tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post4420864280269319604..comments2023-11-26T08:55:00.075-05:00Comments on Steph Su Reads: How Do You Use Ratings? Pt. 2Steph Suhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09834692034486125015noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-67497747241847728232010-03-12T07:42:20.337-05:002010-03-12T07:42:20.337-05:00Oh, I also agree with GBTQ that there are also man...Oh, I also agree with GBTQ that there are also many reviewers on Amazon that it seems are just out to "damage" a book. All in all I like Goodreads reviews much, much better.Mari - Escape In A Bookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15597584812785465678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-55767411341944674572010-03-12T07:41:03.453-05:002010-03-12T07:41:03.453-05:00You do such wonderful and reflective posts, Steph ...You do such wonderful and reflective posts, Steph Su!<br /><br /><b>Amazon</b><br />When it comes to Amazon reviews I recently discovered a negative side to it. I guess it has always been there I just haven't noticed it before. I was asked to review a book and I looked it up on Amazon. The book had few but high ratings. I decided to dig a little deeper and all the reviewers were "fake". Almost all the reviewers had only rated this book, well except for one who had rated many books but all of them had the highest rating. That smelled fishy to me.<br /><br />I feel a bit like Goodreads reviews might be more trustworthy and in addition to that I can see what all of my friends who have read that book felt about it.<br /><br /><b>Where do you go to read reviews and ratings?</b><br />Do you ever go back and change your ratings? No, I don't. The rating I gave was they way I felt about the book at the time. I can take Twilight as an example, when I read it I loved it. I read it before I started my book blog but I'm pretty sure I would have given it close up to a five star rating. When I think about Twilight now I see all kinds of things about the writing which really annoys me. Perhaps because I've read other books in the same genre with better quality. Still if I had reviewed it I wouldn't have changed my rating.<br /><br /><b>Who do you rate your books for?</b><br />Partly for myself, it makes it possible for me to go back and take a quick look at how I felt about that particular book at the time. Also I rate it for other potential readers. If I give a book a five star rating it means that I really loved it and I hope that other readers will be tempted to read the book based on my review.<br /><br />Wow, this must be one of my longest comments ever. Have a great weekend, Steph Su!Mari - Escape In A Bookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15597584812785465678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-69796440263485358652010-03-12T03:22:40.716-05:002010-03-12T03:22:40.716-05:00Like you said, I go to blogs I enjoy reading with ...Like you said, I go to blogs I enjoy reading with good writing and tastes to get my reviews. I tend to avoid reviews on blogs that, again like you said, give nothing but 5 stars to books I found nothing more than average. <br /><br />Yup, guilty- I change my ratings. But, I write [Edit: Date] to show when, and say why I changed it (like if I reread it, or it just grew on me, or I put it into persepctive...)<br /><br />Lastly, I rate my books in a mixture of book quality and enjoyability (both my opinion, who am I to judge 'book quality' anyways?) If I find the writing impeccable but the plot lacking, I still might bump up the rating a bit. I dont give 10's, but I do give decimals. And anything higher than 9.4 is amazing for me...not really sure how it works for me tbh. I have this whole "subtract 5 thing" going on too since i dont like to give ratings below 5..<br />Anyways, it works for me :)<br /><br />Also, I like reading reviews that give ratings. It saves me time, and that way I can only read reviews that say, the blogger hated (hey, im pessimistic! lol, jk)<br /><br />Interesting, well written post! time to troll another blog!Audrey (holes In My brain)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02092399404120477032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-50258628898958487632010-03-11T22:59:27.316-05:002010-03-11T22:59:27.316-05:00Wonderful post. So thoughtful.
How do you use Ama...Wonderful post. So thoughtful.<br /><br />How do you use Amazon reviews?<br />I really don't. I don't find them reliable.<br />Where do you go to read reviews and ratings?<br />Bloggers that I look up to/have similar reviewing styles.<br />Do you ever go back and change your ratings?<br />Never. If I did that, it would be an unending process. Based on what I'm reading, my feelings for other books are always changing.<br />Who do you rate your books for? <br />I try to rate them for everyone. Myself, readers, and authors. Most of all though, I tryo to review for my reading audience. They're the ones benifitting from my reviews.The Book Owlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01294811526135516050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-50526940022752284782010-03-11T20:55:08.846-05:002010-03-11T20:55:08.846-05:00How do you use Amazon reviews?
