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Reload this Page Do you read book reviews?

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View Poll Results: Are book reviews important to you?
I NEVER buy a book without reading a review. 24 20.69%
Sometimes I buy a book because it had a good review. 64 55.17%
A "good sample" is what gets my money out. 16 13.79%
I buy books based on their cover. 12 10.34%
Voters: 116. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 11-08-2010, 05:29 PM   #46
Ravensknight
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DTB's I definitely am attracted to the cover, and the synopsis either makes it or breaks it.

For ebooks, Amazon is my friend with reviews. Cause I don't read "Indie" authors, at least not yet
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Old 11-08-2010, 06:12 PM   #47
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Cause I don't read "Indie" authors, at least not yet
You should give indie authors a try via Smashwords. I am constantly amazed at the variety of quality that can be found. I have found several indie authors whose work I consider to be outstanding -- on par with any of today's top authors you would care to name -- as well as some who are truly terrible, just like many of the traditionally published authors of today.

I find that I am reader almost none of the traditionally published fiction authors and an increasing amount of work by the indies.
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Old 11-08-2010, 07:16 PM   #48
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I read reviews, but only from people whose opinions I've come to know and trust. Amazon reviews are pretty much worthless -- because of all the one-star "too-expensive/where's the ebook?" bitchers.

Covers? I barely notice them.
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Old 11-09-2010, 01:36 AM   #49
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ya book reviews are quite important..and Sometimes I buy a book because it had a good review..
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Old 11-09-2010, 02:02 AM   #50
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Originally Posted by DiapDealer View Post
I read reviews, but only from people whose opinions I've come to know and trust. Amazon reviews are pretty much worthless -- because of all the one-star "too-expensive/where's the ebook?" bitchers.

Covers? I barely notice them.
Could you share those you have come to know and trust... if it isn't personal that is...
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Old 11-09-2010, 02:42 PM   #51
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This poll has some weird choices.

I usually skim Amazon reviews. I will never buy a book if it has 5+ reviews and less than 3 stars. There are plenty of 4+ star books out there for me to wager my money on.

However, if I receive a glowing recommendation from a friend, I'm more likely to ignore Amazon reviewers.
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Old 11-09-2010, 05:33 PM   #52
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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.
I find that I get a lot more out of negative reviews, too; I find that I get a better feel for what the book is truly like from negative reviewers. Reviews that state "this book is awesome" are great, but I need to know why it's awesome - sometimes the reviewer will tell me why, sometimes he/she won't. Negative reviewers (in my experience) tend more often to state what they specifically didn't like in a particular book.
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Old 11-09-2010, 05:56 PM   #53
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Reviewers are flacks for someone with not an honest bone ...
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Old 11-09-2010, 07:02 PM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ManosHandsOfFate View Post
This poll has some weird choices.

I usually skim Amazon reviews. I will never buy a book if it has 5+ reviews and less than 3 stars. There are plenty of 4+ star books out there for me to wager my money on.

However, if I receive a glowing recommendation from a friend, I'm more likely to ignore Amazon reviewers.
What choices would you suggest?
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Old 11-09-2010, 08:29 PM   #55
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This poll needs a "What is a book review?" choice. That is how I feel about it.
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Old 11-09-2010, 08:36 PM   #56
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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?"
"The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake"!
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Old 11-09-2010, 08:38 PM   #57
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For me I've taken to reading reader reviews from Goodreads.com.

By and large, the reviews there are well written and lucid. A good place to start.
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Old 11-09-2010, 09:22 PM   #58
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Bookmarked. Brilliant. I started laughing about 4 words in
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Old 11-10-2010, 07:54 AM   #59
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I never read reviews. I just download the book and start reading. If I don't like it, then I delete it and find another book.
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Old 11-10-2010, 07:59 AM   #60
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Originally Posted by DiapDealer View Post
Covers? I barely notice them.
I've got to confess that I've started to lose track of covers since switching to e-books.

I do miss seeing the cover when I pick up my book to read - sometimes I can't even remember the title of the book I'm reading because it's so long since I saw the cover!
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