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Reviews are for readers, right?
I cringe whenever I see authors - or their best author friends wading in to bat. Reviews are for readers unless specifically addressed to the author or the author is approached. E.G, if someone comes to me on Facebook or Twitter and comments to me one to one, whether positively, or negatively, then I'll reply, but when the reviews of whatever calibre are out there and reader to reader, as on Amazon or Goodreads, then I leave well alone. It's the height of being unprofessional to do otherwise - IMO of course
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
[quote=""lauragill""]The reviews on my books are authentic, too. None of my family or friends has read anything of mine. [/quote]
Ahh, that makes me sad. I just had to go to Amazon and see the 2 books in your sig and they look EXACTLY like stuff I would love to read. If I had a sister who wrote things like this we'd have a great time talking about the period.
I've had your books to my Kindle TBR virtual pile.
Jo
PS as to the review thing: I will very rarely write a review on Amazon or Goodreads, and when I do it's usually of the "This is the best thing ever" or "This is just so bad" variety. I usually go by the stars to help me decide if I'm going to invest my time in a book (I'm a review very, very short on time - and stature . I also take into consideration what I've seen at this site. I may be a generally silent participant, but I do notice what people recommend. For instance, when I saw "Game of Thrones" being discussed here, I went ahead and borrowed for my ereader. I normally wouldn't have done that. (I think I like it...)
Ahh, that makes me sad. I just had to go to Amazon and see the 2 books in your sig and they look EXACTLY like stuff I would love to read. If I had a sister who wrote things like this we'd have a great time talking about the period.
I've had your books to my Kindle TBR virtual pile.
Jo
PS as to the review thing: I will very rarely write a review on Amazon or Goodreads, and when I do it's usually of the "This is the best thing ever" or "This is just so bad" variety. I usually go by the stars to help me decide if I'm going to invest my time in a book (I'm a review very, very short on time - and stature . I also take into consideration what I've seen at this site. I may be a generally silent participant, but I do notice what people recommend. For instance, when I saw "Game of Thrones" being discussed here, I went ahead and borrowed for my ereader. I normally wouldn't have done that. (I think I like it...)
Last edited by burlgirl on Mon January 16th, 2012, 10:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
[quote=""burlgirl""]Ahh, that makes me sad. I just had to go to Amazon and see the 2 books in your sig and they look EXACTLY like stuff I would love to read. If I had a sister who wrote things like this we'd have a great time talking about the period.
I've had your books to my Kindle TBR virtual pile.
Jo
[/quote]
Thanks, I hope you read and like them soon. The second Orestes book will be out in a month or two.
I've had your books to my Kindle TBR virtual pile.
Jo
[/quote]
Thanks, I hope you read and like them soon. The second Orestes book will be out in a month or two.
[quote=""lauragill""]The reviews on my books are authentic, too. None of my family or friends has read anything of mine. [/quote]
BUMP.
Some family members have read mine, but my grandmother on my dad's side who read it is a brutally honest woman-- to a fault. She liked it and said I really captured the essence of Evita Peron. Trust me, I know her well, she would have told me if it sucked. She's not one to gush over me just b/c I'm family.
But I did get a 5 star review from a stranger on Amazon. Also a 1 star one on Goodreads. My attitude is to each his own. I don't read reader reviews anymore. I have my MS's critiqued, but to me, reading reader reviews is counterproductive. It's just the way I roll. Every writer always has room for improvement though.
BUMP.
Some family members have read mine, but my grandmother on my dad's side who read it is a brutally honest woman-- to a fault. She liked it and said I really captured the essence of Evita Peron. Trust me, I know her well, she would have told me if it sucked. She's not one to gush over me just b/c I'm family.
But I did get a 5 star review from a stranger on Amazon. Also a 1 star one on Goodreads. My attitude is to each his own. I don't read reader reviews anymore. I have my MS's critiqued, but to me, reading reader reviews is counterproductive. It's just the way I roll. Every writer always has room for improvement though.