I really don't ...How do you use Amazon reviews?<br />I really don't read Amazon review that often. If I see a rating with a review, I generally just look at the rating. It's a habit, but it's one of the reasons I prefer not to have ratings. :/<br /><br /><br />Where do you go to read reviews and ratings?<br />Ratings - LibraryThing.com. When it comes to reviews, I usually just look at my blogroll, and I see multiple people like the same book, I'll typically add it to my wishlist. I don't really read reviews for books I want more info about. :/<br /><br />Do you ever go back and change your ratings?<br />Yeah, but very rarely. <br /><br />Who do you rate your books for? <br />Myself.Krista/Tower of Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04938509998205306639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-30531704656304768202010-03-11T18:57:28.725-05:002010-03-11T18:57:28.725-05:00I use amazon and I always look at the 1 and 2 star...I use amazon and I always look at the 1 and 2 star ratings because I'm considering the book because I think it sounds interesting and I want to see if people have picked up on flaws that would dissuade me from reading it. As GreenBeanTeenQueen said, many of them suck but sometimes there are good 1, 2, or 3 star reviews that are helpful.<br /><br />I also think you could say that while you think a book is worth x stars for you at that time, someone younger or more into the genre or whatever would love it. For example I reviewed a book I had to read for school which I would never have read otherwise (and didn't exactly enjoy) but it's totally perfect for people interested in that topic and it's basically the definitive history of that time.The Insouciant Sophisticatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03934853089105345052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-57785263780114510892010-03-11T17:47:03.764-05:002010-03-11T17:47:03.764-05:00I used to read Amazon reviews, then I become a lib...I used to read Amazon reviews, then I become a librarian. Now I hate them. I really feel like most of the time they are written by people who want to complain, censor and didn't even read the book, just saw the keywords. I read the negative reviews sometimes, but they don't really say why they didn't like something. I always try to explain why I liked or didn't like something, so I get annoyed when others can't. <br /><br />I do like rating systems though. It helps me when I want to do a quick scan of the review-I can get an idea of the rating and come back for the meat of the review later. I put ratings on mine-and I've started doing half ratings because it's hard to stay on those whole numbers! I think it makes it easier to find my favorite books too-I can look at my five star, four star books and see what I really enjoyed that year. <br /><br />Blogging is a way for me to reflect on what I did or didn't like about something and I'm ok when other people love a book I didn't like or when hate something I loved. I think the important thing is that you explain why you gave the book the rating you did-explain what you liked, disliked, why others should read it, etc. <br /><br />BTW-I love the new layout-what anime is your picture from? So cute!GreenBeanTeenQueenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08708155058381407531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-88321176873098263412010-03-11T15:06:45.231-05:002010-03-11T15:06:45.231-05:00Oops - should clarify: that's how I use Amazon...Oops - should clarify: that's how I use Amazon reviews, in particular, and not just for books.Y S Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18330808933361167527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-44939162573592433962010-03-11T15:05:29.724-05:002010-03-11T15:05:29.724-05:00Really thoughtful post, Steph (and shiny new theme...Really thoughtful post, Steph (and shiny new theme! Nice!). Unless a blogger/website spells out their star-rating system with great care, as you do, I'm often uncertain how to interpret the really positive ratings. Often, I find really bad reviews more telling: does the reviewer have an axe to grind? Does she contradict herself? What is the basis for her dislike? I sometimes buy and enjoy books that were given negative reviews by people whose opinions I totally disrespect. *grin*Y S Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18330808933361167527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-79465726334725038872010-03-11T11:58:30.770-05:002010-03-11T11:58:30.770-05:00Steph, great post again.
What I like the most is ...Steph, great post again.<br /><br />What I like the most is about the blogosphere, there are definite blogs I love and participate in often but do we have similar reading taste, no. And there are others I love because the reviews are amazing and I often add to my TBR list from them.<br /><br />I use Amazon to see what other books they recommend if you buy the one you are looking at. <br /><br />I love looking at ratings specifically on LibraryThing.<br /><br />I will not go back and change ratings because I am a mood reader and I rate how I feel immediately after finishing. I am considering a new rating for books I know I will reread though because 5 stars just isn't good enough.Marcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10136238772526246675noreply@blogger.com