Reviews truly are really important for our business, eh?
Myself, I don't read all that many reviews. I pick books largely on my own (by looking at the cover, text on the back, etc), or by recommendations. Part of this is having a full time day job and at least a part time night job.
The reviews that I do read, actually, are of my own work. That obviously isn't for gauging the quality of the work (I *know* that measurement already), but for checking in with the audience to see how things are received. The occasional "Depths of Retardness" review surfaces, but generally the reviews I've got thus far have been informative and given me a great deal to think about.
I do read a great deal of movie reviews, and they have occasionally been successful in steering me away from a poor film. The reviews I tend to read are generally negative in character, so I look more for content than for tone. (Much like how I read book reviews.)
In RE: the initial topic, I think reviews are terribly important. Either positive reviews or just lots of reviews (positive and negative) can give the impression that a book is widely read and/or "good," and having just a few reviews can leave a book floundering. In my limited experience, I've found that it's more about the number of reviews and the quality of reviews than the positive/negative character of reviews.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 02:36 pm (UTC)Myself, I don't read all that many reviews. I pick books largely on my own (by looking at the cover, text on the back, etc), or by recommendations. Part of this is having a full time day job and at least a part time night job.
The reviews that I do read, actually, are of my own work. That obviously isn't for gauging the quality of the work (I *know* that measurement already), but for checking in with the audience to see how things are received. The occasional "Depths of Retardness" review surfaces, but generally the reviews I've got thus far have been informative and given me a great deal to think about.
I do read a great deal of movie reviews, and they have occasionally been successful in steering me away from a poor film. The reviews I tend to read are generally negative in character, so I look more for content than for tone. (Much like how I read book reviews.)
In RE: the initial topic, I think reviews are terribly important. Either positive reviews or just lots of reviews (positive and negative) can give the impression that a book is widely read and/or "good," and having just a few reviews can leave a book floundering. In my limited experience, I've found that it's more about the number of reviews and the quality of reviews than the positive/negative character of reviews.
Cheers