Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
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Groovy Lee
XI. Misc
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WHEN IS A BOOK TOO OLD TO BE REVIEWED?
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I've reviewed 1984 by George Orwell and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Books are never too old to be reviewed.
When no one can read the language it is written in?
V.W. wrote: "When no one can read the language it is written in?"I love that answer!
A consumer review is nothing more than the reader's subjective opinion of a specific book. Whether the book itself was initially published ten months or ten decades ago is irrelevant. It is new to its first-time reader and each review is a fresh opinion and evaluation of its content.
Groovy wrote: "Hello, EveryoneI'd like to know: When is a book too old to be reviewed? When I published my first novel in 2013, I didn't know anything about bloggers' review sites, or interview with author site..."
I'm reading "Jane Eyre" and will review it. The answer to your question is "never."
V.W. wrote: "When no one can read the language it is written in?"Great answer! I'm reading Childhood's End. The internet didn't exist the first time I read it in the early 90s. Ya better believe I'm leaving a review this time.
The question is, for what purpose are you reviewing, or reading the review? If you are hoping to increase sales, that's a different thing than hoping to spark a discussion, or (my usual purpose) putting down what you're thinking about a book. Reviews on Amazon may boost sales; here, probably not. Reviews here are often helpful in getting a bead on whether you will enjoy a book or not. All I ever needed to know about FIFTY SHADES OF GREY I could learn from the Goodreads reviews, and so I didn't need to read the book itself.All my Goodreads reviews are essentially my own notes, so that I can remember what I read five years from now. I do not expect comments, and do not solicit them; the books nearly always are extremely arcane and/or way old, and so their sales are unlikely to be affected by anything anyone says.
Your book is two years old? When I opened this I assumed you were talking about centuries old books and I was going to say that if one wants to review old books, they certainly can. Two years old is not old. If someone wants to review your book, they should be able to do so.
I read somewhere that a book ought to be reviewed unless it already has more than one thousand reviews. The author had said that in her end matter. One thousand reviews! Wow.
V.W. wrote: "When no one can read the language it is written in?"Great answer.
K.D. wrote: "V.W. wrote: "When no one can read the language it is written in?"Great answer."
Like!
Thanks, all of you that answered. I appreciate your wisdom and encouragement. Now I have a lot of work to do and reviews to try and get:) I'm so glad I can pull those books out of oblivion...Jamie, I love what that author said. If I could get one thousand reviews on all of my books, I would be ecstatic!!!
I didn't want to open up another thread so I'll say it here since it's along the same line---reviews. When I first started publishing, I would add my book to a thread and ask "anyone interested" for reviews. Finally, I got fed up because I gave away a lot of books, but very, very few reviews in return. A few years later, I thought I'd give it another try, right? Those that agreed to review my book, didn't come through. I gave someone a copy to review and I was supposed to be spotlighted on their blogsite. Come to find out, the blog is nothing but a blank page!! And I'm sure this person got a lot of free books with authors anticipating being spotlighted to followers. So, I'm done, and I mean done, with asking "anyone interested" for a review. From now on, I'm sticking to bonafide bloggers who love helping authors and reviewing books. I've vented for the day. That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it...
I review everything I read without regard to publication date. If the book is by an indie author and published everywhere (not just Amazon) I post the review on http://everywhereindies.wordpress.comAnd I review on Goodreads and Booklikes. I am picky about what I read and I'm not attached to new releases as a reviewer, so I'm usually reviewing what I felt like reading or what my book club chose--though I do love it when an author I enjoy gives me an ARC. That happens more with trad pub and my New Mexico Mystery review series on http://amberfoxxmysteries.wordpress.com
I seldom accept free books for review unless I'm already familiar with the author because I will not finish something I don't like and I've got genre limits. But not publication date limits.
I think the question we authors are worried about is, "When will readers turn their noses up at a book because it's not new"? In a culture of new new new, it's hard to be seen as cutting edge if your book is a few years old. Of course we all know many books are timeless and are almost as popular now as 20 years ago.
Readers check various aspects of a book to determine whether or not it is something they might like to read: cover, blurb, author, and/or a cursory read of the first couple of pages. I am not aware of any whose decision is impacted by the initial publishing date.
Mark wrote: "I think the question we authors are worried about is, "When will readers turn their noses up at a book because it's not new"?"Why worry? If a reader can't get past my publishing date, they're probably not the kind of reader I want, anyway.
Agreed. I don't think any book is ever "too old" to be reviewed. If that were the case, many of the classics would no longer be reviewed by newer readers.
I hope never. I once wrote a review for "Of Plymouth Plantation."As an independent, I treasure the reader reviews I get no matter how brief. By all means, if you happen across a book that you like (classic or obscure), share your opinion. Believe me, it matters to readers and author alike.
I find all reviews of my works interesting. Keep it up.William Shakespeare
I'd like to know: When is a book too old to be reviewed? When I published my first novel in 2013, I didn't know anything about bloggers' review sites, or interview with author sites until recently. They practically sat in the shadows without a lot of exposure. So, is it too late to get my older books reviewed?