Social reading?

[Catlady]

I almost never read reviews, but I do read summaries and cover blurbs. If the summary says it's a heartwarming story of shape-shifters and zombies in ancient Egypt, I'm just not reading it, even if it's gotten raves from every professional and amateur reviewer, all my friends love it, and it wins a Pulitzer.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

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?

It's the difference in perspective again. I just open all the relevant posts in different tabs when I reply to a comment. While on this point your memory of my statement was correct, I can't help but wonder if the conversation wouldn't have run more smoothly on the point where there was a misunderstanding if you would have read my comments again.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

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.

But how did you discover these authors? When you already like an author you don't need a recommendation to buy a book, buy there is always a beginning.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Joykins

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.

That sounds just the kind of scifi that I really like. Thanks! I'll go check them out!

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

It's the difference in perspective again. I just open all the relevant posts in different tabs when I reply to a comment. While on this point your memory of my statement was correct, I can't help but wonder if the conversation wouldn't have run more smoothly on the point where there was a misunderstanding if you would have read my comments again.


But how did you discover these authors? When you already like an author you don't need a recommendation to buy a book, buy there is always a beginning.

I would disagree, and think that one of the original mis-interpretations seemed to be when you thought I read Amazon reviews for books, when I clearly stated from the beginning (and several times afterwards) that I read Amazon reviews for other items but not books.

Here was your quote: "What is the difference between having a book recommended by the publisher of by an Amazon customer?" (copied and pasted - no interpretation). My response was that (again) I don't read reviews of books on Amazon. And since I don't consider the act of publishing to be a "recommendation", you are asking me to compare a concept that I don't think is valid (publishing = recommendation), with something that I don't do (reading reviews of books on Amazon). I can't do that.

I agree there is always a beginning. But a publisher or a book review or friend's recommendations are far from the only way to find a book. I spent days wandering new and used bookstores and libraries as a younger person, and picked every single book based on nothing but the summary on the back or the dust jacket. My reading tastes developed and I learned what types of books and authors I liked. Some of those authors are still some of my favorites. I can do the exact same thing now on Amazon or B&N; browse by genre, read the summary and make up my mind. I'm not sure why that process seems so foreign. Are there authors and books out there that I may be missing that I might absolutely love? Almost assuredly so. But that's true of everyone, regardless of the method by which they select their reading material. And the bottom line is that I read for entertainment. So if you limited me to the books I already possess, I could re-read most of them happily for the rest of my life. I am satisfied with what I like; I don't feel the need to "seek out" additional authors or subjects or genres. Maybe someday I will feel that I have wrung every bit of enjoyment out of the authors and books that I currently love (I doubt it). At that point, maybe I'll turn to reviews and recommendations to explore new horizons. But that's not how my tastes and preferences got to where they are now, and that's not the way I operate currently.

You asked how I discovered my favorite authors. Let me give you a couple of examples. One of my favorite authors is Stephen King. I have been reading his work for about 30 years. How did I start reading his books? He's from Maine, as is my mother; this piqued my interest. I picked up 'Salems Lot because it looked suitable creepy. The rest is history. (To further show how mind works, my favorite musical group is Steely Dan. How did I get started listening to them? Stephen King uses a line from the song Deacon Blues as the intro to his book Christine, and it caught my attention, so I went out an bought an album, and it took off from there.) Another of my favorite authors is John Sandford (John Camp). His "Prey" series is fairly popular, and when I used to frequent used bookstores more frequently, I constantly saw the first in the series (Rules of Prey). Honestly, the back of the book didn't seem all that interesting. But after coming across it hundreds of times, I finally bought the damn thing, mostly because I was tired of seeing it (Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? Now you see how my mind works.). I loved it, and have read nearly everything else he has written. When his books come out, I download them immediately, without even reading the summary. So there is no rhyme or reason as to which authors I ended up with. I have bought loads of books that looked interesting, but turned out to be crap. But that's okay; it's part of the process. Again, I am not claiming I am "normal", or that my method of choosing books is better (or even "good"). But I don't read reviews, I don't listen to recommendations, and I am happy with my choices.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Here was your quote: "What is the difference between having a book recommended by the publisher of by an Amazon customer?" (copied and pasted - no interpretation). My response was that (again) I don't read reviews of books on Amazon. And since I don't consider the act of publishing to be a "recommendation", you are asking me to compare a concept that I don't think is valid (publishing = recommendation), with something that I don't do (reading reviews of books on Amazon). I can't do that.

I never said that you read reviews on Amazon. You say now that you don't consider the act of publishing to be a "recommendation", but before you said:

Originally Posted by hrosvit

I was speaking of recommendations from a social point of view.

Which would imply that you don't disagree that publishing is a recommendation, but you don't consider it a social recommendation. I don't disagree with that, but I also don't consider Amazon reviews to be social recommendation, so I asked you what is the difference because I don't see one. Both cases are recommendations by people that I don't know, have never met, and who don't recommend the book to me specifically.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

You asked how I discovered my favorite authors. Let me give you a couple of examples. One of my favorite authors is Stephen King. I have been reading his work for about 30 years. How did I start reading his books? He's from Maine, as is my mother; this piqued my interest. I picked up 'Salems Lot because it looked suitable creepy. The rest is history.

Both the information on the author and the cover that made you buy it were conveniently placed at your disposal by the publisher. So you bought it based on the publisher's recommendation, even if you don't know who the publisher was.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Another of my favorite authors is John Sandford (John Camp). His "Prey" series is fairly popular, and when I used to frequent used bookstores more frequently, I constantly saw the first in the series (Rules of Prey). Honestly, the back of the book didn't seem all that interesting. But after coming across it hundreds of times, I finally bought the damn thing, mostly because I was tired of seeing it (Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? Now you see how my mind works.).

