or, more likely, a whole committee…the list is endless. But any asshat can post a review on Amazon and trash a book. Or love a book. So who cares? It’s never going to be an even playing field. I’ve gotten gushes and I’ve gotten the “axe to grind” kind, and I pretty much ignore ‘em all and keep my head down and write.
So.
by MaryJanice Davidson January 11th, 2006 at 10:26 amI do interviews, not reviews, but I always gush endlessly about the books I liked. Why? Why the hell not? It’s only natural.
I do wonder about people who write the really scathing reviews, though. I’ve read plenty of books I’ve hated, but to write an publish a terrible review - I just couldn’t do it.
by Reese Witherfork January 11th, 2006 at 10:29 amLOL, MJ. That pretty much echoes my feelings. Who the heck cares! Learning what I have about the meaninglessness of Amazon rankings in the scheme of true sales has given me a whole new outlook on the site’s power. Not to mention that controversy is more often than not good for sales!
by Alison January 11th, 2006 at 10:30 amDarla, you make an interesting point about readers. Perhaps those who are familiar with an author’s work or personality see levels of language in a book that a new reader does not see.
by Bernita January 11th, 2006 at 10:30 amMarianne- I have to admit, on my own blog, I have taken to not reviewing books of authors I “know” for the reason you state. Sometimes, if I love a book, I’ll write gushingly about it, but otherwise, I try not to, because I know I don’t want to hurt someone I have a relationship with. Like you said, it’s part of the problem of a close, online community. Although, there have been times I’ve still done reviewed a book of someone I’m familiar with, even if it wasn’t glowing, but it’s much harder!
Of course, that leaves a lot of books and authors I can write honestly about, without damaging a friendship or business relationship. Although, that number does seem to be getting smaller every day.
Chey–it’s probably a question that will never be solved.
Darla–just this morning I had a conversation with someone who thought a heroine in a book I love was weak. I saw the heroine in a totally different light and thought she had believable progression in her character growth. It drives home the point of how subjective this business is.
MJ–lol at “any asshat” — I literally laughed out loud at that one
Reese–Without the negative to balance the positive, are the positive meaningful? I’ll go back to Harriet Klausner as my example. Hers are always positive. And in the last 2 weeks I’ve seen several people blog about how they subsequently don’t respect her reviews. There’s no balance.
by AngieW January 11th, 2006 at 10:33 amI usually don’t pay attention to reviews about fiction work, non-fiction work that’s another story. I bought two knitting books recently and the reviews swayed me, but fiction is so subjective. I like certain styles and someone’s bad review doesn’t sway me from reading the authors that I like. Sometimes bad reviews will actually get me to pick up the book. If people hate it that much, even when I may not have an inclination to pick up the book, I will just to see what everyone hates.
by Sara January 11th, 2006 at 10:40 amWell I guess you could say I am hardhearted but really I don’t see liking or not liking a book as a view of the author. I have read books I love by authors I like and books I hated by authors I like. And I have liked books by authors I don’t like.
If you know someone well enough to call them a friend, they should be able to value your honesty or call you a bitch and move on because you are friends.
So I don’t get the idea of you can’t honestly review a book of an author you ‘know’ or are friends with. I don’t think of reviews as being for authors. And think MJD has the right idea here (am I allowed to agree with someone whose books I like?).
As a reader, I want reviews and think there should be more of them - good or bad. Of course I am a spoilerho so…
And I don’t get the ‘if you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything’ rule. If I hate a book, it is perfectly ok for angiew to like it. Neither one of us would be right or wrong. It is an opinion. But hell what do I know, until a few days ago I didn’t know authors could remove reviews.
by Sybil January 11th, 2006 at 11:01 amI followed the breadcrumbs, Angie.
I honestly try not to put much stock in reviews. The more I write, the harder I try to ignore them. I appreciate good reviews, but I still try to bear in mind, that is one reviewer’s opinion.
There’s been a few that have made me laugh, or made me mad. One reviewer gave the entire plot away in her review. It wasn’t a good review, but what bothered me more was that she gave away everything. AND she called the hero by the wrong name. I asked if maybe they could edit the review to fix the name and to take out some of the spoilers~I don’t expect everybody to enjoy my writing, but if you review for a professional site, you should respect that the author really doesn’t want the entire book paraphrased. I wouldn’t like that even if the review was a glowing five star review. If readers know what’s going to happen, will they still buy it? Some won’t.
