SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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What's Your View On Reviews?
I read the reviews themselves. I won't say I disregard the stars, but what the reviewer had to say is more important to me. I look for thoughtful comments pro and con about what worked and didn't work for the reviewer.
And if I'm interested in reading the book myself, I always, always read the 'look inside' section with an eye toward writing style. If it engages me or not.
And if I'm interested in reading the book myself, I always, always read the 'look inside' section with an eye toward writing style. If it engages me or not.
I only read reviews or look at star ratings after I've read a book. My TBR list is so large that I don't go actively hunting new books to read.When looking at star ratings, or reviews, on other sites to make a purchase I look at a couple reviews at each level. If they're only 1 or only 5 it makes me very skeptical.
Readers' reviews are one of the things that influence me most when deciding whether or not to give a chance to a new book. I look at the cumulative effect of both stars and content and proceed from there.
I pretty much only read friends reviews. I might read one or two others but not often. I do look at star ratings. Anything above 4 or below 3.5 catches my eye because it's outside the average. That intrigues me.
The average rating (stars) can be useful, if there are enough ratings and the raters seem to have tastes similar to mine. When there are only a few ratings that are very positive, the author's friends may be responsible. Some genres or subgenres attract readers with very different tastes. So a 4.5 average for a YA novel may come mostly from teen girls. A 4.5 for contemporary literary fiction may mean a novel for the ages, but more likely it's one of those navel gazers in which nothing happens — that's what lit-fic readers like.The reviews themselves are often very helpful. I might read several of the top reviews, including at least one positive and one negative. They give me a sense of the main audience for the book. If an observation is repeated by several reviewers, it gives me some confidence that the point wasn't just an idiosyncratic reaction.
Sarah Anne wrote: "I pretty much only read friends reviews. I might read one or two others but not often. I do look at star ratings. Anything above 4 or below 3.5 catches my eye because it's outside the average. That..."That is almost exactly how I do it except I don't read friends reviews, I do give more weight to their star rating vs the masses. I go read reviews after I am done.
Mod
Interesting! Do you put more weight on total reviews or the "look inside" part of your research?
Kim wrote: "I only read reviews or look at star ratings after I've read a book. My TBR list is so large that I don't go actively hunting new books to read.
When looking at star ratings, or reviews, on other s..."
How do you add things to your TBR, then, may I ask? That's fascinating to me that you only read reivews after!
Sarah Anne wrote: "I pretty much only read friends reviews. I might read one or two others but not often. I do look at star ratings. Anything above 4 or below 3.5 catches my eye because it's outside the average. That..."
Below, too? So a 2 star average book may be of note to you? In a way that would make you curious to read it? That's also very interesting to me! How do you make that choice?
Allison wrote: "How do you add things to your TBR, then, may I ask? That's fascinating to me that you only read reivews after!"For the most part I don't anymore. I will always read whatever the club nominates, for better or worse. I also have a personal goal to read all winners of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards. There are authors whose books I will always pick up, as well as the myriad sequels for books I've liked.
Then there are recommendations from people who I trust, or if I really want to find a new book I'll go browse some book stores and see what catches my eye.
I'd rather go into a book clean, with no preconceptions. If you pick up a book that you know has a high star rating you might set your expectations too high. Conversely if you know it has a low rating you might go looking for flaws and be nit-picking instead of just enjoying it.
By having no preconceptions however I feel after reading it is how I feel, not something swayed by others.
If it's 3.5 or below that usually means that it's more challenging and people have mixed opinions. I tend to like books with mixed opinions because it means stretching my reading boundaries. It doesn't mean I'll definitely read a book just because it has 3.23 stars. It just means that I'll take a second look and read a couple of reviews.
I hate giving stars, and so I don't really let them sway my opinion. Everyone weights them differently. I do like reading reviews if the book cover and blurb interest me, the top reviews will give me a sense of what people think of the book.
I follow several reviewers who's reading interests tend to match my own and their opinions on a book will sway me more than a book with a hundred 5 star ratings. If one of those reviewers hasn't reviewed a book, then reading the reviews for that book will give me more of a sense of the quality than just the rating.
I only consider books that are recommended to me, and give considerable weight to my GR friends' reviews. I read reviews before, and after, and sometimes during (especially if I'm considering a DNF). I avoid looking at star ratings, but outliers do attract attention.I feel foolish for not using Look Inside to check on writing style, but then, most books I read are older and unlikely to have that avl. anyway, and I read mostly library books too. (But Thank You, Charles, for the tip!)
