Why I don't write (or read) bad reviews

[karenkincy]

I once was a bad review aficionado. I'd cherry-pick all the most negative reviews and read them first. 1-star? Surely more useful than all the gushing 5-star reviews that didn't say much about the book beyond, "I <3 this!!!" I preferred snarky, intelligent commentaries exploring the mechanics of why a particular character sucked or why the author

Comments

[hooton]

I agree that a snarky review that's there to show how funny the reviewer is serves little purpose. However a good review that says nothing other than OMG this book is so good 11!!! doesn't have a lot of use either.

Reviews - good or bad - should at least indicate that the reviewer has is trying to judge the book objectively and give an informed opinion. Whether people agree with or follow that is up to them. In the case of anti-recommendations - I think they only work if the reviewer is someone with a history that people can check to see if their tastes are likely to align. For example, there's a reviewer on Amazon UK who I know from their review history has similar tastes to mine, so if she recommends a book I'm likely to go and pick it up and similarly, if she doesn't rate it, I know there's a good chance it won't appeal to me either.

I'd also disagree that bad reviews discourage people from reading books in general. Books aren't interchangeable and someone who decides not to spend 7 quid on one book by a particular author is still someone looking to buy a book - they'll just spend that 7 quid on a different novel.

[karenkincy]

As I already said, I agree that "OMG!" good reviews or "This sucks" bad reviews are equally useless. And I'm not arguing that bad reviews discourage reading *in general*; however, I am making the point that there have been many incidents involving myself or another reader where a particular novel was scorned thanks to scathing reviews, only to be sampled later and found quite tasty. That's what I'm arguing against, here. Judging books solely by their reviews, rather than giving them a chance.

I do think that there are reviewers out there who fit your tastes well enough that you can use them to forecast your own reaction to a book... but since I happen to be Karen, Karen, quite contrary, more often than not I don't agree with good *or* bad reviews. So I just browse the book or get it from the library, then make up my own mind as to whether I want to buy it or not. (Not, of course, implying that people who read or write critical reviews aren't freethinking; just advocating for more recommendations in the book world.)

Thanks for your thoughtful reply! This has been an intriguing discussion. :)

[hooton]

Okay. Coolio.

Not, of course, implying that people who read or write critical reviews aren't freethinking; just advocating for more recommendations in the book world.)

Yes to this in a big way.