I don't read all the reviews if there are a lot of them. It just depends on the text, how on the fence I am, etc.
I start low if it is a controversial book, because I want to see what kind of things are 'controversial' and if it is real or a whisp. For instance (and I don't want to get into this, but it comes readily to mind given my interests) if you had a text that got popular but made some VERY rudimentary critical analytical remarks about the composition of the Bible, but just by being popular some people were hearing this for the first time and were outraged, it wouldn't be enough for me to read it. But if has a more subtle argument the people railing against it often reveal it more quickly than the people recommending it because they are reacting.
And sometimes it's just funny.
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