I really don't pay attention to reviews, though I might quickly gaze upon my friends reviews of the book if there happen to be any. And sometimes I see new and interesting books in my feed that my friends have reviewed and then add them to my TBR-list even if I don't necessarily read the review itself at all.As for star ratings, I really don't pay that much attention to them and I really don't care about the overall score. I give my star ratings and reviews based on how I liked the book myself, not based on how everybody else liked it, including my friends. And also it seems we Finns tend to judge the books we read more harshly than others, though I don't know why. Usually this can be more easily seen in books that have been translated from Finnish into English (or vice versa) and then compare them to each other. Usually the star rating tends to be 0,5-1 star lower in Finnish edition than in English edition(s).
I do a quick scan of reviews before reading a book, then go looking for more in-depth reviews afterward. That way I can compare my reaction to other folks' reactions, thus building up a go-to group of people who have similar opinions to mine.The ultimate determiner of read/don't read is trying a sample of the book itself. You can tell quite a bit about the author's style from just a few pages.
I usually find new books through groups like these. If it is an author I don't know, then I will read the reviews, with priority toward my GR friends. If there are many many 5-stars, then I go hunting for 4s and 3s. People who can describe the weaknesses in a book can be very helpful. Often their weaknesses reinforce my interest in a book. For example, Ancillary Justice had many negative comments about being too complicated. But I like CJ Cherryh, so that intrigued me.
I almost always write reviews here on GR (feed the machine), but rarely on Amazon.
Mod
I am a big crowd-sourcer. I essentially make no purchasing decisions that are not informed in personal, tangible review, or without the help of thoughtful earlier reviewers.
Stars matter to me for unknown entities--new authors, new tech, whatever the case may be, I want to see what the early adopters say, and I probably won't take a chance on it unless it has either a high star rating with a lot of verified purchases or at least one positive review from someone I trust, and several other high ratings.
Reviews always matter to me, if they are substantive. Often, I find the polarizing features of a book (you either love or hate Sookie Stackhouse, for example) to be most interesting because I may love what someone hates and vice versa. So, I'll find in-depth reviews on both sides and read enough that I know what sorts of trends get the most comment.
Word of mouth is a curse and a blessing for me. Like a few mentioned, having any sort of preconceived notion about a book tends to make me cranky. But I wouldn't have heard of a lot of the books I really liked if it hadn't been for friend's recommendations, and my other favorite "people who bought this also bought..." algorithm. I know a lot of people hate on that, and that the algorithm is often a little...off...but! I've found several tremendous things that way, too, like the works of Sharon Shinn.
Because crowd-sourcing is my bread and butter (I get analysis paralysis if I don't have some sort of direction), I do have a few additional steps I have to take. There's reading reviews, then, if a few seem repetitive or oddly specific, or it's expensive, I'll run it through Fakespot.com to see if any of the reviews seem purchased or overly repetitive as if from a press release copied by friends. Sometimes I'll ask questions (usually if the subject matter seems iffy and I'm worried about coming across content that I find super offensive) or visit other sites like here, on Nook, or various blogs, to see what other folks are saying away from the big sellers.
I don't use "look inside" much unless there's something strange I need to see first, like the use of second person in The Fifth Season or if the book is indie.
I do use the library extensively. I love trying a book before I buy it.
... and I always ignore reviews with photos and animations.
The star average doesn't matter to me. High and low well written reviews I pay attention to. Like Sarah Ann said, I will get curious with a really really low or high average rating.
Hi Allison,I pretty much expressed my opinion in that other thread, but here's an added point: if you're going to insist on using the reviews, overlooking biases and the fact that some are paid for, read the best and worst reviews that are at least five lines or so. Then see if you can figure out why each of those reviewers says what s/he does by using the "peek inside" and blurb. Trusted friends who have read the book are good too, but I often don't agree with my friends either.
Sometimes you can learn from a lot from a negative review, especially if there aren't many. That reviewer might have an agenda or might have noticed a flaw that's important to you (like the author not announcing a cliffhanger).
Of course, if the book is in ebook version and $5 or less, that's the price of a McDonald's meal, so why not try it if it sounds at all interesting, irrespective of reviewers. I've discovered many little jewels that way.
