The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion
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How often do you leave a book review on Amazon?
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Of course, I can speak only for myself, but I generally post a review only where I have agreed in advance to do so (such as through receiving an ARC from the author or through NetGalley). Otherwise, I only post my star rating. I have found that knowing that I have to write a review usually decreases my enjoyment while reading the book.
In general, any review that I write for my blog gets posted to Amazon as well. Of course, I rarely reviewed on Amazon before starting the blog.
Not very often. I think the last time was when I read a book a friend had written. I gave a disclaimer.
I only post Amazon reviews on books I read on my Kindle.
I don't review every book that I read, although I should make an effort to post more often. Probably about every 10th book. Most often if I have something significant to say about it.
I tend to only post star ratings, but have decided to start making more of an effort with full reviews. I once read a near thousand word review of a usb stick and if someone can manage that for something so bland, I can manage a few lines for a book (although, some books I've read make an internet dongle seem fascinating!)!
I post the same review to Amazon and Barnes and Noble that I put on here and my blog. It's just a little cut and paste so not much time involved. Plus, I enjoy getting those emails saying my review helped someone make a decision.
I pretty much always review every book I read on Amazon as well as here. Love reading reviews, love hearing opinions, even if they don't coincide with my own.
Mod
I wish everyone shared that view. I rarely post there -- people can be so nasty when making a comment on reviews so I prefer not to be upset by the troll de jour. I don't understand why people are just so disgustingly rude. If you don't like what someone says, why get in his or her face about it?
I always leave a short review on the ebooks that I read on Amazon then I copy it to my Goodreads page.
Steve wrote: "I post the same review to Amazon and Barnes and Noble that I put on here and my blog. It's just a little cut and paste so not much time involved. Plus, I enjoy getting those emails saying my review helped someone make a decision."Same here. Since it takes so little effort to post a review I've already written, why not?
I just recently started posting on B&N. Their system, like most of the rest of their online presence, is a pain in the butt. No wonder there are so few reviews on their site.
I try to post on Amazon for almost every book I read. I enjoy seeing other people's opinions and often go further if our tastes are alike to see what they have read. I find it useful.
I have every intention of posting reviews on Amazon, but don't always do it. When a publisher or an author gives me a book for review, I will put a review on Amazon, but for books that are already best sellers, I'll only post reviews here. Mostly, I post reviews on Amazon for new books, where reviews make a difference in sales. I guess it comes down to feeling part of the community. Amazon is so huge, with so many rude people, I don't want to hang out there. On the whole, I feel the reviews I post on Goodreads are for people with whom I have shared interests.
Nancy and Judy, I totally agree with the comments about the negativism at Amazon. I think that has turned off a lot of potential reviewers, which is a shame, because seeing a broader and more accurate picture of reviews is what makes something more credible. I've personally received my dose of criticism from trollers. I try to just ignore if I can. Goodreads seems pretty fair-minded though about both positive and negative reviews.
Mod
Nancy wrote: "Ignoring is hard for me -- when did having an opinion become a crime? It's like if you are reviewing a book and you go against the grain (like I do a lot), you get so much negativity thrown at you...."Totally agree. I think you have to have thick skin to be an author these days.
Going against the grain seems to get the masses who loved it all riled up, I guess. I see that not only with books, but also movies that everyone else loved, but I hated.
I try to post reviews on everything I read but don't quite manage to achieve that... maybe get to 75%.In general, my aim with any review is to share good news, to let people know about excellent writing and indie authors they may not otherwise take a risk on. And sometimes just to say how much I enjoyed something more mainstream.
I rarely write damningly negative reviews, unless something is truly awful, because I know how much effort goes into writing a book. I also know how much harm unfair reviews can do.
I started out reviewing on Amazon when it was a less frantic / competitive place, and I always post reviews there because I know they influence buying decisions.
I really want the authors I enjoy reading to be encouraged and rewarded for their efforts - leaving a review seems like only the polite thing to do!
Very interesting stuff.
