Week Five Prompt

I have posted two more documents in the week five folder. One is two reviews of an ebook only romantic suspense novel, one from a blog and one from amazon. Look over the reviews - do you feel they are both reliable? How likely would you be to buy this book for your library? Is this ebook even romantic suspense?

Between the two reviews, I believe the blog review to be more reliable.  The first review seemed too complimentary, and did not take into consideration any negative aspects.  The second review pointed out aspects that the reader may question or find too “cheesy”. 

The first review also contains a major flaw for a book review—the ending is revealed.  Romance novels tend to have happy endings, so it would be safe to assume that this one will as well.  However, it is disappointing that the reviewer didn’t allow readers to discover this ending for themselves. 

Based upon the reviews, this book would not fall into the category of romantic suspense.  The plot seems to be light and happy with the only suspense being if the two love interests will end up together.  To determine if I would include this title in my collection, I would examine several factors.  I would review circulation statistics for similar books in this genre—Christmas themed romance.  If this genre has high circulation numbers and popularity among my patrons I would consider adding this title to my library’s eBook collection.  I would also examine circulation statistics for romance titles in general.  If these are titles that are circulated on a regular basis, I would be more likely to add this to the collection. 

The other document contains some reviews of Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt, an incredibly popular memoir. These reviews are all from professional publications, feel free to find more on your own I just nabbed a few from the Book Review Digest database for you. How do these reviews make you feel about the possibility of adding Angela's Ashes to your collection?

I would consider adding this book to my library collection based upon the reviews.  Each one points out while McCourt writes about his impoverished, tragic childhood; the book is able to remain an uplifting tale of love and triumph.  I do believe that School Library Journal Review makes the strongest case by stating, “Young people will recognize the truth in these compelling tales; the emotions expressed; the descriptions of teachers, relatives, neighbors; and the casual cruelty adults show toward children.” Readers are drawn into a story that is relatable to their own experiences, and these reviews of Frank McCourt’s memoir promise a story that everyone can connect to regardless of their own experiences. 

Do you think it's fair that one type of book is reviewed to death and other types of books get little to no coverage?

How does this affect a library's collection?  And how do you feel about review sources that won't print negative content? Do you think that's appropriate? If you buy for your library, how often do you use reviews to make your decisions? If not, how do you feel about reviews for personal reading, and what are some of your favorite review sources?

Some books are presented with an unfair advantage due to the marketing resources of their publisher.  Unfortunately, this is a problem in all aspects of business—those that have money are more able to promote their product.  I do believe that it can affect a library’s collection.  Recently, The Girl on the Train was published and advertised as the next Gone Girl.  My library has approximately 40 “Best-Seller Express” and eight regular copies of this title.  I recently read this book and I did enjoy it.  However, I do believe that it has received more hype than it deserved.  Is this truly a good book, or one that is heavily reviewed and advertised and therefore more patrons are interested due to its “presence”?   

Personally, I am not a fan of negative reviews.  I appreciate reviews that will point out what aspects are included in a book in matter-of-fact nature.  Negative comments can be intrusive and do not always present a fair representation.  Everyone has an opinion, and negative opinions are not always constructive. 

I do not have any input into my local library’s collection, and I’m unaware of how much reviews influence purchases.  In my personal life, I do utilize reviews for book selections.  I use Book Page, School Library Journal, and Amazon reviews and ratings.  However, I rely more on word-of-mouth suggestions from friends than published reviews.