Question: How influential are reviews when selecting a book to read?(Thanks to Brain Candy Book Reviews for the question idea!)
My Answer: Usually I find new books to read through reviewers. It usually only takes one positive review for my attention to be brought to a book. Then if the cover appeals to me...I will most likely buy it. If however the cover doesn't appeal to me...well...I probably won't.
We know how judgemental I am of book covers darlings....
8 comments:
I know what you mean about covers :)
yes - reviews affect my buying. but I have to see a few good ones from people who i think have similar taste to me. also, too much hype and i just dont care anymore and cant be bothered checking it out - when someting is hyped up a lot it usually disappoints me for some reason.
I do use reviews to find books. Especially if the book is by an author I haven't read before. But I will usually try to read several reviews on a book before buying it.
Reviews influence my buying but not totally. I'm usually attracted by the book cover, title, author or summary first. Then, I'll check out the reviews. Good reviews means I'll buy. Mix reviews or bad ones means I'll bump the book way down on my list of books to buy. But I might still pick it up at some later time depending on whether I'm in a book slump.
They influence me to a point. If there is a book I'm interested in I'll read reviews about it. If they are all bad I might still read it if I've already bought it. If I haven't bought it yet - I probably won't. There have been a few books that, even though I had no interest, through multiple good reviews I've decided to read it.
I have to admit reviews can be big influences on selecting a book to read. This is especially true when i'm deciding on whether or not to buy a book. I have a few things that will prevent me from buying a book. If a reviewer mentions on of these things occurred in a book i won't buy/read it.
In other cases if the book sounds good enough or i think i might feel different i ignore the review. I know of some books that i've loved and others hated. The reverse is true as well. I also find myself more willing to ignore a review if i can find the book at the library. Mainly because i know i'm not going to be wasting money if the book is horrid.
Melissa
Great response! I usually go on Amazon and bloggers for reviews. They sometimes can persuade my opinion.
I think reviews affect whether or not I'm interested in a book to a degree. If I've been excited for a book for a while, then I'll read it regardless of reviews, but if it's something that just caught my eye and I see a lot of negative reviews, then I probably won't read it. I try to be open about books because everyone isn't going to love the same thing, but bad reviews do skew my perception a bit and, depending on the number of negative reviews and just what the reviews are saying, I may reconsider getting a book.
If both the synopsis and the cover really capture my attention then it's unlikely that negative reviews will turn me off in any way.
Reviews certainly affect my buying. I don't want to waste my money and, more importantly, my time on a book that is horrible. I feel that if a majority of people like a book, I will too, or if a majority of people hate a book, I should avoid it.
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