Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Bad book review = No one reads it???


Okay lately on some of my book reviews (cough Life of Pi) I've gotten so many comments saying something along the lines of: "Thanks for the honest review, I won't be reading this book now" or "I almost got this book to read but now I won't" etc.

I just want to say that just because ONE person didn't like a book, it doesn't mean that NO ONE will. Everyone has their own opinion, and different taste in books. Reading a book is very personal - someone can't force you to like it or hate it, or choose how you react to the writing. It all depends on the person.

So even though I'm happy that many of you are respecting my sometimes negative book reviews, you don't have to necessarily shun the books! Hah, it's all simply opinion - who knows, I might HATE a book while you LOVE it. Just wanted to make a point here, and have you think on it before you cross off a book from your "to-read" list just because someone didn't enjoy it.

10 comments:

  1. If a negative review is on a book I want to read, I look at why they didn't like it and decide from there. If a book gets a lot of negative reviews I may just avoid it or just move to lower on the TBR list. I guess what I'm saying, is just because I see some negative reviews I'm not turned off to a book.

    Nice topic! I've seen those type of comments on other reviewers negative reviews also.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent point. I really liked Life of Pi when I read it years back but am not a fan of Love in the Time of Cholera (both of which are novels that are very highly regarded). It only really makes sense to give someone else's opinion much weight if you know you have very similar reading tastes and even then you are bound to differ sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree that just because I might not like it doesn't mean someone else won't like it too. My cousin went on and on about Twilight so I bought it and I wasn't that impressed. To each thier own is what I say.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do agree that making a decision based on one person's review is a bit hasty, especially if it's a book you previously wanted to read. However, I do have to confess that if I read a well-argued 'negative' review of a book I already suspected I wouldn't like, I do tend to just give it a miss.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sometimes I like bad reviews just because they often make me want to read the book to see if I'd feel the same way that the person who gave the review felt. Then for really bad reviews I want to read it to see if it really is that bad.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Agreed! If it's a book I want to read, like REALLY want to read, I'll avoid the bad reviews and just read the good ones until I have it in hand. And when I'm done, if I didn't like it, I'll come back to the bad review. I like to try things for myself :) I'm glad someone pointed this out - no one has the same tastes!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I get a lot of those on my negative reviews but I think they're more from people that were on the fence about the book in question to begin with. Some people use me as their deciding factor in reading a book because they weren't sure about it to begin with because my reviews match their own personal tastes. But I do hope people aren't being influenced by a single negative review not to read a book. I'd say read a few reviews of the same book. If they're all saying the same thing, then fine. But if they're all over the place, might as well make the call yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I hear you loud and clear! I'm always careful to tell people that I think of book reviews as just a part of a conversation about a book--obviously, like any other conversation, one person's views can't be dispositive one way or the other!

    However, if someone points out a fatal flaw with the book, and I trust them, and maybe I was on the fence about the book to begin with? Then I don't feel bad about skipping per their rec.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you for making this point. I hate seeing comments like that too. I usually try to post links to other reviews in all my reviews, but especially the ones that get 3 or less stars. Sure, there's some bloggers' who's opinions I value more- but that's because we tend to have teh same views on books. But overall, I decide.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've read books that have gotten five stars reviews which turned out to be.. not so good. But that's my taste. Even though I value second opinions, I've learned that everyone have their own taste :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks, I love what you have to say!