9 times out of 10 a book I’m reading is because someone recommended it to me. Because of the I can’t remember the last time I actually looked at an Amazon review or better yet a time when an Amazon review swayed my purchase decision for a book. Usually by the time I get to Amazon or wherever I’m buying the book, I already pretty much know that I’m going to buy it.
When a book is recommended to me I usually look it up and read the synopsis to get a better idea of what it’s about, but beyond that I trust the person recommending it to me more than some random review on a website, mostly because I think the person recommending (typically friend, family, or colleague) interests are more aligned to mine than someone I don’t know that’s reviewing a book.
It got me thinking because I know Amazon and Goodreads reviews are important to Authors but are readers even looking at them or allowing them to sway their buying decision?
How often are you checking out star reviews when buying a book?
by smith7264
31 Comments
I do typically at least check the average and the count but I’ve learned to always take them, all of them, with a grain of salt. Reviews are prone to bot-spamming, and “author nudging” via social media. With careful reading of enough of the top level reviews you can usually tell the spam reviews and disregard those.
But the biggest bugaboo is that we all have different tastes and we all have different motivations to review. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Bottom line is you have to allow yourself to listen to your instincts about how you interpret any review medium and feel about the synopsis and any other direct recommendations you may have taken in
With audiobooks, this becomes more problematic when adding in narrator’s performance and that this is almost as important as the text itself
I’ve never read a review before I read a book, I like to go into books absolutely blind
If it’s a rec from a trusted friend, no, but I do a lot of my own browsing (I’m dangerous at a library book sale) and I’ll do it then because sometimes reviews will call out red flags that make me say “nope, this is not going to be a book for me.” But stars alone aren’t enough because I’ve been known to end up hating books that have 4+ star average ratings on goodreads 😂
I do, especially with non-fiction and biographies. Like recently I’ve been looking for a good bio of Wallis Simpson, but I know at least one or two are probably more biased (both for or against her) then I’d like.
I will occasionally look up a book on Kirkus Reviews (especially if it’s not in my hands so I can read a bit to get a feel for the style) but if it’s not there or the review is less than positive I might still read it anyway. I never look at Amazon or Goodreads reviews before reading, only after and I didn’t like the book, to see if others felt the same.
If I’m on the fence about a book, I’ll check out the reviews. I often skip to the 3-star reviews on Goodreads. If the things they disliked sound like things that would bug me, I take that into account. But a lot of times what the reviewer disliked is something that doesn’t put me off, so I feel more confident about reading the book.
The stars aren’t as important to me as the content of the review, particularly if it mentions triggers or themes that I’m sensitive to (for fiction) and or fact-checking (non-fiction).
Never, for books aren’t mere commodities, and generalization is for commodities. Books are too subjective, and every honest review would have difference.
I do, but some of them are bonkers honestly, I saw one person literally wrote an entire summary of a self help book which I found to be pretty unnecessary. I mostly look at them to see whether certain things I don’t want to read about are there or not. Other than that, between 3-4 stars is honestly a sweet spot as far as I’ve seen with books, and I look at the 3 star reviews mostly. But, then again, my decision is based entirely on how curious I am. If I’ve heard about the book everywhere and my friends have read it, I’ll probably read it without much consideration of the reviews.
Edit: said honestly too much so i deleted them
Yes. I do 1 star reviews 1st and then work my way up.
If I still want to read it but not sure if I will like it, I borrow it from the library.
Yes. I go on goodreads or the storygraph. read some text reviews to learn more about the book to see if i actually think i’ll like it. even a 1 star review can be helpful bc i may love what other hated in a book.
friends don’t recommend me books, so i think u r winning there.
My peers have different book interests than I do so I always read reviews. Hesitant to join another book club for that reason. I don’t take reviews that seriously though.
I very seldom buy books, because I live practically next door to the library. I do look at the reviews before checking out new books, though.
I don’t like to know too much going in, so no. But I enjoy reading the reviews AFTER I’ve finished to see what others thought.
I have fun looking for the one-star bros if the book was written by a woman. They’re always there. Pedantically criticizing.
Rarely for fiction but usually for non-fiction. If it’s a subject I’m unfamiliar with I want a book that sticks to the basics, but if it’s one I know quite well I want a book that’s really in-depth or a very new approach.
A lot of Amazon reviews are for shipping and condition type of things not just the story so the reviews can get a bit muddled. As in the rating doesn’t accurately reflect what people thought of the story.
I read the three-star reviews on Amazon (for all products and books alike) to get a general, middle-of-the-road idea of what folks like and dislike about what I’m researching, and then I calibrate that to my own beliefs and likes/dislikes.
Star reviews aren’t my only deciding factor for anything, though.
I will read the first chapter. It’s not so much the story, but the fluency of the writer that is the biggest determiner for me. If they have that (which I find concerningly rarer these days), I will likely give it a read.
I’m the same way I rarely look at star reviews before buying a book. If a book is recommended to me, I usually trust the person who suggested it, and like you, I’ll just read the synopsis to see if it’s something I’m into. Reviews are helpful for some people, but I feel like personal recommendations mean more since they come from people who know my taste better.
Yes, just to get an idea, but I don’t read any in-depth reviews. Books are too expensive to be going in COMPLETELY blind. For me.
LMAO….. i only buy books at thrift stores and use my local libraries………….. i read the synopsis of books on line, make a list check out 5 or six on my list and if the book does not grab me in a few pages, i don’t read it…………
Yep, I do, even if it’s been recommended – because a bunch of times someone I know quite well has recommended a book to me, and I’ve hated it. I usually look at 3-star reviews and a few 4- and 2-star reviews. I skip 5-star and 1-star; well, occasionally I’ll skim a few of those as well, but what I’m looking for is a good, well-reasoned breakdown of the ups and downs of the book so I can decide it they’re acceptable issues to me or not.
I check the reviews for content to see if I find the storyline interesting. Just because everyone is raving about the latest fantasy series doesn’t mean that I’ll enjoy it. It’s not my taste. I prefer to get recommendations from people whose opinions I trust.
Some of the worst crap I’ve ever read was stuff that people were raving about on Goodreads or Amazon.
I like Hoopla and Libby because I can read an excerpt and then borrow the book online.
I don’t buy new books for environmental reasons, so I frequent our local used book store and use the online library.
I look at the negative reviews, if it sounds like something I would say I usually don’t buy it
i do, but typically when i feel that the book description is vague and i want to know more. unfortunately i suffer from a particularly picky taste in fiction and so i want to know what’s intriguing about it before i make a decision (i also suffer from being a grad student so i don’t have much time to read for leisure. i have to pick wisely what i read when i finally have spare time!). if someone i trust recommends me a book then i’m less likely to look at reviews. they, presumably, know what i like ; )
I do now. Many disappointing books have cross my path vua recommendations, so now I check fir myself
I pay probably too much attention to the Goodreads stars
Yup I do because I’ve read a lot of horrible books so I want to know if it’s good before I buy it
I always go straight to Goodreads. It’s not just for the stars, I always keep things in my “want to read” list so I don’t forget to look for the book, but I always look at the stars and read a few reviews, ESPECIALLY if someone on my friends or follow list left a review so I can tell whether my tastes will align or not.
Yes.
Yes. Both stars and the actual reviews. I typically check it on Goodreads, Amazon and Audible.