You just read a book
May. 5th, 2009 10:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
And it's so... so... so SOMETHING that you feel you must tell the world. So you immediately rush off to Amazon or GoodReads or wherever you go to review books and you post...
Well, here's the thing. Are you gonna rush off because it's just that BAD and you feel like you have to warn everybody, or because it's just that GOOD and you think everybody needs a copy so they can feel the love?
I notice that some people on various sites have a lot of negative reviews. This book uses language they don't like (this never means profanity, it always means "ain't"), that book has role models they disapprove of, this book features gay/ethnic/religious folk in the wrong light.
Other people have very few negative reviews, but lots of positive ones. This book has the best artwork, that one is very poetic, a third is good for bedtime, a fourth launched you on a research project to refresh your memory of Greek/Roman mythology (that was Percy and the Olympians, thanks very much. Cheesy, sure, but fun!)
So which is it? (Yes, I know, it depends.)
And for that matter, how do you review things? Very short - "I like this." "I don't like that." "This book SUCKS and you're STUPID if you DISAGREE!"? Very long, detailing all the reasons you think what you do, with page numbers and quotes? Do you try for balance? "I like this book, but some people might have problems with this aspect" or "I didn't like this book, but in fact I think it's really meant for people who already know a little about this subject, and I'm a newbie"? Do you give two and four star reviews, or one and five star reviews? (Very few people do three star reviews, probably because nobody is inspired by mediocrity, for good or ill. I do, but only because I'm still - slowly - reviewing our entire library right now. Ye gods. I'm still stuck on the picture books, guys!)
Or do you never leave reviews at all?
Well, here's the thing. Are you gonna rush off because it's just that BAD and you feel like you have to warn everybody, or because it's just that GOOD and you think everybody needs a copy so they can feel the love?
I notice that some people on various sites have a lot of negative reviews. This book uses language they don't like (this never means profanity, it always means "ain't"), that book has role models they disapprove of, this book features gay/ethnic/religious folk in the wrong light.
Other people have very few negative reviews, but lots of positive ones. This book has the best artwork, that one is very poetic, a third is good for bedtime, a fourth launched you on a research project to refresh your memory of Greek/Roman mythology (that was Percy and the Olympians, thanks very much. Cheesy, sure, but fun!)
So which is it? (Yes, I know, it depends.)
And for that matter, how do you review things? Very short - "I like this." "I don't like that." "This book SUCKS and you're STUPID if you DISAGREE!"? Very long, detailing all the reasons you think what you do, with page numbers and quotes? Do you try for balance? "I like this book, but some people might have problems with this aspect" or "I didn't like this book, but in fact I think it's really meant for people who already know a little about this subject, and I'm a newbie"? Do you give two and four star reviews, or one and five star reviews? (Very few people do three star reviews, probably because nobody is inspired by mediocrity, for good or ill. I do, but only because I'm still - slowly - reviewing our entire library right now. Ye gods. I'm still stuck on the picture books, guys!)
Or do you never leave reviews at all?
