Do you read book reviews?

[bevdeforges]

I've really gotten into reading reviews since getting my e-Reader last spring. Part of that is because I don't have any bookstores nearby that carry English language books, so all my purchases these days are via the Internet.

But lately I've been buying "previous books" from the reviews rather than the books I've seen reviewed. Maybe it's just my sources, but I've noticed that many reviews will compare the latest books by [fill in author's name here] to their previous books, and it's those comments that get me interested in reading the earlier works. (Also because I wait until the pricing has come down a bit and that usually means until the paperback edition has come out.)

[Sweetpea]

I've never read a book review before reading a book... I'm mostly attracted by the cover, and maybe the blurb at the back (description on the webpage)

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I've never read a book review before reading a book... I'm mostly attracted by the cover, and maybe the blurb at the back (description on the webpage)

are you sure you really don't live in the US southern states? A place well know for a population attracted to shiny-things.

[simonroyle]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I've never read a book review before reading a book... I'm mostly attracted by the cover, and maybe the blurb at the back (description on the webpage)

And surprisingly, to me anyway, that puts you in with something like 97% of the reading population of the world. Not sure of the exact number, but the simple fact is that most people buy books exactly like you do.

That's how bookstores "used" to work.

One thing I think we'll see before too long. Audible book trailers as an embedded file with the book. Then you won't even have to read the blurb.

An appealing cover
An appealing voice

"Hi Sweatpea, I see you you're attracted to me. Well let me tell you a little bit about myself ... firstly, I'm a bit of a square, I mean, you know, I'm a book - we are squarish. Hey, Sweatpea come back, where you going?"

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by simonroyle

And surprisingly, to me anyway, that puts you in with something like 97% of the reading population of the world. Not sure of the exact number, but the simple fact is that most people buy books exactly like you do.

That's how bookstores "used" to work.

One thing I think we'll see before too long. Audible book trailers as an embedded file with the book. Then you won't even have to read the blurb.

An appealing cover
An appealing voice

"Hi Sweatpea, I see you you're attracted to me. Well let me tell you a little bit about myself ... firstly, I'm a bit of a square, I mean, you know, I'm a book - we are squarish. Hey, Sweatpea come back, where you going?"

Well yes, that's how I used to work also, mostly, because:

- when I walked into a bookstore, I knew a pre-selection of books had been made for me and that I could expect a minimum quality from the books on offer
- inside the bookstore, I could read the blurb and a few pages to get a feel for the book

With the advent of Amazon and its huge stocks of books you would not find in a bookstore, and even more with the advent of electronic publishing, the pre-selection is gone. Basically, what Amazon does is keep trying to sell me books that it thinks are "similar" to the books I have already bought. Which can be fine, up to a point, except that I don't want to read "similar" books over and over again.

So, for me, online reviews and recommendations have replaced the role of the bookstore people who made the selection for me. Not exactly replaced though, because I have to make the selection myself now. I have access to a great many more books, but I have to work more to extract the ones I want from the mass. I think, on the whole, I have gained more than I lost, but it's a completely new way of looking for and selecting books to read. It took me several years to work this out. Maybe I'm slow

[GraceKrispy]

I just read a blog with several contributing reviewers. The reviews seemed to follow a standard (as many reviews do) that went like this: 3-4 paragraph summary of story, 2-4 sentences about the quality of the story. End review.

That kind of review isn't quite as helpful to me. If I want to know the plot, either I'll read the blurb, or give me a really short synopsis, but tell me more about what you liked or didn't about the story.

If you do like to read the reviews and it helps you make your decision, what kind of review do you find most helpful?

[Under the Covers]

Originally Posted by GraceKrispy

If you do like to read the reviews and it helps you make your decision, what kind of review do you find most helpful?

My favorite reviews are those indicating whether or not the author has done a good job of researching the subject area and is then true to that research, even in fiction. I prefer, whatever the genre, that the research has been thorough and well represented in the work. I can sometimes put up with weaker writing skills (though not too weak) if the research and incorporation of that research are spot on, whether it demonstrates a solid understanding of the psychology, social forces, science, history, etc.

For me, encountering a book with too many research errors, no matter how well written, is more than I can bear. I find myself commenting, then arguing with the author (yes, in my head), and then I end up just putting the book down.

So when reading a review where the reviewer points out how the author has done a good job of capturing a time in history, medical lingo/procedures, legal lingo/procedures, science, or whatever, I find that my interest is definitely piqued, and I am more likely to buy and read that book. Even books like Bill Bryson's personal experience type of humor still need to be genuine and true to place, time, etc.

[Enraptured]

I don't tend to read professional reviews; when I do, it's primarily to find out what the book is about, more than for the reviewer's opinion. If a book has a lot of bad reviews on Amazon, I might decide not to buy it - but what's most important to me is the description and the sample. (It bewilders me when a book has no description, and instead only has a bunch of glowing endorsements from other authors. I don't care how many authors recommend it, I'm not going to buy it if I don't know what it's about!)

