To Review or Not

As a writer and reader, I have more than a passing interest in book reviews. While some writers say they don’t pay attention to reviews, that level of insouciance escapes me. I think it’s a natural human tendency to be more than curious about what readers think of your work—good, bad, or in-between. I can barely imagine a writer who doesn’t read reviews.

I’m not talking about reviews from trade publications such as Library Journal, Booklist Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus. They could be the subj...