Amazon Reviews
Posted: January 18, 2008I realized tonight that Catherine Anderson’s newest novel, Morning Light, was released earlier this month. Usually, I’m more on top of releases from my favorite authors but I missed this one. I was looking at the reviews on Amazon and a lot of them were very critical of the book, even people who said that they were fans of the author.
I usually don’t allow reviews to influence me on my book purchases a lot. I usually find that when I enjoy the author, nine times out of ten, I will find each new book enjoyable. I can only think of a few exceptions where I can’t read all the books by an author (Johanna Lindsey is just someone who I only buy on the bargain rack and maybe not even then) but that’s changed a little in the last year as I started to cut back on my book purchases because I have way too many (I’m at just under 700 in my bedroom alone and it’s not that big of a room).
When Nora Roberts published High Noon over the summer, I didn’t rush out right away to buy it. Usually, I have her books on pre-order, but I read an somewhat unfavorable review in Entertainment Weekly and it made me pause for a moment. It was going to be a somewhat more expensive purchase than the usual $7 (in hardback at Barnes and Noble, it would run about $18 with my discount) so I decided that unless I had some extra money later that I would either take it from the library or wait for the paperback.
I was eventually given a gift card and it was at the top of my list to buy. I thought it was one of the strongest standalone novels she’s published in a few years and now I think the review was probably from someone who isn’t a romance novel addict like myself and the core of Nora’s fanbase so in my head, a review from Entertainment Weekly was a lot easier to discard so I could purchase the book anyway.
But the reviews for the new Catherine Anderson are less easier to ignore because they come from people who’ve devoured every previous novel, who like me, probably have her books on a easy to each bookshelf (not hidden or easily found spot like my Lindsey novels) so I can grab one for a reread at a convenience. I’m on a budget for my books these days and I’m not sure if I want to use the $10 for a book that was so poorly received by her own fans.
Then again, it’s only one source of reviews. Maybe there’s another place where fans have fallen in love with it. I guess I just have to read the reviews thoroughly, see what they have in common and see if it’s something that might effect my enjoyment.
I think reviews are an important thing to consider when purchasing most things — sofware, computers, electronics and cars but when it comes to subjective forms of entertainment like movies, books, television and music, I think it’s really hard to say what may or may not be enjoyable for someone because someone else may love it. You can only list a software’s functions so many different ways, but how a book effects you? I don’t know. I do think I’m going to wait a little longer to buy it and look it into something else this month.
I hope I’m wrong and that the book is fabulous because she really is an author I enjoy and turn to in my moments of boredom.