‘Amazon is so huge, with so many rude people, I don’t want to hang out there…It’s like if you are reviewing a book and you go against the grain (like I do a lot), you get so much negativity thrown at you.’
‘I rarely post there — people can be so nasty when making a comment on reviews so I prefer not to be upset by the troll de jour.’
‘I totally agree with the comments about the negativism at Amazon…I’ve personally received my dose of criticism from trollers.’
It seems that if you leave a bad review on Amazon you can expect a lot of grief. Hardly surprising then, many people prefer not to bother!
Despite frequent denials, many people do pay attention to the reviews written on Amazon. It also strikes me that the readers are not getting a very balanced view. The majority of reviews are either good or great, even if the book itself is, in fact, extremely average.
Nor is this great news as an author either, particularly if you really have written a book that is widely considered to be absolutely fantastic within your genre.
A cynical part of me wonders if this was the Amazon's intention from the outset. But in truth, I very much doubt it...
More responses please, we need more data here!
‘Amazon is so huge, with so many rude people, I don’t want to hang out there…It’s like if you are reviewing a book and you go against the grain (like I do a lot), you get so much negativity thrown at you.’
‘I rarely post there — people can be so nasty when making a comment on reviews so I prefer not to be upset by the troll de jour.’
‘I totally agree with the comments about the negativism at Amazon…I’ve personally received my dose of criticism from trollers.’
It seems that if you leave a bad review on Amazon you can expect a lot of grief. Hardly surprising then, many people prefer not to bother!
Despite frequent denials, many people do pay attention to the reviews written on Amazon. It also strikes me that the readers are not getting a very balanced view. The majority of reviews are either good or great, even if the book itself is, in fact, extremely average.
Nor is this great news as an author either, particularly if you really have written a book that is widely considered to be absolutely fantastic within your genre.
A cynical part of me wonders if this was the Amazon's intention from the outset. But in truth, I very much doubt it...
More responses please, we need more data here!
Jonathan wrote: "Very interesting stuff.‘Amazon is so huge, with so many rude people, I don’t want to hang out there…It’s like if you are reviewing a book and you go against the grain (like I do a lot), you get s..."
Jonathan, You are so very right. The more I thought about what you said I realized how right you are. It's terrible but I find myself leaning toward leaving a better review of a book than writing all the negative feelings I have about it just to avoid having to read all the criticism that I get back for my review. Thanks for bringing it to my attention and making me realize it. From now on when I do leave a review I'm not going to hold back anymore I'm going to write how I really feel about it, good and bad.
Mod
‘Amazon is so huge, with so many rude people, I don’t want to hang out there…It’s like if you are reviewing a book and you go against the grain (like I do ..."
When I do a review I generally comment on what I find positive to begin with, then, using examples, hit on the negatives.
For the last couple of years or so I've reviewed every book I read - both on Goodreads and on Amazon. In part I do this for myself, so I can go back and see what I thought of a book. And I'm pleased when my review is helpful to others.I give a brief overview of what the book's about and then mention what I liked and what I didn't like, and if I recommend reading it or not.
When I start a book it has '3 stars' in my mind. As I continue reading the star rating may remain 3 or go up or down depending on how good the book is.
Barbara said When I start a book it has '3 stars' in my mind. As I continue reading the star rating may remain 3 or go up or down depending on how good the book is.I love your approach. If everyone started at the midpoint, and then as they read adjusted accordingly, noting what they liked and didn't like, I wonder how the "best seller" list would adjust.
This is a wonderful discussion. I find myself in the mixed bag category of sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. I am fearful of negative comebacks, but I also know what it takes to write.
Sometimes the premise of a story is fabulous, but reading it is a struggle. So, I don't feel I should post a review because there are times I don't really know what my problem is or was with the book. I know I don't like it or I know it was tough to finish. But, I have trouble pinpointing the specific issues I may have.