Other negative reviews have made me laugh. One stated… IT WAS TOO SHORT. WORST BOOK I’VE EVER READ. Wellllll… if it was that bad, then why would you have wanted it longer… drawing out the agony?
When I first started getting reviews, I cringed over every one that was less than wonderful. Worried it would affect reader’s opinions. But I’m still gaining new readers and they like what they are seeing, so I try to make myself be satisfied with that.
But of course… i still cringe a little over a negative review.
Well, except the one on Mrs. Giggles for one of my stories in an antho… it was almost a good one, from her.:mrgreen:
by Shiloh Walker January 11th, 2006 at 11:21 amI followed this up and read Keishon’s blog, and Kate Douglas’ blog and the Amazon.com reviews and I was left with the same feeling as before, that I distrusted the impartiality of those reviews left by those who’d obviously posted after reading the author’s blog.
Many of their comments didn’t really read like reviews - they didn’t explain what was so original or engrossing about the work. If I’d come across those in the normal course of events, they’re exactly the sort of reviews I’d discount.
Keishon’s review seemed reasonable in terms of Amazon reviews - I thought it was informative about the book and why she disliked it. If I followed the dates right the author already had positive feedback from other reviewers when Keishon posted, so I’m not sure why she got so upset.
Not sure I’m entirely with MJD - she veers a little close to ‘Only authors can properly review other authors’ for me, but I agree that bad reviews work in mysterious ways - I sometimes agree with Keishon, but she has despised books I love, so even if she was burning a book in the street, I’d know I might still like it. Same with good reviews - I’d be very chary of any book Mrs Giggles loved.
by Marianne McA January 11th, 2006 at 11:32 amWhen buying both fiction and non-fiction books, I must admit I skim the Amazon reviews. I’ve passed on books that had too many awful reviews. On the other hand, if I’ve already decided I like an author or I’m determined to read a particular book, what someone else says about it makes no difference.
I’ve put a few reviews on my blog when I’ve especially loved a book by an author I know, but I’ll probably keep even the good reviews to a minimum because I’m not a reviewer and I don’t want to be. There are vindictive people out there, and putting a negative review on my blog, under my pen name, could certainly incite someone to decide to go trash my books, read or unread, everywhere they find them. You just never know.
by Bernadette Gardner January 11th, 2006 at 11:32 amSorry Shiloh - your comment wasn’t there when I started writing mine. Many apologies. I haven’t read your work but the law of averages means Mrs Giggles must be right sometimes…
by Marianne McA January 11th, 2006 at 11:39 amThe reviewing connundrum
So Angie’s RTB column is about the impact (or lack thereof) of reviews which coincides nicely with Keishon’s Amazon/Wolf Tales debacle. I never realized how much the question of reviews annoys me. Probably because there’s…
by Book Banter January 11th, 2006 at 12:00 pmTo answer the original question…how do you trust a reviewer? What I do is follow the reviewer for a while. For example…there is a movie reviewer for our local newspaper. It took me a while to realize it, but I finally understood his point of view was vastly different from my own. If he loved a movie, I hated it and vice versa. Now, because I understand what he likes (and doesn’t), I read his reviews and know the lower he rates it, the more likely I am to enjoy it!
As to reviews of my own work…like Shiloh, I first took every review to heart and lived (and died) with each one. By the end of my third book, however, I was amassing enough reviews on both sides of the fence that I re-learned what I already knew from my local movie reviewer: the reviews are simply one person’s opinion. Period. Life got a whole lot easier after that!
The only complaint I have is those who review a genre they openly admit they don’t enjoy. Because I write BDSM-themed books, I sometimes get reviewed based on the reviewer’s agreement/disagreement with the Lifestyle rather than the merits/demerits of the book.
Good discussion!
Diana
by Diana Hunter January 11th, 2006 at 12:06 pmI’m a reviewer who very rarely buys/reads books based on reviews. How warped is that?
At this point in my life, I feel like I’ve been reading long enough to know what I’ll probably like. So, I tend to buy based on plot descriptions.
When I do go by reviews, I’m looking for a clear concise analysis of why the book did/didn’t work for the reviewer. That’s it really.
