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Musing Mondays (Aug. 11)

August 11, 2008 by Darlene

MizB over at Should Be Reading is musing this fine Monday about reviews. Here’s the question:

***Do you read book reviews online? In newspapers? Elsewhere? If so, do you let those reviews stop you from reading a particular book, if the book was poorly reviewed? Or, do you read the book anyway?

I do read reviews online. I’ve read many really great books this way. However, for a book I really want to read like Breaking Dawn for instance and haven’t yet had a chance to get to, I am not reading the reviews. I will glance at the end of the review to see if the person liked it or not but that’s about it. I want to form my own opinion on it and plus I don’t want to ruin it for myself.

Even if someone has given a book a not so great review, if the back cover still sounds good to me I’ll usually try it. I think everyone has such different views on what makes a book good. What’s good to me may not float someone else’s boat and vice versa. However, if it’s someone’s opinion that I really value and they tell me I’m not likely to enjoy it, I do take that into consideration.

So, what about you? Do you read reviews online? Do you let reviews affect whether or not you’ll give a book a chance? Share your thoughts on this musing Monday.

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Comments

  1. Mary says

    August 11, 2008 at 10:17 pm

    Hi Dar! I read reviews everywhere (online, print, etc).
    Like you, if I intend to read a book I put off reading reviews until I finish. If I read a glowing review of a book I’ve not heard of, I’ll read the book only if it interests me. I just have too many books on my TBR stack. I will, however, add it to my TBR list and maybe get around to reading it someday. Just so many books out there and probably not enough time to read them all, lol.

  2. Dar says

    August 11, 2008 at 10:26 pm

    That’s for sure Mary. I have so many books to read now on my shelves that there just isn’t any possible way to get through them all in my lifetime. One of these weekends I’m planning on some big time organizing to get the ones I most want to read out in the front of the pile.

  3. wendy says

    August 11, 2008 at 10:53 pm

    I read the reviews on Amazon. If I am teetering on weather to read or not, a review may sway me one way or the other. But if this is a book I have been wanting to read, I will read anyway and either argue or agree with the reviews. There is no harm getting a book from the library, no money lost. If I am planning on buying a book I let the reviews speak louder.

  4. Dar says

    August 11, 2008 at 11:08 pm

    You’re so right Wendy. I do that with a lot of books-get them from the library. That way if I’ve read 50 pages and I’m still not liking it, I don’t feel as upset because I haven’t spent the money. I have to admit though I do have a book buying addiction with absolutely no space for said books anymore. lol.

  5. Bluestocking says

    August 12, 2008 at 2:54 am

    It really depends upon who is writing the review.

  6. J. Kaye Oldner says

    August 12, 2008 at 1:00 pm

    I’m with you. No reading about Breaking Dawn until after I read it…lol!

  7. Trish says

    August 13, 2008 at 11:28 am

    I read reviews mostly through blogging. I used to go to Amazon quite a bit, but since most of the books going on my wishlist come from bloggers I don’t hop over there quite as much. But I definitely agree that one negative review shouldn’t turn someone off–I know that I read lots of things that I love and people don’t like and that I didn’t love and people do–but that’s what makes it so interesting!

  8. Dar says

    August 13, 2008 at 7:02 pm

    Trish, my reviews really just come from the bloggers now too. I find them more accurate anyhow as you get an honest I liked it or I didn’t. When you read reviews at the booksites, they’ll never tell you the book was bad.

    And you’re right. People have such different tastes and what one thinks is great, another may not. I’ve found though that when you find someone with tastes like your own it’s very seldom you don’t like something they’ve recommended.

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