Kindle users, do you read Amazon book reviews before purchasing?

[Jillpie]

Thanks everyone, now I'm off to see what Goodreads is all about, never heard of that.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

There a lot of groups you could join where authors will offer books for fair
review from a group of members. I just got ripped in a review today, so this is good therapy for me.

 

[Ginny Favers]

I don't read reviews. First of all, reviews on Amazon can be a popularity contest. I know of many writers who get all their friends to rate their book 5 stars. I once made the mistake of buying a book that had over 100 5-star reviews, and the book was horrendously bad. I then realized the writer must have spent more time creating sock-puppet identities to review her book, than she spent writing the actual book.

I don't really get into professional reviews either-- I only read them to find out more about what the book is about. Because even professional reviews are subjective-- it's not a panel of professionals reading and reviewing, it's just one person's opinion.

I don't think Goodreads is accurate, either-- too many people reviewing a book based on whether they like the cover or the title or the sound of the author's name.

Mostly, I check to see whether the description is something that interests me, and then I check who the publisher is (I'm a bit of a snob that way).

Enjoyment of a book is COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE. No one person or group of people should be able to tell you what you will like or dislike. Read the description of a book, and decide based on whether that sounds interesting to you. If you go by reviews, you may be missing out on something you might really have liked.

Also-- I think "free" books are free for a reason. A lot of times, you get what you pay for. If I wanted to read free stuff, I could read my first-grader's book reports. It amazes me that people will tip a coffee barista a dollar for a coffee that took 3 minutes to make, but balk at paying a few more dollars for a book it took an author a year to write!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks everyone, now I'm off to see what Goodreads is all about, never heard of that.

And while you're there, check the "groups". There's a group for people from the DIS that read. We'd welcome you to join us!

 

[jrmasm]

I don't read reviews. First of all, reviews on Amazon can be a popularity contest. I know of many writers who get all their friends to rate their book 5 stars. I once made the mistake of buying a book that had over 100 5-star reviews, and the book was horrendously bad. I then realized the writer must have spent more time creating sock-puppet identities to review her book, than she spent writing the actual book.

I don't really get into professional reviews either-- I only read them to find out more about what the book is about. Because even professional reviews are subjective-- it's not a panel of professionals reading and reviewing, it's just one person's opinion.

I don't think Goodreads is accurate, either-- too many people reviewing a book based on whether they like the cover or the title or the sound of the author's name.

Mostly, I check to see whether the description is something that interests me, and then I check who the publisher is (I'm a bit of a snob that way). Enjoyment of a book is COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE. No one person or group of people should be able to tell you what you will like or dislike. Read the description of a book, and decide based on whether that sounds interesting to you. If you go by reviews, you may be missing out on something you might really have liked.

Also-- I think "free" books are free for a reason. A lot of times, you get what you pay for. If I wanted to read free stuff, I could read my first-grader's book reports. It amazes me that people will tip a coffee barista a dollar for a coffee that took 3 minutes to make, but balk at paying a few more dollars for a book it took an author a year to write!

 

[wiigirl]

I tend not too and stick to professional book reviews.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I would agree that profesional book reviews are the best.

I would also agree that most things that are free are that for a reason.
Though I have read a few good ones and I bet if I look they are no longer free.

As for friends writing reviews, this happens with all books. Sometime I think more with one from publishing houses. You can almost pick them out. It happens with movies as well. I always thought John Carter was a good example. The reviews for that movie could not have been from people who saw it or sat through it.

 

[RitaE]

See I've kind of gone off the "professional" book reviews because so many of them read more like Marketing Press Releases to me.

I'm another who has my trusted groups of like-minded readers on a couple of social networking sites. Amazon reviews can be helpful but so many of them are written by the authors themselves, or their Mothers, or author fangirls and fan boys. There are a few reliable reviewers on Amazon however that i've come to respect and I know they will give an honest and well thought out opinion.

As for paying/not paying for a book that is all over the place these days. I've gotten to the point where I won't pay over $5 to $7 anymore unless I know a book is worthy or it is from an author that I know really well. There is just too much $12.99/$9.99 piles of crap being put out by the major publishers anymore. If I'm going to be stuck with crap, I can get plenty of that in the free to $3.99 range.

And on the other end of the spectrum is that mountainous pile of slush of the free and low cost books. There are definitely gems buried in the pile, but finding them is incredibly difficult and I don't have the time to read 300 first chapters looking for one good book.

 

[Christine]

As for paying/not paying for a book that is all over the place these days. I've gotten to the point where I won't pay over $5 to $7 anymore unless I know a book is worthy or it is from an author that I know really well. There is just too much $12.99/$9.99 piles of crap being put out by the major publishers anymore. If I'm going to be stuck with crap, I can get plenty of that in the free to $3.99 range.

And on the other end of the spectrum is that mountainous pile of slush of the free and low cost books. There are definitely gems buried in the pile, but finding them is incredibly difficult and I don't have the time to read 300 first chapters looking for one good book.

I 100% agree with both of these paragraphs.

 

[AverageDiser]

Another one here who looks at the number of stars. I do a lot of the free books, usually from the kindle bestsellers free list. There have been some duds, but also some gems. Currently I have about 1,200 books in my kindle library, about 40 on my kindle at any given time. Yes, I read a lot!

 

[Maridw]

I rarely read reviews. I am like Ginny Favers, I look at the description and if it is something that interests me, then I will get it. I would say 75 to 80 percent of the books that I have on my Kindle are free or were less than $5. I have actually found books that I have really enjoyed that were free.

Reading the description is how I have always found books. This is how I found a few of my now favorite authors. I happen to pick up a book in the store and liked the description on the back (or inside flap of the dust jacket) and bought it. If I found I really liked it, I would see what other books the author had out.

I have found that the website Fantastic Fiction http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ is great to find a list of books by a specific author. It also gives you suggestions according to authors that you look up. If you like James Patterson, it will suggest other authors that write in the same genre or style.

 

[Robbi]

I do read reviews but I only look for words like "tedious" or "takes a while to get started". The takes a while to get started books I might give a chance if I'm in a laid back frame of mind but that doesn't happen too often. The subject matter is what will help me to decide and sometimes the author, if he or she is a favorite.

 

[PaulaSue]

Yes and i try to get the free sample to see if its my style of book.

 

[powellrj]

I am not the OP, but thanks for recommending Good Reads, I just signed up and have been looking around.

 

[MrsPete]

I first read the book description, and I usually make my decision at that point.

IF I'm still iffy, I'll read the reviews. I absolutely recognize that the reviews are skewed towards the positive. I can only assume that the authors get their friends to say positive things about them to boost their ratings. I tend to discount "wonderful book, best I've ever read" and instead look for actual details that indicate the reviewer put some thought into the process. I look for things like, "wonderful back stories, gripping characters" or "characters are flat, one-dimensional, unrealistic".

 

[scrapquitler]

I have a Nook, not a Kindle, but that shouldn't matter for this discussion. I don't usually read reviews. I usually go by the description. If the book is free or cheap (under $5 or so), ill just get it. If its more expensive than that, I usually download the free sample and decide whether to buy it or not based on reading the free sample.