BTW, I don't believe in ranking systems. If you can't figure out whether you might like the book without it, the review is practically worthless and the reviewer's ranking is probably worthless too.
r/Steve
I absolutely read reviews... some from all the star ratings, and I really appreciate those that give reasons for liking/disliking a book, because they help to decide whether or not to consider adding it to my TBR list.Reviews that only say loved or hated it... are of no use to any reader!
Laz wrote: "... and I always ignore reviews with photos and animations."Oh gosh yes!
Well, for the most part. If the photo is actually *from* the book, or of the setting (say, a photo of a 'down' for Watership Down), I actually appreciate the peek. But those pop culture animations where some actress says OMG or whatever, please, no, go away.
Mod
Oh gosh yes!
Well, for the most part. If the photo is actually *from* the book, or of the setting (say, a photo of a 'down'..."
I hadn't ever seen that before GR! That, to quote Donnie Darko, is commitment to Sparkle Motion, right there.
I will admit to reading a few of those because the review itself was entertaining. I don't ever remember what books they're for, so as tool for finding new books, it's totally worthless to me. But it's given me a few chuckles.
Agreed that the terse review is useless! A pox upon them!
To answer your question, Allison, I form a tentative "buy don't buy" opinion from the reviews, and then usually put more weight on reading the 'look inside" section. That is where I can get a feel for the author's ability to write and his/her style, and decide if I want to read the whole book.
Most "look inside's" are the first one or two chapters. If the author does or doesn't know how to hook a reader and keep the reader on the line , that's where it should show.
Most "look inside's" are the first one or two chapters. If the author does or doesn't know how to hook a reader and keep the reader on the line , that's where it should show.
I only read friends reviews after I finish a book and only if I remember which I do about half the time. I don't give star ratings much value as there are too many variables in how people assign their ratings. I usually go by the blurb and if I have read anything by the author before. I have a ton of continuing/unfinished series so many of the books i'm reading these days are sequels or group reads.
I usually go by descriptions. I read reviews when I consider the description too general to be of any use. At that point, I'll be looking for what some would consider spoilers in order to decide whether I'd be interested in reading it. I'd only bother to do that if friends have loved it, but are as unrevealing in their reviews as the description. Sometimes I have to wait years to find out any details about the book that interest me. Oh, now you tell me that this is a book about an alien who converted to Buddhism! Why couldn't the description have included that information? I also read reviews when the book sounds interesting, but I've never heard of the author. Then I'll look at negative reviews to see if there's a problem that would irritate me. If there are no negative reviews, I'll read a sample or excerpt. I often read reviews while I'm in the process of writing my review. They won't change my opinion of the book, but there may be points raised in reviews that I'll want to discuss in mine.
Mod
Thank you, Charles! I'm intrigued that buy/don't buy comes before read/don't read for you.
This is a fun topic Allison, I’m glad you posted it!I almost always seek out reviews for non-book-related purchases, and I find them very helpful, but with books I’m the opposite. I prefer to go into a book blind and I’ll even avoid reading the official synopsis if possible. The more details I know about a book ahead of time, the easier it is to extrapolate where the story will go and then it feels predictable and boring. Sometimes, out of curiosity, I’ll read a synopsis after I finish a book and I almost always feel like they gave away too much information.
I do read quite a lot of friend reviews every day between Goodreads and another site, so I learn about new books that might interest me that way. I usually find it easy to forget any specifics I read from friend reviews because I see reviews about so many different books all at once that they all blur together. I also start skimming the review, or skip it altogether, if I feel like it goes into too much detail about the plot. I’m more interested in the reviewer’s general impressions, although a tiny bit of plot info is helpful to give me an idea whether it’s the type of story that might interest me, especially since I’m not likely to read the official synopsis.
Some books make it onto my TBR as a result of reading reviews from friends. I also consider anything on our group bookshelf fair game and will buy it and add it to my TBR list if it goes on sale for $3 or less. Once I decide to read a book, and especially if I plan to read it in the near future, I avoid reading anything about it from that point on until I’ve read it myself. If I feel like I know too much about a book when I add it to my TBR list, then I let it languish for a long time to forget as much as possible. It’s very common for me to start reading a book without the slightest idea what it’s about beyond its general genre. That’s my favorite scenario. I enjoy books more when they surprise me.
After I read a book, that’s when I have fun going back and reading some of the reviews, especially reviews from friends, to see what other people thought and compare our reactions.