Currently, I'm finding this struggle with Tana French's latest The Secret Place. I love it, yet I can't seem to want to finish it. Does that mean I should give it a good/bad review or no review? Hmmmmm
Mod
I find myself in that situation so many times. As a matter of fact, I recently found myself there. I read a book where I thought the premise was a good one, but the execution was so flawed I ended up hating it. Frankly, there was no point to the novel, except for a lot of violence. I'm sure the author had a point to make, but I felt that he missed the boat and I got absolutely nothing out of it. I passed it along to my husband who also read it and came up with the same reaction as I did. But there were a number of readers who gave it 5 stars where I would have given it zero if possible. So I didn't give it a rating but explained my rationale as to why this book and I did not get along. Sometimes that's all you can do. If you can't figure out what your problem is with a book, just say so. Not every book is a perfect match for its reader.
I try and review everything on GR but I do not on Amazon - there are differences in the rating system for one. Yes I could just copy and paste but then my 2 star - it was OK on GR has to be a 3 star on Amazon. Amazon is also full of reviews (on all products not just books) from people who have not even read the book/used the product - saw one just now - quote "haven't read it yet but want to" and marked as a 3 star!
Thanks Nancy for your comment. It is so important to remember that Not every book is a perfect match for its reader. I guess I get hung up in the act of reading and wanting to like every book I read that I forget your point. :-)Great info Philip...I didn't even realize the awarding of star difference between GR and Amazon. I wonder now that Amazon owns GR, if that will change.
I'm making a conscious effort to leave reviews. As an author I value them and appreciate a reader taking the time to leave a review. But that aside, I think reviews can be very useful for both writers and the readers who buy the books. But it's very much a personal choice.Very interesting to read what Philip has said about the star rating difference between GR and Amazon though!
Mod
I didn't used to do too many Amazon reviews. However, the other day I noticed that when I gave a review on my Kindle Fire it automatically posted it to both Goodreads and Amazon. Not sure how crazy I am about that.
Mod
That's not cool, but somehow, I expected to see that coming when Amazon bought Goodreads.
I write a review on every book I read. On my blog (http://gutreactionreviews.com) I review books and movies (oh, and Scotch). Once posted on my blog, I add them to Amazon and Goodreads.
I think part of the reason I don't post a lot on Amazon is pure laziness. I know it's just cutting and pasting and will take less than a minute, but I don't want to bother with it. Probably because I feel my reviews will be read on Goodreads, but just sit there on Amazon, unless I'm one of the first to write a review. And that rarely happens.
Amazon won't let me post anything under three stars for a self published author. Which works out, as a 3 stars on Amazon is the same as 2 stars on Goodreads. But they had no trouble with my 1 star rating for Fifty Shades of Grey.
So many commenters on Amazon confuse a valid but negative observation about the book with an attack on the author. Or the author's subject. I found that out when I gave two stars to a memoir about surviving an abusive childhood. You'd have thought I'd had no soul and ate children for breakfast.
Mod
Probably becau..."
Re commenters: the nastiness there just totally astounds me, the same way it does on goodreads sometimes. I always wonder this-- if I met these people in the real world, would they be as nasty in the flesh as they are hiding behind a computer screen? It's like in their eyes, no one is allowed to have a different opinion. That is why I rarely post on Amazon.
Reading the above I realized that, whilst middle-aged, I am clearly still naive. I thought that goodreads is a forum to share a love of books with people you otherwise would normally never meet. Part of sharing the love of reading and books is being honest about what you think about a book, which can be positive or negative, or probably better said "according to my taste, or not to my taste", which is reflected in the star system. There is not a single author living or dead who has only written excellent or even good books. Even some of my favourite authors as different as Dickens (Little Dorrit) and Val McDermitt (The Vanishing Point) or Heinrich Boell (Ansichten eines Clowns) were IN MY OPINION disappointing and hence they get ony 1 or 2 stars. But their other books are brilliant. There are some books which most people apart from me like (Gone Girl), but that's cool, they just don't have as much taste as me (O N L Y J O K I N G).No need to be nasty.
Mod
I'm with you, Gisela. That's how it should work, and when I meet people like you and a lot of other people who share the love of reading and of books, it makes it very much worthwhile to be here. I just do not like nasty/mean people in general.
