Book reviews

[toecollector]

Over the past few months or so I've been reading many book reviews before purchasing or borrowing novels so I can get an idea of what to expect. This is partly because I recently have had a terrible string of luck in the way of reading a book actually worth reading and therefore decided to get the judgement of others first from then on.

I have two questions for you: do you or do you not read book reviews all the time?
The second, if not then how do you decide if a book is worth it or not? if yes then do you find that reading reviews actually stops you from getting certain books ever? Because recently I have been restricted because of my high standards which I’ve developed from reading these reviews. I now never read a book with less than a 4 out of 5 rating on Amazon simply because I don’t want to risk it and now i feel very confined. I just hate it when i find that i went through the hassle for nothing, know what i mean? i hate it so much that sometimes i vow never to read another of authors works again!

 

[abecedarian]

I have mixed feelings about the reviews at amazon. On one hand they can be useful, but ultimately I have to go with what I think of the synopsis of the book. What else comes in handy is the reviews here from trusted friends who've steered me towards good reads in the past. Even then, some books just don't work, so it boils down to doing the best I can.

 

[Anamnesis]

I don't read reviews often for fear that the reviewer will give away important plot points. Amazon.com has plenty of those, which is why I don't go on there until I finish a book. Of course, this doesn't stop me from looking at reviews of books I look forward to buying...

 

[beer good]

The problem with Amazon's rating system is that that average rating pays no attention to whether a certain grade was given by someone who is well-read and capable of writing a serious, considered review, someone who copied and pasted a review from somewhere else, or by someone who simply wrote "this b00k had 2 many pagez l0l it suked but my teecher made me wread 1t". The average rating, therefore, will never be reliable.

I read (and write) reviews, and it plays a big part in what books I read, but the grade itself isn't that important. When I read a review, I try to find out WHY the reviewer liked or didn't like the book, and figure out whether this is something I would like or dislike too. A reviewer may pan a book for having qualities that would make me like it, or vice versa.

 

[abecedarian]

The problem with Amazon's rating system is that that average rating pays no attention to whether a certain grade was given by someone who is well-read and capable of writing a serious, considered review, someone who copied and pasted a review from somewhere else, or by someone who simply wrote "this b00k had 2 many pagez l0l it suked but my teecher made me wread 1t". The average rating, therefore, will never be reliable.

I read (and write) reviews, and it plays a big part in what books I read, but the grade itself isn't that important. When I read a review, I try to find out WHY the reviewer liked or didn't like the book, and figure out whether this is something I would like or dislike too. A reviewer may pan a book for having qualities that would make me like it, or vice versa.

Exactly. The number of stars means a lot less than what the reviewer says and how they say it. I look at the poor ratings as well as the good and go by what each has to say. The balance gives me an idea whether the book is actually for me not. Even if I can tell the rating(poor or high) is just due to differing worldviews, I use that in my decision making process. What really helps, specially for books I'm considering for school, is the ability to look inside the book to see what it actually looks like. I wish whoever chooses the parts to show would consider that I don't care about the preface or the title page, but the table of contents and a view of the actual text are much more useful when I'm choosing where to spend my money.

 

[VTChEwbecca]

I rarely pay attention to the number of stars, but like you all, I read the reviews (good and bad). Beergood summed it up best - I use the same method to determine whether I might enjoy a book.

However, unless all the reviews are bad, I will usually buy a book if the concept sounds like one I would enjoy.

 

[toecollector]

They dont usually contain spoilers but I've decided that I will not use reviews anymore. It's almost like pre-judging the book based on what you've heard which is wrong because evryone has different opinions and yours could be completely unique to those of others.