Week 5 RA Prompt: Book reviews for personal reading and library purchases
Professor Cataldi explained that ebook-only publications rarely get reviewed in professional publications and that they are growing in popularity, especially for romances. So are ebooks not worthy of printing because they are not as good? Or because they are expected to have a much smaller audience? Are reviewers snubbing ebooks because they are lower quality or lower readership than print books?
Ebook only reviews
We read two reviews of an ebook, The Billionaire’s First Christmas. The first, an Amazon customer review, called it “a beautiful sweet Christmas romance.” This reviewer explained, “I do love a good Christmas romance,” leading me to expect a positive review. And so it was: “This is a beautiful, clean Christmas romance…I had tears rolling down my face.” I absolutely trust this review. My interpretation is that this ebook is a good book for lovers of the Christmas romance genre–but perhaps nobody else. The second review is from a blog that said of the book, “It’s just fine.” This reviewer’s critique is that the book is “too Christmassy,” but “very warm and cozy,” again leading me to conclude that the book is good for lovers of the holiday genre only. Both reviews read like amateur submissions. Would I purchase this title for my library? I’m not sure–there are a zillion holiday romance books out there, both ebooks and print copies.
Out of curiosity, I looked for a holiday romance covered by Kirkus. I found It’s a Fabulous Life by Kelly Farmer. Kirkus’ conclusion: “For fans of chaste Christmas romances and narratives that glorify small-town America.” Exactly. And there are fans.
Professional reviews of a print book
We also read four professional reviews of Angela’s Ashes. The Kirkus reviewer called it “an extraordinary work in every way.” These four reviews give a more detailed summary of their book than the ebook reviewers offered. Is this because…
Angela’s Ashes is a way better book
Professional reviewers write way better reviews
Probably both [I read Angela’s Ashes when it came out; it was extraordinary.]
The Booklist Review pointed out that Angela’s Ashes was slated to receive a publicity push as it received accolades from reviewers. Would I purchase this book for my library? It has lots of great reviews and received lots of publicity. It was made into a movie. Yes, it belongs in my library’s collection.
I also just learned that Booklist will not publish negative reviews. What does this mean? All of their reviews are just advertisements for the books covered? Do they simply not write reviews about lousy books? Or do they find a reader who likes everything to do the review?
A word on negative reviews, though: I just wrote one for Ready Player One, which in my opinion, with my personal tastes, was Not A Good Book. Ready Player One got a negative Kirkus review as well, but it was a bestseller and made into a movie and received lots of positive reviews from other sources. It belongs in my library… I don’t like Christmas romance novels either but they are very popular and therefore belong in my library.
So, how to choose among the myriad Christmas romance books out there? I asked the e-book buyer from our Collection Development department. She said that Overdrive/Libby provides lists of upcoming titles which she ranks according to what is popular at other libraries and also the number of patron requests for a title.
Of course! Patron requests! But how do patrons learn about these books? Are they reading professional reviews? Amateur reviews? I have a lot more questions than answers.
As someone who doesn't read Christmas romances, but I do read some exclusive e-books, I will say that I tend to find them through Goodreads, Amazon promotional emails, or my sister. I'm terrible at finding new books by just perusing shelves and reading what it's about, but if someone I know or an algorithm that is tracking what I read on my Kindle recommends a book to me, I have a little bit more trust in that (whether or not trust is deserved after I read the recommendation is up for grabs, LOL). I rarely look up professional reviews, partly because I've never thought to do so, and partly because I think I have the belief that amateur reviews on Goodreads tend to read what I read and I'll like what they like (again, is that trust deserved? definitely not always).
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you took the time to look up a Kirkus review for a holiday romance. That provided some interesting insight that there are some that are reviewed professionally, but it does make me wonder how it is decided who is reviewed for those. Was the one you found an ebook only as well?
ReplyDeleteI also liked what you said about your negative review of Ready, Player One. It's good to recognize that just because we won't like a book, that it is still one that should be purchased for our library collections.
LOL
ReplyDeleteExcellent prompt response! Great discussion in the comments as well!
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