I sometimes use reviews to pick a book, particularly here on Goodreads, where I've found a few reviewers whose tastes mirror mine :-) Generally if they like something, I can be pretty certain I will.Having said that, the star ratings on Goodreads work differently to those on Amazon. If you hover over the Goodreads stars, you'll find 1 star = didn't like it. 2 stars = it was OK. 3 stars = I liked it. 4 stars =I really liked it. 5 stars = It was amazing.
On Amazon: 1 star = I hate it. 2 stars = I don't like it. 3 stars = it was OK. 4 stars = I like it. 5 stars = I love it.
Having said that, I review after I've read, and I try not to read other reviews first. If I decide to read reviews before I purchase, then I gravitate towards the 2-4 star ones, mainly because they're generally more informative.
Leonie,Thanks for emphasizing how silly the rankings are. Think about it: Amazon owns GR and the two have different ratings systems. Absurd!
Shomeret,
"I've never heard of the author." I tend to shy away from authors I've heard of, preferring new voices to old, formulaic ones...but that's just me. I get stung a lot that way, I suppose, but if the book is $5 or less, I'm healthier for it compared to spending that at Burger King, McDonald's, or even Starbucks (bitter-tasting coffee no self-respecting Colombian would ever drink).
All,
Something not discussed here, so I'll point it out: a book review is a reflection on the reviewer as much as the book sometimes. I've seen some highly illiterate reviews, for example. At the risk of being called a snob, I will not even consider such a review and wonder why Amazon or GR even counts it in the rankings. Of course, if the author's blurb is illiterate (it happens) or her or his first chapters are droll (that also occurs), I'll decide not to buy the book.
While I'm in a snarky mood (mine aren't all that bad, I think, but I haven't had my second mug of good Colombian coffee yet), let me go after the reviewers again. "Send your book to me and, if I like it, I'll review it" is the absolutely worst turnoff in the world for an author because it means the reviewer is a complete jerk--I'm not querying them to be my agent, after all! The deal is: a free copy for an HONEST review. Just sayin'....
r/Steve
Mod
Really good point, Leonie. I wonder how often people use the hover-text descriptions, and how many have their own criteria they use. I'm guessing most people use their own value system, and we just hope that it's in the bell curve of expectation.
Except how often do you see a 5 Star review that's like "I loved it! The characters were flat, there were typos everywhere, I'm not sure what happened to the plot but This Character was the absolute best and made up for every flaw!"
That's the road to anarchy right there, I reckon.
Mod
English is a terrible language for spelling. Even native speaking friends of mine tend to be too clever for conventional spellings, and come up with their own unique takes on old words. And phones make things like punctuation and capital letters a little more work than emojis, for example.
I am waiting for that international language Sci Fi keeps promising (and that fantasy calls Common Tongue). That's gonna be great, and it better NOT just be English. Then there will be no excuses, and we'll all have to agree on the spelling of grey and theatre.
That said, I do have to be able to follow the review to find it useful to me, personally. But that's easy to weed out. Perhaps not everyone writes reviews like term papers (guilty!) but they usually have a structure that allows the review-reader to understand the thrust of the reviewer's thoughts.
I start with the star rating, move to the star rating of my friends and then more specifically which friends rated it and how. Some friends might have an average rating of over 4*'s so a 4 from them isn't high praise but another with just above 3*'s it's glowing. Next I'll read my friends reviews. I keep mental notes on who I agree with more often then not. I also factor in genre. People who I agree with on GrimDark I might not agree with on YA, dystopian or Sci-Fi titles.
If I'm still on the fence I'll read other reviews from non-friends. If I find some good reviews I'll add them as friends.
This gets me through adding a book to my TBR list. What I actually read after that often comes down to the book or first book in a series coming on-sale for Kindle or Audible. If I love the first book I'll buy the rest at price and go through the series. If I like it I'll generally wait and see if future books have price reductions. Obviously if I didn't like it I'm done.
There are the exceptions to this cost based buying. Things that never go on-sale and everybody seems to love I'll just take the leap and pay full price.
It's not that I'm necessarily overly frugal or cheap. I just want value for my money. So when a 300 page book is coming out like Skullsworn and I really liked the preceding trilogy I'm still not going to pay $14.95 on Kindle when it comes out. That's just a bad price per word or page. Meanwhile when Oathbringer comes out at over a thousand pages I'll pony up.
