Things I Like - Books

Have you ever spent any time on sites reading book reviews written by the public? I’m not talking about individual bloggers who post their thoughts on the book they just finished (I do that although I stick to books that I like). I’m referring to the retail sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble that have customer review features – anyone who wants to can critique a book for all to see and many do.

So how much stock do you put in someone else’s opinion, especially someone you likely do not know at all (as opposed to a friend who knows your reading interests or a journalist whose style you are familiar with)? I have to say that I appreciate user reviews on things like appliances or other consumer goods. They can be very helpful when you’re looking to select the perfect rice cooker or trying to decide between the black patent leather peek-toe pump and the sling-back when comfort is important.

And while I am not against a description of the writing style or a plot synopsis (as long as it doesn’t go too far), when it comes to books, I’m not all that interested in someone else’s opinion. All they can tell me is whether or not they liked the book. But the reviews can be entertaining to read, especially the ones where the reader clearly didn’t like the book.

Even more fun is reading about an author’s response to a bad book review published on one of these sites. Check out The Worst Review Ever where authors have the opportunity to respond to bad reviews of their own books.

Btw, I found the link on Omnivoracious – the Amazon book blog.
How ironic.