10 thoughts on “How To Write A Book Review That Matters”
Thanks for the heads-up Chris, interesting post – I went across to it and commented. It’s a funny thing; I write reviews of the ‘literary essay’ variety for magazines and newspapers in New Zealand – very different from the ‘reader comments’ that Amazon encourage, and on which they rate books. One of the weaknesses of the Amazon system is that a book will often be dissed merely because a particular reader didn’t like it – they don’t abstract their commentary enough. I mean, they might not like the book, but that doesn’t stop a book being well-written, professional – and appealing to others; and I think one of the big weaknesses of the Amazon ‘star rating’ system is that a lot of those using it don’t get past their own immediate emotional responses. Rachel’s post is great advice for getting through that hurdle.
I completely agree, Matthew. That’s why I have increasingly abandoned consulting Amazon reviews. They are too duped (many are reviews of friends and family, you can ususally say which are those) and the others are mostly of the kind you said: just stick to ‘I like it’, ‘I don’t like it’ and never elaborate on that. This is particularly true for negative reviews, which I find is unfair to the author and the reader alike.
I love writing book reviews on my blog. Thanks for this post. Okay, here’s my silly question: can I write a review on Amazon if I did not buy the book on Amazon?
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
Thanks for the heads-up Chris, interesting post – I went across to it and commented. It’s a funny thing; I write reviews of the ‘literary essay’ variety for magazines and newspapers in New Zealand – very different from the ‘reader comments’ that Amazon encourage, and on which they rate books. One of the weaknesses of the Amazon system is that a book will often be dissed merely because a particular reader didn’t like it – they don’t abstract their commentary enough. I mean, they might not like the book, but that doesn’t stop a book being well-written, professional – and appealing to others; and I think one of the big weaknesses of the Amazon ‘star rating’ system is that a lot of those using it don’t get past their own immediate emotional responses. Rachel’s post is great advice for getting through that hurdle.
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I completely agree, Matthew. That’s why I have increasingly abandoned consulting Amazon reviews. They are too duped (many are reviews of friends and family, you can ususally say which are those) and the others are mostly of the kind you said: just stick to ‘I like it’, ‘I don’t like it’ and never elaborate on that. This is particularly true for negative reviews, which I find is unfair to the author and the reader alike.
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Agreed, on all counts, Matthew 😀
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I love writing book reviews on my blog. Thanks for this post. Okay, here’s my silly question: can I write a review on Amazon if I did not buy the book on Amazon?
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Yes Jennie, but you are restricted to 5 ‘unverified’ reviews per week 👍😃
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Got it!
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How’s this one Chris? https://ernsangia.wordpress.com/2017/05/30/review-death-on-a-dirty-afternoon-by-collin-garrow/
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Looks great, Ernesto 👍😃
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Half way through another Indie book…review forthcoming.
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And yet another… https://ernsangia.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/review-emotional-beats-by-nick-rossis/
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