Social reading?

[Freeshadow]

A recommendation is fine as long as there's not only if but why answered too. So one can decide by own taste. Example: I wouldn't have touched Vorkosigan with a stick were I not multiply assured it exceeds the military SF label attached to it.
Wether this was a positive or negative trait from previous readers POV was meaningless to me

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

Example: I wouldn't have touched Vorkosigan with a stick were I not multiply assured it exceeds the military SF label attached to it.

I first started the Vorkosigan books because Alexlit (remember Alexlit?) kept insisting that I'd love it despite the fact that I'd seen them hundreds of times and the blurb never sounded appealing.

It was only after that that I realized that a) I love really good milSF, and b) while only some of the Vorkosigan books are milSF they are right up there with the best milSF out there...it wasn't going to get much better from there. (Then, then I discovered Elizabeth Moon and was happy for another decade ).

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Joykins

It was only after that that I realized that a) I love really good milSF, and b) while only some of the Vorkosigan books are milSF they are right up there with the best milSF out there...it wasn't going to get much better from there. (Then, then I discovered Elizabeth Moon and was happy for another decade ).

The Vorkosigan books are like Elisabeth Moon's military scifi books? In what way?

[Apache]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

I didn't say there was one; I don't read Amazon reviews of books.

Did you ever know a publisher to not recomend one of their own books? That is the difference.
Apache

[meeera]

I use Goodreads heavily. I skim some of the community reviews, but pay attention to my friends' reviews and recommendations, as they're the people whose taste is much closer to my own. We discuss books via reviews and comments there, or discussions elsewhere on our blogs/journals, or on twitter.

I have no interest in another book social network.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

If you are not at all influenced by other people's opinions on books, then how do you winnow down the all the books? I'm skeptical that anyone is completely uninfluenced by other people's opinions of books. If that is actually true for you, then you are a decided minority. I'm not going to buy a book just because someone recommends a book, but depending on who that person is, their recommendation might persuade me to take a look at the book. It depends on the person, of course. My tastes are my own, but few if any person's tastes are totally unique. Some people's tastes are more akin to mine, and I give some weight to their recommendations. Other people have tastes so different from mine that I can only nod and smile at their recommendations.

I've never bought or read a book because somebody else told me I should read it. I might have bought or read a book because somebody told me that author X had a new book which I didn't know about, though.

I am a cover-girl. I look at the cover. If I like the cover, I'll read the summary. If I like the summary, I'll buy the book. If there's a preview of the book, I might read that (to see if I like the writing style). Or I search for keywords.

Originally Posted by Apache

I used to hate it when people would buy me books for my Birthday or Christmas. Invariably it was something I did not want. I was very happy when bookstores started using gift cards.
Apache

Yes, same here! I'd rather buy the book myself and get a book I know I'll like. Though, I have gotten (and given) books that I wanted. But in those cases, the person giving (or me giving the book) has asked what book was wanted.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

I religiously read reviews on Amazon for other types of products, but have never even glanced at the reviews for a book.

I read them. After I've read the book myself. And mostly the 1-star reviews too, simply because I want to have a laugh

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Then how did you ever discover those authors in the first place? Was it wholly random? Perhaps you are truly uninfluenced by the opinion of any other reader, but if so, that's not the case with most readers.

Easy. I like SF, for example. I've known Arthur C. Clarke for a long time. One time I was reading a book he co-authored with Stephen Baxter. So, I started looking at Stephen Baxter.
Another example. I had an Audible plan (way back when). I was looking for a new book to get for that month. I came across a book, Fantasy. Never heard of the author (somebody called George R.R. Martin). But I bought the book. Another author I learned via the genre-search: Stephen R. Lawhead (genre: King Arthur, Historic Fiction).

A last example: Wilbur Smith. Here in town we have a bookshop that sells second hand books and remaindered books (those are the only books that can be sold below the fixed price). I saw a bundle of two books by some author called Wilbur Smith. I had never heard of him. But those books looked and sounded interesting (ancient Egypt and some lost Pharaoh tomb). So I bought them. A year later I found out my grandmother has about every book by him... But those books just couldn't catch my attention and thus I didn't even notice them when I stayed there (and I've spent many a holiday with my grandparents!)

[Freeshadow]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I am a cover-girl

Good luck on the way to centerfold.

0h I so love double-meanings

[VaporPunk]

If I don't know the author, I'll only buy books recommended by others. Sure, you go wrong sometimes, but then ya learn who has the same taste and who doesn't and apply that knowledge.

Honestly, methinks some of y'all live in a vacuum if you've never bought a book that somebody recommended. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just a little hard to breathe I guess.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

A publisher is a much stronger filter than any recommendation could ever be.