With all reviews, both professional and Amazon-style, the main problem is that I have no idea whether the reader's taste in books matches mine; someone could hate a book because it's depressing (while I like dark and grim books) or love it for its literary style (while I don't like literary fiction). That's why I tend to find negative reviews more helpful than positive ones, especially on places like Amazon; they often give more detail about the book than the positive reviews do. I've bought books in the past based on one-star Amazon reviews because the things that made the reviewers hate the books were things that I love.

[SensualPoet]

I love the misguided warning in the aphorism "You can't judge a book by its cover" since almost all of us ignore the advice. And, in fact, you often can judge a book accurately by its cover. That is, after all, the point (and art) of the cover.

I voted sometimes as well. I suppose it's true that almost everything I buy is NOT based upon professional reviews -- Globe and Mail, the Guardian, the New York Review of Books, etc -- but I do enjoy reading them and primarily for the reading experience itself: reviewers are typically entertaining and erudite writers themselves. (If you aren't acquainted with the Barnes and Noble Review, I highly recommend it.)

I like the idea of getting samples on my ereader in advance but in reality I rarely do that.

What I do appreciate is the time and effort other "average" readers take in posting comments at Amazon. I think most of us are savvy enough to sort out the folks who know what they are talking about and those that don't, faced with a decent selection of comments. Between the plot synopsis, and the different facets readers bring to light, and the references to other works, the reader comments section are actually highly valuable -- more so than a lone "Publisher's Weekly" blurb. This community involvement added value, in fact, is why I buy more books at Amazon than Kobo.

Lastly there are the terrific reads I've discovered thanks to serendipity: driven by Amazon's recommendation engine or just browsing based on comments by readers. I genuinely browse Amazon and can do so much more fruitfully than I can in a typical bricks and mortar bookstore ... and I can do it in my pyjamas without getting arrested.

[Grimm]

I tend to read reviews more now than I used to. I DO NOT read reviews to find out how the reader felt about the story, I actually read them to make sure the blurb is informative to the actual story. If I have time to read a sample, even better. If I don't have the time, I'll check reviews.

I started doing this after grabbing a copy of "Havemercy" which was supposed to be a very interesting steampunk novel with pretty cool steam powered dragons in it. In fact, Havemercy was the name of one of the dragons. The blurb was very informative, or so it seemed. Plenty of intrigue and political wrangling; it looked to be a great steampunk/fantasy novel.

I could not have been more surprised. The book barely mentioned the dragon it was named for and to be completely honest, the entire book revolved around gay romances. I'm not making any kind of statement towards that other than to say it's not my thing and no, I do not want to read about it. My problem was how deceptive the title and blurb were.

On a whim I read reviews after getting rid of it and it was all right there. I totally could have saved myself all of that effort had I read them first.

[Under the Covers]

I originally answered that I don't read reviews but prefer samples. Still true, but now that I actually have my reader in hand, I find that when there are informative reviews, they do influence whether I'm interested enough to even look for a sample. The information I'm looking for in a review relates to subject matter, accuracy of research, and with novels, plot and character development.

Then reading a sample tells me how quickly, or even whether, I can become absorbed in the book. There are not many authors for whom I'm willing to slog through beginning chapters that are slow and dull. When I used to wander through physical libraries -- and could still see well enough -- I would look at the first chapter to see if it grabbed me. If not, the book went back on the shelf.

[simonroyle]

Originally Posted by Under the Covers

When I used to wander through physical libraries -- and could still see well enough -- I would look at the first chapter to see if it grabbed me. If not, the book went back on the shelf.

Yes. Exactly. Books had a lot in common with my selection process for girlfriends.

Good looking cover, immediately engaging, and, then great between the sheets.

Having been married for the last decade and with the advent of eBooks I've stopped "selecting" in one and changed how I do the other. Covers still play a role, now I sample, read a review, and go from there.

[Under the Covers]

Originally Posted by simonroyle

Yes. Exactly. Books had a lot in common with my selection process for girlfriends.

[Jcas]

Yes i always read the reviews, if i find a book that looks good, i will google it for a review , i don't only do this for books either, i will review just about anything i purchase nowadays, be it a book or a vacuum cleaner or a car

[Figlilly]

I will always read reviews/recommendations when they are available. I am leery of buying an ebook without them. It is different from being able to wander into a book store and thumbing through the books. I do prefer the negative reviews as sometimes I suspect the glowing reviews may be from friends or acquaintances - depends on the number of course. I will also check out the reviewer to see what other books they like (talking about Amazon here). My greatest fear is ending up with a romance story disguised as something else. I have bought duds both as paper books and ebooks despite my research but they are more than balanced by the gems. The covers attract me initially but I try not to let them sway my judgement too much.