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More goings on at Amazon

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SonjaMarie
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Post by SonjaMarie » Mon November 29th, 2010, 6:29 pm

I don't write reviews, but I do make lists to keep track of books I might want to buy in the future or ones that are too expensive but may come down in price some day (a girl can dream!).

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JMJacobsen
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Post by JMJacobsen » Mon November 29th, 2010, 6:37 pm

[quote=""LoveHistory""]I understand that a lot of phony reviews come from people who fit into that category, but there are genuine reviews by people who do not make friends, write lists, or write very many reviews.

I've been buying from Amazon for years. I don't make lists. I may have one or two friends. I only write reviews for things I really love. Don't know as I've ever reviewed a book, mainly because I'd rather read one.

According to your criteria if I posted a book review it should immediately be discounted.[/quote]

No, I don't think it was meant that way. I read it as that criteria can be a "heads-up" kind of thing that the author of the review is a friend/advocate of the book author. As you say, that isn't always the case. Lots of times it's just someone like yourself (or me) who really loved the book. But the so-called "fake" reviews are the ones where you can easily see the connection between the reviewer and the author. For example, I saw one this past year where the reviewer gave a glowing review for a mediocre book....it was the reviewer's first review, no Amazon history, and I *thought* her name looked familiar....sure enough, I grabbed my copy of that particular book and the author's dedication named the reviewer as a dear, personal friend. LOL. Take it all with a grain of salt, right?

:)

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Vanessa
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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 November 29th, 2010, 6:37 pm

I've read the Rosie Allen book. I enjoyed it and can't understand it being compared to Mills & Boon! Definitely not.
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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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Mon November 29th, 2010, 6:40 pm

[quote=""LoveHistory""]I understand that a lot of phony reviews come from people who fit into that category, but there are genuine reviews by people who do not make friends, write lists, or write very many reviews.

I've been buying from Amazon for years. I don't make lists. I may have one or two friends. I only write reviews for things I really love. Don't know as I've ever reviewed a book, mainly because I'd rather read one.

According to your criteria if I posted a book review it should immediately be discounted.[/quote]

Yes, you are correct there are. Most times it is very easy to tell a well written, thoughtful review (whether positive or negative) as opposed to those two sentence loved this book reviews (and actually similar to what I did when I first began writing reviews).
At home with a good book and the cat...
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annis
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Post by annis » Mon November 29th, 2010, 6:52 pm

Posted by LoveHistory
I understand that a lot of phony reviews come from people who fit into that category, but there are genuine reviews by people who do not make friends, write lists, or write very many reviews.
Ditto. I'm not into listing, friending and all that stuff, but do post the odd review on Amazon without any agenda :)

I must admit I felt quite disillusioned when I realised just how much skullduggery goes on with Amazon reviews, as the premise that readers can share their own genuine thoughts about a book with fellow readers is such a great one.

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Mon November 29th, 2010, 7:19 pm

[quote=""annis""]Posted by LoveHistory


Ditto. I'm not into listing, friending and all that stuff, but do post the odd review on Amazon without any agenda :)

I must admit I felt quite disillusioned when I realised just how much skullduggery goes on with Amazon reviews, as the premise that readers can share their own genuine thoughts about a book with fellow readers is such a great one.[/quote]

There's also the other side of the coin as well, i.e. Klausner and her ilk. They look legit at a quick glance but underneath there might be something more there. In the end, it's best to be a wise consumer and think carefully before buying. I was just looking at an Amazon page that had mostly glowing five star reviews (along with two negative ones). Of the five stars reviewers and one of the two star reviewers, none of them had more than 4-5 reviews under their belt. That is what sets alarms going off in my head.
At home with a good book and the cat...
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boswellbaxter
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Post by boswellbaxter » Mon November 29th, 2010, 7:20 pm

I think it should be remembered that authors don't necessarily have a Svengali-like control over their friends and relatives; some people post favorable reviews (or trash unfavorable reviews) in a misguided attempt to "help" an author friend or relative without having been prompted to do so by the author. This hasn't happened to me (as far as I know), but I've seen it happen to a couple of other authors, who have been blamed for Amazon reviews or comments that they didn't instigate or welcome.
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MLE (Emily Cotton)
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Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
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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) » Mon November 29th, 2010, 7:25 pm

I've written fewer than 10 Amazon reviews, all of them honest ones about books I bought and read. About half of them never showed up on the book's review page, so I stopped bothering. I still can't figure out the system--I didn't give away the ending or use any words that might get flagged.

I don't have any Amazon friends -- wouldn't know what to do with them -- and belong to no lists. Although once, when I was showing the reviews on a very popular book to a friend, I saw one I agreed with entirely and went to add a 'helpful' vote to the several already posted-- only to discover it was my own review that I wrote a year ago and promptly forgot about! I discovered that people can comment on reviews and fourteen people had commented on mine--some of whom expected the reviewer to reply, apparently. (One invited me for coffee if I lived in his area.)

All this stuff going on that I don't know about! I think I'll stay clear of Amazon, though. It has a Craigslist quality.

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JMJacobsen
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Post by JMJacobsen » Mon November 29th, 2010, 7:27 pm

[quote=""boswellbaxter""]I think it should be remembered that authors don't necessarily have a Svengali-like control over their friends and relatives; some people post favorable reviews (or trash unfavorable reviews) in a misguided attempt to "help" an author friend or relative without having been prompted to do so by the author. This hasn't happened to me (as far as I know), but I've seen it happen to a couple of other authors, who have been blamed for Amazon reviews or comments that they didn't instigate or welcome.[/quote]

Ain't that the truth! I always feel so bad when I see an author posting a comment saying that such-and-such commenter was a misguided friend of theirs. With friends like that, who needs critical reviews, right? lol.

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Mon November 29th, 2010, 7:34 pm

I don't have any Amazon friends -- wouldn't know what to do with them
Not much you can actually. I think I may have not said this correctly, it is looking at a profile/commentator as a whole. No profile info to speak of, few reviews and/or lists and no friends many times equals a sock puppet or the appearance of one. It is similar to what we've seen elsewhere even at Goodreads. A critical review gets attacked out of nowhere by someone who just joined Goodreads and has no book on their shelf. It happens so often now that unfortunately the worst is assumed.

And BB is right, there are times when well meaning friends/family members attack reviews/reviewers. Unfortunately they don't help. That did happen to me at least once and I was grateful that the author apologized to me for it.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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