Ebook only romantic suspense novel
I found it interesting that both reviewers had similar thoughts on the book. After reading the description and reviews, my first thought was that the novel sounds like a Hallmark Christmas movie. I don't know that I see an Amazon review as reliable. It is nearly impossible to know who is writing the review and what their motivation is. A review on a blog seems a bit more reliable if it is obvious that the blogger is a regular reviewer. I do not think that The Billionaire's First Christmas is a romantic suspense novel. It does not appear that the main female character in this story feels threatened, nor did either review mention anything suspenseful. Based on the description, It is obviously a romance. If the romance genre was popular at my library, I would probably purchase this book.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
By reading the various reviews of this memoir, you really get a sense of what the book is about. It sounds like a very interesting story. While the reviews all described the basic storyline, some provide different perspectives, or share different aspects of the book than others. I feel that by reading the reviews a librarian can get a sense of what a poignant book this is. This book would be added to the collection based on the reviews available.
Reviewed books vs. non-reviewed books
It probably is not fair that some books are reviewed more than others. I think that a library would typically have more reviewed books than non reviewed books simply because the reviewed books are typically more prevalent and available. At the library where I work, each book selected for purchase must have a review connected with it. For this reason, I think it would be hard to get a non-reviewed book added to our collection. I enjoy reading reviews. I find it very helpful in making collection decisions. This goes for both negative and positive reviews. A negative review can be useful, as it can point out the weaker aspects of the book. Some of my favorite sources are Kirkus, Library Journal, and Horn Book (for young adult).
I have to respectfully disagree about Amazon reviews. I find it refreshing to see what readers really think. Reviews in trade magazines are often paid, so as the person in charge of collection development, I like to see what the general public thinks about something. Of course, that only works with already published works, and not advanced sales, but still, in general I like to read honest, unsolicited, unpaid opinions in addition to the "professional" ones.
ReplyDeleteGreat prompt response! I agree with Mindy, Amazon and Goodreads reviews give good insight to public opinion. If it weren't for those reviews 50 Shades of Grey would never have taken off in popularity! Full points!
ReplyDeleteAt your library are the reviews required for purchasing books from the same sources? I did not know that this would be a requirement. Is this common? Also, in respect to Amazon reviews, those could be paid reviews as well I believe.
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