I know many people avoid reviews of a book before they read the book like the plague. It’s a bit controversial, I think. When we’re talking about one that caught your interest because of the cover, or the blurb, you want to know if it’s worth your time. You feel the itch to go see what people are saying about it, even your friends.
On the other hand, we have the readers that close their eyes and go run laps to avoid the temptation of doing so. They just don’t want to see them.
As someone who has belonged to the two groups, they have their pros and cons. Right now, I read reviews after I’ve made up my mind about if I liked the book or not. I won’t lie. In the past, I’ve been swayed to not to read books because of some reviews, But I feel they all deserve a chance. Who knows? Maybe that book that this person critized is one I’ll love, or… I’ll dislike it too.
Confession: Sometimes I slip. Sometimes, I really have doubts about embarking in one new literary adventure, and it’s so easy… I just have to scroll down the GR page of the book and there they are. If I see positive reviews as I skim through it, I’ll smile and nod, and go running to see if NetGalley has the book, or I’ll go beg my dad to allow me to buy the Kindle edition. Now, if I see a one or two star review… My curiosity will get the best out of me and I’ll click on ‘more’ and… I’ll be like: ‘Crap. I read it.’ And be like,
Of course, there are people who are different and will stand by their choice no matter what others say. I truly admire them.
Reviews are something very important in the publishing industry. Since it’s the true measure of a book’s success. If the first book in a trilogy sells well, but the negative reviews outweigh the bad, there’s a greater chance for all of those to stay away from other books by a certain author. Nothing is certain, though. But there’s no denying the worth of a reader’s opinion.
Word of mouth is the most effective, but also unpredictable tool publishers and authors have to sell books.
I usually read reviews before reading a book. It’s that way I figure out whether I would probably like it or not. I usually screen quickly through Goodreads when considering whether or not to read a book, and take a look at the best and worst reviews, because that way I can see what the book is actually like.
– Love, Felicia
( http://asillygirlsthoughts.weebly.com/ )
Felicia recently posted this awesome thing…Chapter 26: How my Other Half was the only one who knew
That’s more or less what Olivia does too. Lol. Have you ever picked up a book you were initially detered from reading because of a review and then found you liked it? (I won’t ask the other way around because being prompted to read something and then not liking it happens to all of us, all the time :P)
I am someone who will read the reviews whether I have or not read the book. I feel like they can help me know what is worth my time or not. And seeing as there are so many books and not enough time…
Sometimes I will read a lot of negative reviews but I know I want to try the books myself. But most times I never take one reviewers opinion, but read a lot of reviews and see if they were generally positive, negative or mixed and take what I can from that!
Olivia recently posted this awesome thing…Recommended Reads: November 2014
That’s one way to go. Screening all the reviews. Hahaha, sometimes if I’m very curious, I scroll down the reviews just to see the ratings really fast.
So you’re the kind that stands strong if they want to read a book. That’s great. 🙂
This is most of a problem when it’s a book from an author I haven’t heard before. If I know the author from other works, and I know I’ll like it, then negative reviews don’t carry as much weight.
I’ve been swayed not to read books by reviews a couple of times too, so I do try and avoid them until I’ve read the book these days. It’s an interesting dilemma though, because as you say, there are pros and cons to both sides!
Laura recently posted this awesome thing…My Trip to Haworth (Home of the Brontës)
Yes, I love reading reviews! But now that I review books myself, i want to have a completely unswayed opinion of the story for when I have to write it.