- sweetpotatoboy
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1641
- Joined: August 2008
- Location: London, UK
[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]On my Goodreads feed, I've just seen an author give one of her own books a five-star rating (though not actual revie). Somehow, this doesn't feel right to me.[/quote]
Oh that's unclassy!
Mind you Goodreads is so clunky and it's easy to make mistakes. When I signed up they gave me a bunch of books to click which I thought were to do with whether I'd be likely to read or not, and the one's I clicked 'not' then got given 1 star ratings and I was thinking 'But that's not what I meant. How did that happen?' And then trying to undo it was like going through a maze. I do like Goodreads (as a reader and in general) but it's not always easy to understand it.
Oh that's unclassy!
Mind you Goodreads is so clunky and it's easy to make mistakes. When I signed up they gave me a bunch of books to click which I thought were to do with whether I'd be likely to read or not, and the one's I clicked 'not' then got given 1 star ratings and I was thinking 'But that's not what I meant. How did that happen?' And then trying to undo it was like going through a maze. I do like Goodreads (as a reader and in general) but it's not always easy to understand it.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
- MLE (Emily Cotton)
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 3566
- Joined: August 2008
- Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
- Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
- Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
- Location: California Bay Area
Goodreads is my next goal to conquer on my painstaking climb up the social-media mountain. I've got Facebook down, so it's time for another challenge.
Believe it or not, my first venture into social media was this very forum starting in 2006. (The version of it that got shut down in August 2008.) It was my adventure in sharing opinions with strangers who had like interests. And very rewarding it has been!
Believe it or not, my first venture into social media was this very forum starting in 2006. (The version of it that got shut down in August 2008.) It was my adventure in sharing opinions with strangers who had like interests. And very rewarding it has been!
- sweetpotatoboy
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1641
- Joined: August 2008
- Location: London, UK
[quote=""EC2""]Oh that's unclassy!
Mind you Goodreads is so clunky and it's easy to make mistakes. [/quote]
That's a very charitable response . I know the author in question and I strongly suspect it wasn't accidental, but I do think giving a rating and holding back from writing a review is a more forgivable breach of netiquette. I imagine she forgot that her Goodreads 'friends' see on their feeds each time she rates a book.
[quote=""EC2""]I do like Goodreads (as a reader and in general) but it's not always easy to understand it.[/quote]
I agree that Goodreads is not the most user-friendly of sites. I'm quite new to it after being on LibraryThing for many years. I'm keeping both going but I much prefer the look and functionality of LibraryThing, but that may be partly because I'm used to it. Goodreads has somehow won out in terms of popularity and activity, which is the only reason I'm there.
Mind you Goodreads is so clunky and it's easy to make mistakes. [/quote]
That's a very charitable response . I know the author in question and I strongly suspect it wasn't accidental, but I do think giving a rating and holding back from writing a review is a more forgivable breach of netiquette. I imagine she forgot that her Goodreads 'friends' see on their feeds each time she rates a book.
[quote=""EC2""]I do like Goodreads (as a reader and in general) but it's not always easy to understand it.[/quote]
I agree that Goodreads is not the most user-friendly of sites. I'm quite new to it after being on LibraryThing for many years. I'm keeping both going but I much prefer the look and functionality of LibraryThing, but that may be partly because I'm used to it. Goodreads has somehow won out in terms of popularity and activity, which is the only reason I'm there.
- Vanessa
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 4378
- Joined: August 2008
- Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
- Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
- Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
- Preferred HF: Any
- Location: North Yorkshire, UK
I use both Good Reads and Librarything. I prefer Librarything, too - all my books are listed there. I only add books to Good Reads as and when I start reading them. It's good for finding out what other people think of a book before starting it. I know you can do that on Librarything, but reviews are instantly accessible as soon as you list a book on GR.
With LT I like how all my books are listed.
With LT I like how all my books are listed.
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
I use both sites. I also find LT easier to use, and I like the organization better there. I use GR for following reviews and tracking one particular genre of books. I use LT for everything else. I think the user communities are very different at both sites. I don't paritcipate in the communities very much at either site because it's too much of a time sink and prom queen contest which is something that very much turns me off social networking in general.