I was discussing the interesting and controversial subject of book reviews the other day with a colleague and we agreed that reader reviews are often swayed by moods. If a reader picks up a book to escape and is faced with a more serious conflict than she expected, this might launch her into a foul mood. If a character or scenario reminds her of something ugly in her past\u2014too close to home\u2014her demeanor and opinion of the book might change dramatically. Or maybe she\u2019s not in a reading mood, but wants to get this book off her tabletop\u2014feels an obligation to read it. She may not spend one enjoyable moment in the process.<\/p>\n
So what is her response when Amazon comes around and asks her to review the book she purchased? She\u2019s not going to be kind. She\u2019s too angry, upset or disturbed, not particularly by the story itself, but by something it stirred up inside her.<\/p>\n
Truthfully now, have you ever read a book or tried to read a book and just couldn\u2019t get into it\u2014didn\u2019t like the premise, it started too slow\u2026whatever? Yet, you picked up the same book months or years later, slipped right into the story and enjoy it.<\/p>\n
Could this be one reason for such conflicting reviews for the same book\u2014why some readers lambaste it, while others praise it to the hilt? Yeah, that makes sense. It isn\u2019t the book as much as it is the reader\u2014what\u2019s going on in his or her life, their current mood, their past experiences and, of course, their preferences in books. There are reviewers who have strong ideas about the direction a story should go and when the author chooses a different route, they complain and criticize. Don\u2019t believe me? Just go read some of the reviews people leave at Amazon. It\u2019s quite an interesting study in human nature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was discussing the interesting and controversial subject of book reviews the other day with a colleague and we agreed that reader reviews are often swayed by moods. If a reader picks up a book to escape and is faced with a more serious conflict than she expected, this might launch her into a foul […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t