Week 5 Prompt: Reviews
On Collection Development: I think that when there are fewer reviews available for a title, the selector needs to rely more on what the patron base requests. While there might be few reviews for a title, if there is high demand for a subject, then it needs to be met. If a title isn't reviewed in many places, and the demand isn't high for the subject or genre, then I feel it could be easily overlooked (perhaps to the detriment of the library). If the selector doesn't know about the review source, they might not even know the book exists. Library Journal and Kirkus are sometimes the first stop for selectors to know what is coming up in new publications, so if something is only reviewed in one or two places, it may be missed.
Ebook only Romantic Suspense Novel: The reviews for this title aren't great. There's spelling and grammar errors, and the tone of the review from the blog just feels way too conversational. If I'm looking for a review of a title to possibly purchase, I want it to feel professional. Even though the blog doesn't "love" the book, and it offers a slightly critical review, I find it hard to take seriously, especially when it says "lol" at the end of the first paragraph. The Amazon review reads more professionally, and it feels like a more reliable review as it has at least been seen by multiple other Amazon users (14 of 17 people found this review helpful). This speaks to quality of the review more than just the review itself. As for adding this selection to my library--I know that Christmas titles are exceptionally popular in my library, so I feel this one would be a good buy for my library. It's almost guaranteed some circulation, but if I wasn't so sure about that, then I would wait to see if there were any requests for the title.
Angela's Ashes: These reviews are all GLOWING. Since these publications are really at the forefront of reviewing titles for libraries, I think seeing these would put this on a "to-buy" pile. Family stories, especially personal ones overcoming tragedy/hard times and finding a way--these are Book Club winners. These reviews make me want to read Angela's Ashes myself, as well as add it to our collection (we've got at least two copies now...). The brief summaries and discussion of the language in the book just really sell them to me, too, and I think they are very helpful when considering this book for a collection.
Is it fair?: Not particularly, no. There are some real gems that get overlooked and are completely unknown, simply because they are not picked up by a major publisher. For example, Sarabande Books puts out AMAZING works--but they're hardly ever picked up in libraries. Perhaps this is due to a lack of reviews on these titles, as Kirkus's most recent review of a Sarabande title happened in 2016. There have been numerous titles out from them since then, but they've been largely overlooked.
Negative content: It's important to hear both sides of the review story. If you're not going to print negative content, are you an objective review source? I don't feel like you are! There needs to be a balance, sure, and as long as the review is offering something in the same area as a better option, with no personal vendetta against the book or author, then there should be no reason why a negative review doesn't get out into the world. Ultimately, readers will decide for themselves, but if they're relying on a trusted reviewer's information, and that reviewer has a negative review of a title--and the publication won't print it? They can't find that reviewer--whom they trust--and so they don't know about that book. If you're going to be unbiased, you need both sides of the review story.
Personal reading: I tend to go by word-of-mouth when I'm looking for a good book, but if I'm doing a bit more research or trying to find something new, I'll use GoodReads as well as Amazon's recommendations. I tend to take reviews with a grain of salt, though, because I like to judge for myself. Sometimes I'll come across a negative review and think "Well maybe they didn't understand it." I think I'll try to look at Kirkus and Library Journal more, though, especially with looking more into readers' advisory.
Ebook only Romantic Suspense Novel: The reviews for this title aren't great. There's spelling and grammar errors, and the tone of the review from the blog just feels way too conversational. If I'm looking for a review of a title to possibly purchase, I want it to feel professional. Even though the blog doesn't "love" the book, and it offers a slightly critical review, I find it hard to take seriously, especially when it says "lol" at the end of the first paragraph. The Amazon review reads more professionally, and it feels like a more reliable review as it has at least been seen by multiple other Amazon users (14 of 17 people found this review helpful). This speaks to quality of the review more than just the review itself. As for adding this selection to my library--I know that Christmas titles are exceptionally popular in my library, so I feel this one would be a good buy for my library. It's almost guaranteed some circulation, but if I wasn't so sure about that, then I would wait to see if there were any requests for the title.
Angela's Ashes: These reviews are all GLOWING. Since these publications are really at the forefront of reviewing titles for libraries, I think seeing these would put this on a "to-buy" pile. Family stories, especially personal ones overcoming tragedy/hard times and finding a way--these are Book Club winners. These reviews make me want to read Angela's Ashes myself, as well as add it to our collection (we've got at least two copies now...). The brief summaries and discussion of the language in the book just really sell them to me, too, and I think they are very helpful when considering this book for a collection.
Is it fair?: Not particularly, no. There are some real gems that get overlooked and are completely unknown, simply because they are not picked up by a major publisher. For example, Sarabande Books puts out AMAZING works--but they're hardly ever picked up in libraries. Perhaps this is due to a lack of reviews on these titles, as Kirkus's most recent review of a Sarabande title happened in 2016. There have been numerous titles out from them since then, but they've been largely overlooked.
Negative content: It's important to hear both sides of the review story. If you're not going to print negative content, are you an objective review source? I don't feel like you are! There needs to be a balance, sure, and as long as the review is offering something in the same area as a better option, with no personal vendetta against the book or author, then there should be no reason why a negative review doesn't get out into the world. Ultimately, readers will decide for themselves, but if they're relying on a trusted reviewer's information, and that reviewer has a negative review of a title--and the publication won't print it? They can't find that reviewer--whom they trust--and so they don't know about that book. If you're going to be unbiased, you need both sides of the review story.
Personal reading: I tend to go by word-of-mouth when I'm looking for a good book, but if I'm doing a bit more research or trying to find something new, I'll use GoodReads as well as Amazon's recommendations. I tend to take reviews with a grain of salt, though, because I like to judge for myself. Sometimes I'll come across a negative review and think "Well maybe they didn't understand it." I think I'll try to look at Kirkus and Library Journal more, though, especially with looking more into readers' advisory.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteYou made a great point about taking reviews "with a grain of salt." I tend to do the same. I completely agree with you that leaving out the negative reviews simply to not have any negative reviews is giving the wrong impression to readers. It's telling them that everyone on that site seemed to love the book. The negative review that they refused to publish could have helped someone determine if the book was for them or not. I think as long as the negative reviews are professional and not personal then they should be included. Great post!
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI sometimes use Goodreads and Amazon, too, when I'm trying to learn more about a book. The problem here is that if a book is new, there aren't usually enough reviews out to formulate a real opinion. But I do tend to trust the Goodreads reviews a little more, because I think that sometimes professional reviews hype up a book too much. Sometimes you can't really make up your mind about a book until it's in your hands. There have been times that I've waited on a book to come in and then when I pick it up and read the inside cover or page through it, I put it back on the shelf or pass it along to the next person.
Great prompt response! Full points!
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