That is trivially not true. I have a few friends with very similar taste in books or they can describe in a good way why they like a book and nearly all the books they recommend as very good I also like very much. And that kind of hit rate you cannot get just filtering on a publisher.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

I didn't say there was one; I don't read Amazon reviews of books.

You talked about Amazon reviews but when I mentioned publishers you said:

Originally Posted by hrosvit

We're discussing social networking and the recommendations of people to you. Or, at least, I was under that impression. The fact that I read a book published by a company seems a very tenuous argument for "recommendation".

It sounds like at the time you thought that there was a difference between having a book recommended by the publisher of by an Amazon customer. Did you change your mind?

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by tompe

That is trivially not true. I have a few friends with very similar taste in books or they can describe in a good way why they like a book and nearly all the books they recommend as very good I also like very much. And that kind of hit rate you cannot get just filtering on a publisher.

Then you are lucky. Since I don't know anyone that matches my tastes in books (even if we like the same book we like different things about it) I have to rely on other recommendations. If I like an author I'm not going to need a recommendation to buy the next book, but for new authors the choice is based on something. Whether it is the cover or the logo of the publisher on the cover, that is a recommendation from the publisher.

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

The Vorkosigan books are like Elisabeth Moon's military scifi books? In what way?

Part of it is the emphasis on character development and strong woman characters, but also the way they look at issues of governance and society under the unexpected pressures of biological innovation (uterine replicators/rejuvenation technology). Also they write in a very engaging way.

And of course, spaceships.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

You talked about Amazon reviews but when I mentioned publishers you said:


It sounds like at the time you thought that there was a difference between having a book recommended by the publisher of by an Amazon customer. Did you change your mind?

No, I think you misunderstood me. I don't read Amazon reviews of books (or any other reviews of books). I contrasted this with the fact that I do extensively read Amazon reviews of other products (electronics, etc.).

You mentioned (and I'm paraphrasing from memory here, so excuse me if I'm changing your meaning) that by reading a book that has been published I am accepting the "recommendation" of the publisher. I stated that I think calling the act of publishing a "recommendation" is very tenuous. I later continued this thought by saying that if we accept the act of publishing as a "recommendation", then every single book that has ever been published has also been recommended to us, which means that this recommendation is worth absolutely nothing, and leaves us in the exact same position: trying to decide by whatever method we happen to use (recommendations from friends, interesting cover art, specific publishers, etc.) which books to read.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

No, I think you misunderstood me.

There was definitely a misunderstanding somewhere but I think that it is best to let it drop because we'll be going around in circles otherwise.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

...(and I'm paraphrasing from memory here, so excuse me if I'm changing your meaning)...

This is completely , but I don't understand why you would have to paraphrase anything from memory. You have access to the actual posts.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

I later continued this thought by saying that if we accept the act of publishing as a "recommendation", then every single book that has ever been published has also been recommended to us, which means that this recommendation is worth absolutely nothing, and leaves us in the exact same position: trying to decide by whatever method we happen to use (recommendations from friends, interesting cover art, specific publishers, etc.) which books to read.

So this is the perspective point where we really disagree. I don't see a recommendation as just "you should read this", but as "this is a good book to read because ...". In the case of publisher recommendations it's "... you liked the other books we published" or "... you can tell from the cover that we've selected that the story is like the others that you've liked". In the case of recommendations from people it can be "... the story and/or writing is funny/complex/compelling", "... it has interesting/charming/strong characters" and any other reasons why they liked the book. Sometimes people recommend not reading a book, but the reasons why they didn't like it would be reasons for me to read the book.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

This is completely , but I don't understand why you would have to paraphrase anything from memory. You have access to the actual posts.


So this is the perspective point where we really disagree. I don't see a recommendation as just "you should read this", but as "this is a good book to read because ...". In the case of publisher recommendations it's "... you liked the other books we published" or "... you can tell from the cover that we've selected that the story is like the others that you've liked". In the case of recommendations from people it can be "... the story and/or writing is funny/complex/compelling", "... it has interesting/charming/strong characters" and any other reasons why they liked the book. Sometimes people recommend not reading a book, but the reasons why they didn't like it would be reasons for me to read the book.

The reason I paraphrased was because I didn't want to get out of the reply window to go back to look at your original post. If you would like to call me lazy, I'll accept that label. Did I represent your statements incorrectly? If so, I apologize. If not, then it's really irrelevant, isn't it?

You're right; that's where we disagree. Because I don't consider a specific publisher at all when selecting a book. I have four or five authors whom I would consider my "favorites". I have absolutely no idea what publisher any of them is currently with. So the publisher of a book makes absolutely no difference to me when selecting a book. And I agree with all of those things you said about people's recommendations regarding a book. I just don't do it. I am not claiming that people don't or shouldn't rely on recommendations. I'd bet the majority of people do, to some extent. And I'm sure those people are more than happy with their subsequent choices. I'm saying I don't rely on recommendations.