Here’s an example, someone on one of my listservs mentioned she ended up skimming a book last night because the heroine was TSTL. She gave reasons why she felt the heroine was TSTL. Then I cringed. I have the book in my TBR. And going by the reader’s description, I would also find the heroine’s behavior annoying to the extreme.
Drat it all.
And to go with the Amazon review thing - don’t read ‘em, don’t pay attention to ‘em. So often they’re biased - either gushy glowing or axe to grind. It’s very hard to find even-handed, unbiased reviews at Amazon IMHO
by Wendy January 11th, 2006 at 12:33 pm” A HUGE problem is that there are “drive-bys” where a poster has a grudge, jealousy, etc. against the author.”
How likely is this, really?
I’ll admit to writing some pretty vituperative reviews, when I read books so bad they made me angry. Isn’t it far more likely that someone who writes a scathing review simply hated the book, rather than some secret ‘grudge’ against the author?
by mapletree7 January 11th, 2006 at 12:56 pmI don’t write “reviews” on my blog. I write recommendations. I only post about books I enjoyed enough to recommend them to other people. The main reason is that I rarely finish anything I wouldn’t recommend. Thus, I can’t write fairly about them. I very clearly say that this is what I’m doing, so if you come expecting me to have reviews that run the gamut from “I hated it” to “I loved it”, you’ll be disappointed. I prefer to use my blog to share good reads with other people, just like I talk up books I love with my friends.
As for Amazon reviews and the like, I don’t read them. If I don’t know the taste of the reviewer, I can’t really judge if their review has validity for my taste. I pick books based on other criteria. I have auto-buy authors. If the story looks interesting from the blurb and reading a few pages, I’ll give it a shot. I get recommendations from friends whose opinions I trust. That kind of thing.
by Linda January 11th, 2006 at 12:56 pmI am a current published author and a former reviewer for AAR. I read reviews, but rely these days more on readers’ blogs as other people have mentioned. I think MJD is right about ignoring reviews on Amazon, but I don’t think other writers would do anything close to an objective job in terms of reviewing their peers. I know when I was writing reviews AND fiction, an author told me I had to make a choice: either I was a reader/reviewer or a writer. If I continued to do both, I would face awkward situations and possibly snubbing, etc. in the authors’ community.
I got a negative review on Amazon, but my other reviews have been positive, but not gushing (except for one). I don’t trust gushing myself.
Great discussion, one I think about often myself.
by Megan Frampton January 11th, 2006 at 1:12 pmI do agree with MJD and Alison–who really cares? This was my first mass market paperback, so I was so worried about it. But now I’ve realized it’s no big deal. The readers make the choice whether or not they’re going to read a book and whether or not they’re going to post a review on it. The downright honest reviews I have appreciated. The ones that said this is why I didn’t like it, this is why I did, and you could tell it was an honest review.
As far as drive-bys, they are a fact of an author’s life. I have talked with some major authors, who I won’t name here because I haven’t asked their permission, that have told me they even know who some of the people are that post these reviews just to be hateful. Mean people suck. Honest people are just that, honest and guided by their true feelings.
My son’s truck,that he absolutely loved and can’t be replaced, was just stolen. so I double that “mean people suck!”
by Cheyenne McCray January 11th, 2006 at 1:19 pmBTW, that last comment is just my mood right now. I’m having a hard time getting over this truck thing, that has nothing to do with reviews.
by Cheyenne McCray January 11th, 2006 at 1:21 pmI’ve been fortunate in my short publishing history. My books have received positive reviews. Yes, some of the reviews have knocked my socks off with their praise — and the reviewers aren’t personal friends or family. As far as posting reviews on Amazon, BN.com, etc., if I write a review, it’s because I sincerely liked the book — whether written by friend or stranger. I don’t pester/urge friends to write reviews. I ask them to IF they are so inclined. No pressure.
by Mary Stella January 11th, 2006 at 2:04 pmI sometimes remark about books I’ve been reading in entries on my blog. But I admit to feeling a little bit skittish about posting anything negative if the writer is someone I know or who I fear might stop by. Not that I don’t think my criticism is valid, but I don’t like to hurt feelings.
Honestly, I rarely rank any book a 1 or 2 star read because if it’s that bad, I don’t even finish it. More likely a book that I finish but that didn’t just grab me tight will earn something like a 3-star/C. Good enough to finish but not outstanding. Average. I wonder if this isn’t the reason people tend to see so few low rankings on personal web sites.
