Quote:
Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks
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But readers are not as enthused about reviewing books. Many don't trust reviews, but there's also a lot of sites like GR where they can leave a ranking for their own records. (Which is really a benefit for that reader, not for other readers--nothing wrong with that either!)
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I'd agree about not being enthused about reviewing. Its just extremely difficult for some of us. Debilitating so. I also agree with not trusting reviews anymore. Honestly, it has gotten much worse in that way. In the past, I found them just fine. Now there are so many "got this free from the author" reviews that are from street teams and arcs, I can't barely find any real reviews anymore I ignore and and all street team/arc reviews. Indies especially have glommed on to this phenom. Sure, trade has always had some advance copies, but nothing like this. Nothing like this sometimes mob of 100's and 100's of hard core fans of the author to not only come out with nothing but rah rah 5 stars the day the book hit, but they also often go after the other reviewers that dared not to give a rah rah 5 star.
Lots have stopped reviewing for reasons like that. I had some of my reviews downvote bombed by a mass of fanlets. It was books just like I was describing with a mass of arc/email list reviews.
This rush to get nothing but 5 stars to push the average rating into a totally unrealistic number, just to get the coveted pricey ad spot, has really ruined the review system for books I think.
So yeah, I kind of don't trust a lot of reviews anymore. But I can still find those I trust on goodreads. And for me, star only ratings are very important also. They are not just for the reader, they also for other readers like me. I don't need a text review anymore with readers on goodreads I friend/follow. After a while I know what they like, what I like and if we mesh in taste. So if I see a new book with lots of buzz on amazon, lots of good reviews, looks good and all that. I check goodreads and see my friends ratings. If they rate it a 1 or 2, I pass without even bothering further. But then again I "know" what those folks read and like.
I don't have to look at any other reviews other than those I follow at all.
But yeah, star ratings type reviews help me also a lot. So I hope mine do too for other readers and I just mostly don't have the heart anymore to review in text. Its such a chore.