It's kind of like paying $5 for a chicken parm sandwich for lunch. I'm only expecting $5 of value so if it's just ok well you get what you pay for. However if I go out and pay $50 for a meal at a steakhouse it better be worth it or I'm pissed. If it's worth the money I have no issue dropping the coin.
Probably more than any of you wanted to know.
Steven wrote: "Leonie,Thanks for emphasizing how silly the rankings are. Think about it: Amazon owns GR and the two have different ratings systems. Absurd!
Shomeret,
"I've never heard of the author." I tend to s..."
I dislike stars altogether and skip them when I can't decide on a rating on Goodreads. One of the things that I detest about reviewing on Amazon is that they don't allow you to post a review without stars. I only review on Amazon when it's a free copy sent for review and the author or publisher has explicitly requested that I review on Amazon. With Amazon's new review rules, the only books that haven't been purchased on Amazon must be ARCs. Thank goodness. I'll now have fewer books that need to be reviewed there.
I read my friends' reviews because I know their tastes and reading portfolio as well as their generosity with adding stars. If I read strangers' reviews I will first look for the two and three stars ones. I usually avoid the five star reviews especially if the book is YA. Some folks are just way over the top with their stars and reviews and those obnoxious gifs which are not reviews at all.
Allison,I had my car in for a software update this morning and was killing time watching some silly morning show. They had the ticker-tape-like banners scrolling turned on so they could keep the sound down. I noticed that about 20% of the words were spelled wrong. One stuck in my mind: furminted for fermented.
Here's my take: the scrolls are produced by a computerized voice recognition system that is more phonetic than grammatical. Auto-correct features are software-driven too. And how many texters are more likely to write "r u ok?" in place of "are you OK?"
Maybe I've got it wrong. Humans aren't destroying the English language, computers and our dependence on them are doing it.
Food for thought: will the day come when things like "r u ok?" are the norm in literature? That will give those who are complaining about Dylan's Nobel something really to scream about! ;-)
r/Steve
PS. Considering I had a software upgrade installed for my car, here's another thought: will a war against the U.S. be won by someone taking control of all our software systems, including stopping every car on every major highway? By adding wi-fi capability to your auto, we're almost there! Not sci-fi anymore....
Mod
Probably more than any of you wanted to know."
LOL, Scott. No, I totally get it, I do the same. I'll buy one of my preferred authors' books at full price, even if I grumble about "back in my day" when paperbacks were $4.99. A new read? I am suspicious, you can only have two or three of my dollars, or it goes on my library list first.
Steven wrote: "Allison,
I had my car in for a software update this morning and was killing time watching some silly morning show. They had the ticker-tape-like banners scrolling turned on so they could keep the s..."
Mmm Furmint tokaj is delicious, I'm sorry you got your hopes up at the dealership ;-) English is my native tongue, but compared to the others I know, it is definitely the most elastic, and can easily be stretched so that letters and numbers and punctuation suddenly are whole sentences! I think that's amazing. I've seen it used in books (not in narration, but dialogue) and that's...it's still a little strange to see, but I appreciate the experiment.
I think the war via our cars/control of the internet is already a couple books, but you should write your take on it! It's very "now."
Mod
Allison wrote: "Thank you, Charles! I'm intrigued that buy/don't buy comes before read/don't read for you..."
I have an idea in my mind when I read the "look inside" section. I use that reading to confirm or change my tentative decision to purchase the book.
I have an idea in my mind when I read the "look inside" section. I use that reading to confirm or change my tentative decision to purchase the book.
I think the flip side to this question is do you try to help out readers with your reviews? People who simply put, awesome or snorefest really aren't helping. Why was it a snorefest? Would perhaps somebody more inclined to romantic fantasy or sci-fi like it? Too dark for your tastes? My reviews generally aren't too lengthy because I don't want to reveal plot but I'll put something in like "This was too YA for me but safe for your teens to read and they'll probably like it" or "I loved this book but if you're not a Grimdark fan to begin it's not going to be for you".
Why someone would take the time to review a best seller book that has over a hundred thousand reviews is beyond me. It is an absolute waste of time!
Joel,Agreed. I call it the bandwagon effect. Of course, most of those reviews are only one or two sentences with zero content.
