I was thinking recently of what makes me click on a review when I'm scrolling through bloglovin' (and what makes people read my reviews). Obviously there are certain blogs that I pretty much read every post so I'll read every review. But then there are others that I pick and choose. If it's a book I'm thinking about reading, I'll click on it and read it so I can see what the person thought. But sometimes I won't comment except maybe to say something along the lines of "Can't wait to read that book, glad you enjoyed it!" But sometimes, even if it's a book I'm thinking about reading, if there have been so many reviews of it already, I won't read the review.
I'm also more likely to read a review if I've recently read the book because I want to see what other people thought of it and usually I have something more substantive to say about the book. It is hard though to write something substantive without spoiling it for other people.
If it's a book I haven't heard of, whether I read the review depends on the title and the cover, to be honest. If it's a series I haven't started and the review is for the second or third book in the series, a lot of times I won't read the review.
So all of this makes me think about which books I should write reviews for. For example, should I write a review for a book that already has a ton of reviews? I recently read These Broken Stars, but I've seen so many reviews in the past couple of weeks for that book, I wonder whether I should write a review for it.
What about you? Why do read certain reviews and not others?
Posted by: Pam
If I see a review of a book I'm on the fence about it I usually click on the review and read it. If it's one that I'm getting ready to read most of the time I won't read any reviews on it in fear of spoilers. Like you, if it's a review of a book I haven't heard of, the title and cover of that book will determine whether or not I will read the review.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion topic!
Yeah, most of the time people are really good about avoiding spoilers or at least giving you the heads up about it, but sometimes it's so nice to read a book you don't know that much about. ~Pam
DeleteI will read a review if it's a book I've also read or like you said if it's a book I've never heard of but looks/sounds interesting. I also skip over reviews of second books in a series if I haven't started the series yet because I want to avoid spoilers for the first book. But if I have read a lot of reviews about a certain book I may skip over the review or just kind of skim it, you know? Just because I've read so many other reviews already. But I think you should write a review for These Broken Stars because I want to hear your thoughts! I recently read and loved it and I would love to read about what you thought! Or you can just email me. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I see so many reviews around for a book I just wonder if I have anything to say that's different. I did really enjoy These Broken Stars so I may still write a review. It was actually much different than I thought it was going to be and I thought the author did a great job making the story so interesting given there were really only two characters in the book. I can't think of another book off the top of my head where there were only really two characters like that. And what happened was so surprising to me, I'm still not sure what I think about it. I do wish there had been an epilogue, but maybe since there are more in the series (even though they're companion novels) we'll get to find out more about the characters. ~Pam
DeleteMost commonly, I read reviews of books I've already read. I like hearing what others thought about them. There are some bloggers (like you guys) that I will read every review of, even if I don't comment on all of them. And if I've been contemplating reading a book, I'll read reviews. However, I don't read reviews if I've already seen a hundred reviews of the same book in my feed or if they're for a sequel.
ReplyDeleteSounds very similar to me, I was just curious about other people. I don't review every book I read so if I have to pick and choose which books, I'll probably stop reviewing books if I've seen a ton of reviews out there recently. ~Pam
DeleteLike you there are some blogs that I just read every post. I want to know their opinion on books regardless if they are new, old or never been heard of! But for the blogs I visit sporadically it really depends on how I am feeling but I think I tend to click on books I've read and loved and want to fangirl over or books I'm dying to read that haven't been overly review yet. Cause if I know I want to read These Broken Stars, for instance, and I've already read a ton of reviews that have raved about it, I might not need to read that 11th, ya know? But there is no formula to it so I'd just review whatever you feel like it.
ReplyDeleteWell, especially if I feel like I truly have something to say, I want to review a book. But lately it feels like I keep saying the same things over and over again. Especially when I read the same types of books. Maybe I should change the way I'm reviewing or just do all mini-reviews! :) ~Pam
DeleteFor the most part, if I follow a blogger, I'll read all of the reviews. The only exceptions are sequels (what if there are spoilers?!) or books I'm about to read soon and which I'll want to make up my own mind about for my review. My favorites are books I've just read, because like you, I feel I can make the most substantive comments on those reviews :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, if I've recently read a book and I see a review, I'm much more likely to read it because I want to know if the person had the same thoughts I did and then I definitely feel like I have something to say about the book and their review. And sometimes it is nice reading a book and not knowing that much about it. ~Pam
DeleteFor me it depends on so many different things. I have a few blogs where (when I manage to find the time) I try to read all of their posts as well as reviews. I enjoy reading reviews for books I have read, so that I can see what the other person thought and then you can discuss it in more detail. If I see a review for a book that I am dying to read then I am definitely more likely to click on it and see what that person thought.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same when it comes to ones I don't know, I will read the review if I like the look of the cover/title/synopsis. I will read multiple reviews for one book though, so I'd say review what you feel like reviewing - your opinion might matter to some readers more than the other reviews they've read.