But I can say that nothing bothers me more than to pick up a book based on glowing reviews on multiple fronts only to find the book far less than stellar. It makes me feel like I was tricked or that I’m somehow totally missing the point. I’m quickly coming to learn that other peoples’ A+ reads (even a lot of other peoples’) doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll feel the same. Thus all reviews should be taken with a grain of salt.
by Lynn M January 11th, 2006 at 2:28 pmI am completely lost in this thread. What was the original rant again?
Reviews are useless? Because they are a.) Staged.
b.) Revenge.
c.) The opinion of some random person with no clue what they are talking about.
d. None of the above because if people are talking about a book (good or bad) it’s got buzz and buzz sells.
My neophyte (and therefor worthless) observation is that great reviews will not sell your book. Negative reviews will not sell your book. So-so reviews will not sell your book. A healthy mix of those will not sell your book. Your book will ONLY sell if you get a TON of vicious reviews mixed in with a smattering of gushing praise intimating that only really discerning pallates can recognize your literary brilliance. If you can get THAT kind of review war going on, then you are a writing God.
That is my game plan for the next book. I will let you know if it works. I am hoping to write something so bad, that it inspires even non-readers to hit the keyboard to trash it. Then I will recruit unscrupulous writers to mock naysayers in a few precision hits.
I will then write a book on the experiment and make a million dollars on the movie rights.
::Snort::
I departed the thread again. Didn’t I? Drat.
by FerfeLaBat January 11th, 2006 at 2:42 pmI agree that you can’t trust many of the reviews posted on the Amazon site. Like Chey stated, there are drive-by reviews intended to inflict damage to the author and their career. I read the review you mentioned above and didn’t have a problem with the reviewer stating her dislike of the book, but I thought a few things within the review seemed a tad overkill. But that’s just me.;-) She has every right to state her opinion.
by Jordan Summers January 11th, 2006 at 3:12 pmOops, I forgot to mention that I haven’t read the book yet.
by Jordan Summers January 11th, 2006 at 3:13 pmWhy so few bad and average reviews? Easy. If you didn’t care that much about the book, why waste your time reviewing it when you could spend those twenty minutes reading a new and more enjoyable one? Or having sex. Or eating candy.
Like a friend of mine says, “I don’t care how many stars they give me as long as they keep giving me their money.” And she earns her living writing
As for other people’s books, I actually like to read only the analytical reviews. Both “I loved it” and “I hated it” bore me. Now as for the nature of symbolism as it was shown through the character X’s development in the second subplot… LOL, it’s a pity people write so few of them.
by Daria January 11th, 2006 at 3:20 pm“I’m sort of amazed that *other* authors even care about Amazon reviews. Doctors can only be reviewed by other physicians, you can’t supervise teachers without a graduate degree, you can’t get a doctorate without the help of someone else who has one…or, more likely, a whole committee…the list is endless.”
Marianne, I’m not gonna disagree a little with what MJD wrote, I’m gonna disagree a whole lot.
Basically as far as I can figure, in MJD’s opinion, if you aren’t a writer, then you shouldn’t be allowed to judge a book? What absolute bollocks. Who paid for the book in the first place with their hard-earned cash? That’s right, the ignorant reader.
Whether authors appreciate it or not, readers have every right to trash a book if they want to, or to wax lyrical to their heart’s content over certain books/authors. For me, the key thing is honesty. If you’re honest, then as far as I’m concerned, that’s all that matters.
I may disagree with certain reviews, and usually do, but I’d say that was my right, wouldn’t you?
Of course no author wants to see their baby kicked up and down the street, especially after the hard labour that went into producing it in the first place, but I still firmly believe that if you’re a writer, and you put your work out there, you’re asking for it to be publicly scrutinised. Suck it up.
If it’s a good review, great, if it’s a bad review, then just bloody well grin and bear it. Worse things happen at sea.
by Karen Scott January 11th, 2006 at 3:50 pmactualy, I think MJD said that if you aren’t a writer or the academic equivalent, your “review” is just an uninformed commentary. A true review provides analysis of the works literary merrits as they pertain to the art of communicating fiction to the audience or something like that.
Short summary: P