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Reviews are for readers, right?

A place to debate issues or to rant about what's on your mind. In addition to discussions about historical fiction, books, the publishing industry, and history, discussions about current political, social, and religious issues and other topics are allowed, so those who are easily offended by certain topics may want to avoid such threads. Members are expected to keep the discussions friendly and polite and to avoid personal attacks on other members. The moderators reserve the right to shut down a thread without warning if they believe it necessary.
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EC2
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3661
Joined: August 2008
Location: Nottingham UK
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Post by EC2 » Sun January 15th, 2012, 12:50 pm

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 n’I 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

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burlgirl
Scribbler
Posts: 44
Joined: January 2010
Location: Corinth, NY

Post by burlgirl » Mon January 16th, 2012, 9:55 pm

[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...)
Last edited by burlgirl on Mon January 16th, 2012, 10:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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lauragill
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Joined: July 2011
Location: Southern California
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Post by lauragill » Tue January 17th, 2012, 2:02 am

[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.

Helen_Davis

Post by Helen_Davis » Sun February 3rd, 2013, 9:40 pm

[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.

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sweetpotatoboy
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Joined: August 2008
Location: London, UK

Post by sweetpotatoboy » Sun February 3rd, 2013, 9:45 pm

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.

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EC2
Bibliomaniac
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Joined: August 2008
Location: Nottingham UK
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Post by EC2 » Sun February 3rd, 2013, 10:28 pm

[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.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I 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

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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

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Sun February 3rd, 2013, 11:04 pm

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!

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sweetpotatoboy
Bibliophile
Posts: 1641
Joined: August 2008
Location: London, UK

Post by sweetpotatoboy » Sun February 3rd, 2013, 11:09 pm

[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.

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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

Post by Vanessa » Mon February 4th, 2013, 9:24 am

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.
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

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Ludmilla
Bibliophile
Posts: 1346
Joined: September 2008
Location: Georgia USA

Post by Ludmilla » Mon February 4th, 2013, 3:12 pm

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.

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