Allison,
"...but you should write your own take on it." I did (action scene in the 2014 thriller Muddlin' Through). An old friend who knows more about cars served as a consult. He keeps sending me more and more information. When that Tesla accident happen, he sent lots of stuff. Cars that can drive themselves anyone?
r/Steve
Joel wrote: "Why someone would take the time to review a best seller book that has over a hundred thousand reviews is beyond me. It is an absolute waste of time!"Well......my reviews are 90% meant for me and 10% for imaginary readers so that I make an honest attempt at getting the punctuation correct. I like reading my take on a book years down the road after I have changed. That is why I review any book regardless of current reviews.
For others, I don't want to read 100,000 reviews from people I don't know, however if one of my friends has just read Harry Potter, I am honestly interested in their views on it. If they skip the review because it has all been done before, I miss out.
Steven wrote: ""r u ok?"..."I'm laughing hysterically at this because it's used in this old Steve Martin movie called L.A. Story. He tries pronouncing it as one word. "RUOK?" Hilarious.
Hank wrote: "however if one of my friends has just read Harry Potter, I am honestly interested in their views on it. If they skip the review because it has all been done before, I miss out...."
I'm in the middle of a reread. I'll have to keep that in mind.
Sarah Anne,We Steves have to stick together....
r/Steve
Charles wrote: "I read the reviews themselves. I won't say I disregard the stars, but what the reviewer had to say is more important to me. I look for thoughtful comments pro and con about what worked and didn't w..."I'm with Charles here. I look at star ratings of my friends and the people I follow (ie people whose rating system has context). I also like to read the reviews with the highest number of likes no matter what the rating. This is useful when choosing a book. For books I'm going to read regardless of ratings (book club selections mostly), I don't read the reviews until after the book. I don't necessarily want to be spoiled.
I write reviews on most of the books I read. It helps me to focus my thoughts and I like having a some measure of my reading experience documented. Plus it invites people (my friends) to have a basis for discussions.
I love to read reviews but I am not too concerned about what is there as long as its entertaining. Or spoilers - I love to search community reviews when I see a book I want to know more about but have no plans to read. My friends rarely write spoilers so...But I do not really write reviews for the "public." I read too much to depend on my memory any more. My reviews are for:
#1: ME.
#2: My entertainment
#3: My friends and their entertainment
#4: Who ever else stumbles upon them
Re: the reviews I like to read - 99.99% of my decisions are only based on my friends reviews. I use the community for entertainment. And spoilers!
MrsJoseph wrote: "My reviews are for:#1: ME.
#2: My entertainment
Hear, hear.
I use reviews to let off steam after reading a book. Usually if the book angers me or wows me a lot, it will definitely get a hearty review.
I like MrsJ's reviews, but I disagree with her own assessment. She writes her reviews for her good friend Tamika. Each review is like an email or a diatribe over coffee. She explains how she felt about the characters and plot, in a very conversational way. She even says: "Tamika, I liked this book, but it's not for you."I always check MrsJ's reviews, and sometimes I like what she doesn't. I hope she continues and doesn't change.
Mod
I think I'd either like to see the review structure start counting times reviewers said things like "brilliant," and "character-driven" and other buzz words, rather than just stars, OR to have the stars be comprised of a series of independent criteria, like on some other sites. You'd rate the writing style, the plot, the characters, and overall story separately, which would then be calculated into one star rating which could be drilled down for those of us who find such distinctions valuable.
Allison,You have some good ideas in the last paragraph. As a reviewer, I have my own check list, and I use the same list for a final "quick" edit of my own manuscripts before I send them to beta-readers.
I don't want readers to make review-writing super-complicated, though. A few sentences about why your likes and dislikes about a book and why helps both other readers and the authors and goes far beyond most Amazon zero-content reviews.
r/Steve
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Prince of Thorns (other topics)EL GIGOLÓ (other topics)
The Warded Man (other topics)
The Shadow of the Torturer (other topics)
Kindred (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Mark Lawrence (other topics)Don Viecelli (other topics)
Octavia E. Butler (other topics)
Dorothy L. Sayers (other topics)
Dorothy L. Sayers (other topics)
And now I'm curious! Do you follow overall "star" ratings? Do you read through a selection of reviews? Do you follow certain people who review things relevant to your interests? Do you only read the "sneak preview" selection and make gut decisions based on that? Do you cast bones and read them to gauge the value of your next book purchase? How do you feel about these various tools?