You do know that the fact that a book is popular is a recommendation, right?

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

I never said that you read reviews on Amazon. You say now that you don't consider the act of publishing to be a "recommendation", but before you said:

Which would imply that you don't disagree that publishing is a recommendation, but you don't consider it a social recommendation. I don't disagree with that, but I also don't consider Amazon reviews to be social recommendation, so I asked you what is the difference because I don't see one. Both cases are recommendations by people that I don't know, have never met, and who don't recommend the book to me specifically.


Both the information on the author and the cover that made you buy it were conveniently placed at your disposal by the publisher. So you bought it based on the publisher's recommendation, even if you don't know who the publisher was.


You do know that the fact that a book is popular is a recommendation, right?

So the fact that a publisher put a synopsis on a book and that I see a book lots of places qualify as recommendations? I guess the author recommended the book to me by writing it in the first place.

Fine; I give up. You win; I purchase my books based on recommendations.

And the reason I said that I brought up "recommendations from a social point of view" is because this entire thread started out as a discussion of books and social networking sites. It had absolutely nothing to do with publishing.

And my statement "I was speaking of recommendations from a social point of view" did not imply anything about publishing. You inferred that. I was stating that this thread was about sharing opinions of books on social networking sites, which would be of no interest to me. I stated that I don't base my reading on recommendations (again, speaking specifically of these social networking sites, as well as adivce from friends, etc.). Your first statement was "I hate to tell you this, but that isn't possible. At the very least the fact that the book was published means that it has the endorsement of the publisher." Up until this point, no one had mentioned publishers. You broke new ground.

Let me issue the following disclaimer: I was under the impression we were discussing what I would consider to be traditional forms of book recommendations - book clubs, advice from friends, book reviews, blogs, etc. I had no idea that the concept of recommendations involved such acts as publishing the book and putting a synopsis on the jacket. I hereby withdraw all claims that I do not purchase books based on recommendations.

Now that we've cleared that up, Wikipedia tells me that in 2010, a little less than 330,000 books were published in the US. I assume the vast majority have a synopsis included. Does anyone have any advice how I should sort through all these books that have been officially recommended to me?

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

And the reason I said that I brought up "recommendations from a social point of view" is because this entire thread started out as a discussion of books and social networking sites. It had absolutely nothing to do with publishing.
[...]
Let me issue the following disclaimer: I was under the impression we were discussing what I would consider to be traditional forms of book recommendations - book clubs, advice from friends, book reviews, blogs, etc

When you say things like "recommendations from a social point of view", that means that there are also recommendations from a point of view that isn't social, otherwise there would be no reason to specify "from a social point of view". Likewise, if you say "traditional forms of book recommendations", that means that there are also non-traditional ones.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Now that we've cleared that up, Wikipedia tells me that in 2010, a little less than 330,000 books were published in the US. I assume the vast majority have a synopsis included. Does anyone have any advice how I should sort through all these books that have been officially recommended to me?

No, those recommendations are not meant specifically for you.

Also, if you think that books have nothing to do with publishing, then I'm not surprised that logic doesn't get through to you.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

When you say things like "recommendations from a social point of view", that means that there are also recommendations from a point of view that isn't social, otherwise there would be no reason to specify "from a social point of view". Likewise, if you say "traditional forms of book recommendations", that means that there are also non-traditional ones.


No, those recommendations are not meant specifically for you.

Also, if you think that books have nothing to do with publishing, then I'm not surprised that logic doesn't get through to you.

No, that's not what it means. That might be what you think it means. But we were talking about social networking sites and the recommending/reviewing of books on them. That is what "recommendations from a social point of view" means. I said it; I know what I meant.

Please point out to me where I said "books have nothing to do with publishing". Again, you are putting words in my mouth.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

No, that's not what it means. That might be what you think it means. But we were talking about social networking sites and the recommending/reviewing of books on them. That is what "recommendations from a social point of view" means. I said it; I know what I meant.

And there are other types of recommendations beyond social ones.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Please point out to me where I said "books have nothing to do with publishing". Again, you are putting words in my mouth.

No, I'm not:

Originally Posted by hrosvit

And the reason I said that I brought up "recommendations from a social point of view" is because this entire thread started out as a discussion of books and social networking sites. It had absolutely nothing to do with publishing.

You said that a discussion of books has absolutely nothing to do with publishing.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

You said that a discussion of books has absolutely nothing to do with publishing.

No, what I said was that this discussion already had a pretty focused topic: "this entire thread started out as a discussion of books and social networking sites. It had absolutely nothing to do with publishing." The concept of "publishing = recommendation" was not part of that specific topic until you inserted it, and then used it to say that I was incorrect. I guess I could similarly say that my parents implicitly recommended books written in English to me by settling in an English speaking country and sending me to school, where I was taught to read and write in English, rather than some other language. These subtle types of recommendations continue to pop up.

You can choose to cherry-pick words from my phrases if you wish.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

No, what I said was that this discussion already had a pretty focused topic: "this entire thread started out as a discussion of books and social networking sites. It had absolutely nothing to do with publishing." The concept of "publishing = recommendation" was not part of that specific topic until you inserted it, and then used it to say that I was incorrect.

"It" (emphasis mine) seems to be referring to the discussion on books and social networking sites. If you say that "it" has absolutely nothing to do with publishing, then you are saying that there is no connection between a discussion about books and publishing.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

I guess I could similarly say that my parents implicitly recommended books written in English to me by settling in an English speaking country and sending me to school, where I was taught to read and write in English, rather than some other language. These subtle types of recommendations continue to pop up.

You can choose to cherry-pick words from my phrases if you wish.

I don't know about your school, but at mine the recommendation to read was not subtle.