I try to write reviews for the books I read and will post the review on both Goodreads and Amazon, especially for lesser known authors, self-published authors and for the free download books, which are where most of my new-to-me authors are from other than the library.I often skip reviews on well known authors other than a remark on Goodreads. I have no hesitation in not finishing a book that doesn't interest me so the only books that get a less than "okay" rating are those that have an unannounced cliffhanger ending, which will definitely annoy me.
Mod
But you don't give star ratings to the ones you don't finish, right?
Nancy wrote: "But you don't give star ratings to the ones you don't finish, right?"No, for me *read* means reading the whole book, from beginning to end. If I don't like it well enough to read it through to the end, I don't review or rate a book. I probably don't finish half the books by new-to-me authors I get from the library and probably not more than a fourth of the free downloads from Amazon. I read for entertainment and if a book doesn't entertain me, I don't bother and I certainly don't want to spend the time to leave a review.
I review everything I read, even if it's twenty years old and by a famous author. I like to share what I liked. Also, reviewing makes me think more about a book. The challenge of formulating my thoughts and organizing a full review can take me few days, or a few hours. Some people can say a lot in a few lines for a review, but I tend to write paragraphs. I post the reviews to Goodreads and Booklikes but not Amazon, since I seldom get my books from them. I'm guilty of not posting reviews on Barnes and Noble, though, and I download a lot of Nook books.
I have written a few two-star reviews but I'm not sure I will anymore. If a books feels like a two-star is coming on, I think I'll just stop reading.
I review here on GR and on my blog every book I complete. The handy html widget here makes cut and paste easy for the blog. Occasionally I'll review a book that I only partially read if I'm confident I've read enough of it to be fair; this is especially true for very repetitive non-fiction books. Readers on GR are more sophisticated and discerning than on Amazon. There is much less nastiness here, and I feel I can be frank, pointing out some flaws without getting attacked. For that reason I usually don't post on Amazon. On the other hand, as an author, I know how important Amazon reviews are to sales. The raw numbers matter. Even 3-star reviews help, so if I want to encourage the author or really like a book, I'll post a review on Amazon. I rarely post negative reviews there for the reasons stated, but I do have some fans who follow my blog or my reviews here, so I feel that to be honest and useful as a reviewer, I need to identify the bad or mediocre as well as the good. Who would want to follow anyone who gave everything 5 stars? When I have a generally negative review, though, I try to find something positive to say, usually in the first paragraph, like "For those who like a lot of action, this has it in spades" before going on to talk about the ridiculous plot, cardboard characters, etc.
I've never left a review on Amazon since unless you purchase the book, they won't accept it. Even the one's you can download for free. I do review books on GoodReads and appreciate the reviews of other readers. They often influence the selection of my read.
Nancy wrote: "Trust me - there are people at goodreads who give a book a rating (usually one star), who come right out and say they haven't read the book. What I really dislike are the reviews that throw f-bombs..."That's a great point. Some of the reviews do come across as childish when they are spewing out profanity. I usually stop reading if they start doing that. And, those ones who say, "I stopped reading after page 8"...ummm...c'mon now...How can you possibly rate the book if you read 8 pages? Ha.
Reva wrote: "I've never left a review on Amazon since unless you purchase the book, they won't accept it. Even the one's you can download for free. "That's odd ... most of the Amazon books I read (other than my rather limited list of 'must buy' authors) are free downloads and I've left reviews of those. I don't know that all of them have been accepted ... haven't double checked ... but know there are some of them that have been because I've had feedback on the reviews.
I, too, get the free ebooks from Amazon and I always leave a rating and review because it prompts me to at the end. If it didn't I probably wouldn't venture over there just for that. I do always leave one here on Goodreads, though.
Reva wrote: "I've never left a review on Amazon since unless you purchase the book, they won't accept it..."I've posted >80 reviews on Amazon, and of those, maybe half a dozen were for books I bought on Amazon. I still get occasional "XYZ found your review of ABC helpful..." emails from the 'Zon, so at least some of them are still up there.
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