Reviews I Can't Bring Myself to Read
There are two scenarios when it comes to me skipping reviews. One is I am SUPER excited for a book that may or may not be a new to me author and I see that my blogger friend didn't like it (I see this by their star rating which I usually look for first). It's hard sometimes because I trust my blogging friends, but when it's one that I am positively ecstatic to read and I see that one (or two or whatever) review where my friend didn't like it, I just can't bring myself to read it. Usually because I'll end up looking for their negative points when reading and I really don't want that to influence my own enjoyment. Which isn't generally a problem, because again, I have realllly bad memory issues these days! LOL! So I won't remember explicitly why said friend didn't enjoy said book because odds are likely I read the review some days or even a week or two ago before beginning the book myself.
Then there's the other reason I won't read a review for a book I realllly want to read and it's that I want to go in totally un-influenced! This is generally reserved for my autobuy authors; Jeaniene Frost and Jennifer L. Armentrout are the first ones to come to mind! Other times it may vary by whichever author and/or series I'm dealing with! And it's really truly because I want zero influencing. I don't want to know anything basically and just dive in unhindered! And this usually works for me when it comes to these specific authors.
And when it comes to series I generally won't read reviews for the books that are ahead of where I'm at! Like with Anne Bishop's final book, Etched in Bone releasing this week, I can't read those reviews yet because I am so terribly behind! And you know, spoilers!
But what about you guys? Are there reviews you ever avoid reading? What were the reasons for avoiding them?
Maybe this is an awful thing to say as a blogger but I never read reviews for books I'm 100% going to read. I just don't want to chance a spoiler and, like you mentioned, I don't want my thoughts to be influenced by someone else. Once I read the book though, I'm definitely checking out and reading those reviews.
ReplyDeleteBut if it's a book I'm on the fence for, I will check out the review (good or bad) to see if it is something I should read.
I avoid reading reviews for books I'm reading soon, or for sequel/final book in a series, or things that might have spoilers overall. In general, depending on the reviewer's style and how specific or vague they are, I might skim or just skip reviews for books I haven't read completely because I absolutely hate being spoiled for even the slightest details XD Awesome post!
ReplyDeleteBrittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles
I'm pretty much like you. I especially don't read reviews for books I know I'll be reviewing. I sometimes (for authors I always read) won't even read blurbs for their new release. I just start the book.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if I know I'm going to read a book soon-ish, then I'll avoid all reviews for it because I don't want to be influenced. I read lots of reviews in order to decide whether to read a book in the first place sometimes, but I forget those by the time I get to the book and try to make sure I don't read reviews again until after I've read the book. And I also usually don't read reviews for the next book in series I already I'm invested in and will be continuing for the same reason, I don't want to be influenced (or spoiled).
ReplyDeleteIf it's a book I'm super excited about I try to skip reviews or specifically negative reviews. But if it's a book I'm sort of thinking about trying, I'll read reviews to see if it's worth my time.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a book I'm super excited about I try to skip reviews or specifically negative reviews. But if it's a book I'm sort of thinking about trying, I'll read reviews to see if it's worth my time.
ReplyDeleteI also avoid checking out too many reviews of books I'm going to read - but read them afterwards because I want to see what other people thought of the book.
ReplyDeleteTanya Patrice
Girlxoxo.com
I don't read reviews of books I want to read because just like what you said, I want to go in un-influenced lol
ReplyDeleteBut I read reviews of books I have no plans in reading or books I read only after I have drafted my reviews.
Kate @ The Bookaholic Blurbs!
I avoid reviews of books I plan to read; especially if I plan to review them. But I bookmark the review and read it later. I like to know how my experience with the book compared to that of others. I will read reviews of books that I've not heard of or that I only MIGHT want to read, to help me decide what to add to my list. I'll also read reviews if it is a book I'm about to give up on to see if may others struggled with it but ended up glad they stuck with it.
ReplyDeleteI actually don't really read a lot of reviews, period. In fact, the only reviews I really DO read are AFTER I've read the book, just to see how my own review compares to some of the other ones. Or to comment on other people's reviews or find folks on Goodreads who share similar opinions / tastes to my own. Occasionally I will SKIM a review before I read the book, but otherwise I just don't really do it. :/
ReplyDeleteGreat topic!
~ Michelle @ FaerieFits
I'm the same way, I'm always afraid of spoilers if it's for a sequel/ ahead in a series I'm not caught up with yet. And if it's a book I'm super excited for, I don't read negative reviews at first, although if I start noticing that ALL of my trusted sources are giving the same rating, I might cave in because I figure there's a reason.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same with books I'm super excited about, but mainly because I don't want accidental spoilers. It's mainly for series books this happens.
ReplyDelete