This may come as a shock to you or as nothing out of the ordinary - depending on what you love to do when it comes to reading popular books.
Now, I don't discriminate against popular books because most of the time, they're well-deserving of their hype. I can say that I loved Divergent and that I really enjoyed Paper Towns!
But do I want to review them?
In my opinion, I feel like too many reviews for one book becomes redundant. When it comes to books that I consider popular, I don't feel the urge to review them at all.
I know for a fact that there isn't anything I can say about Divergent or Paper Towns that hasn't be said; every flaw, feelsy moment or quote. This has nothing to do with the actual rating of the book. Both Divergent and Paper Towns are positive ratings but even if they weren't...
I see it as pulling little bits from others' reviews. And this isn't like there are a thousand reviews or anything. Paper Towns has 22k reviews. Obviously, some of them are going to be ramblings that won't give me any info but if you consider the numbers... that's a lot.
I'm not saying that I feel my opinion doesn't matter or that if you want to review a popular book, your opinion won't matter either. However, I [personally] would rather spend my time reviewing a book that doesn't have many reviews so it can get exposure. Also, I'm more likely to read a review of a book like "The Witch Hunter" than "The Hunger Games" because even though I've read both books, I genuinely want to hear discussions on the first book because that's what interests me.
I'm certain it's different for everyone and I would love to know: do you like reviews of popular books?
But what makes a popular book, popular?
I've come to the conclusion that it's different for every book and every person. It isn't like there's a formula.
For me, it's more in terms of popular authors than popular book. Most of the time, a "popular book" to me is one that has a movie. For example, I wouldn't review any of Cassandra Clare's books because when they release, I always see a flood of reviews and I feel like they're doing fine without me. Same about John Green's books.
Then there's the series that have massive fandoms - I consider these series the "Reader Starters" because ALL my friends started reading through books like these: Hunger Games, Twilight, HP, PJO/HOO etc.
However, I wrote up a full review of The Duff even though that has a movie, I felt compelled to write that review. Why? I could say that it's because I received a copy - but I wanted to write that one.
I guess I just feel like no one wants to read a review for a popular book when they could read one for a book that could use a little more exposure. And I know personally, I feel that way because I've read so many reviews and heard so much about those "popular books."
Let me know what you think! Do you have specific books you review? Do you even read the "popular" books?
This doesn't really apply to me because I just review whatever I read. I do, of course, recognise that there are often legions of other reviews, many of which will probably be better than mine, but my aim isn't to get my opinion heard or anything, I just want to talk about the book. I don't care whether people actually take my opinion seriously, although that would be nice, I aim to just review whatever I read. That being said, I haven't review too many books that are hugely popular in the blogosphere, mainly because I don't read a huge amount of YA (I'm meaning to change that though, I am 16 after all, I should read some YA at least). YA seems to be the most popular genre, blog-wise anyway, and seeing as I don't read a huge amount of it I sort of accidentally don't review many popular books. To sum it up, I can see where you're coming from but for me, personally, I don't care whether anyone pays attention to my review (to some extent anyway, I'd still like comments and stuff, I just don't mind whether my opinion is taken incredibly seriously or not), I just want to get it out there.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I don't have enough time to review everything because there are things that need to be reviewed more urgently than others. And I love having purpose to what I do, so if I think no one is going to read it [and I wouldn't read it myself], I won't review it.
DeleteThanks so much for your input (:
I agree with you. I'm definitely more likely to review a book that's less "popular" and needs more exposure. The same goes with my Waiting on Wednesday picks, too. I want to choose books that people may not have heard of or books from smaller publishers. They need the word of mouth. You're right, Cassandra Clare and Sarah Dessen are doing fine without me. I most likely won't even write a review for Goodreads besides that I liked it. Nobody is reading it, especially when there's are thousands of other reviews. I'd rather focus on books that might get missed without the attention. I think those authors appreciate the reviews more, too.
ReplyDeleteMichelle @ Michelle's Minions
I think authors appreciate reviews whether they're popular or not and if they don't, it isn't an author i want to be supporting.
DeleteYep, I completely see where you are coming from! Whether I review a book or not completely depends on what I felt for the book--whether it's popular or not--though I do try to take a certain care to make sure I review books which might not be as well known. Because popular authors have plenty of reviews. Positive and negative. So lesser known authors deserve them too! Great discussions.
ReplyDeleteFeelings are also very important! And it's weird because i don't think i get as many feelings from crazy popular books... i have no idea why.
DeleteWhether or not I review a book really depends on whether I have anything to say about it. Well, actually, there are two reasons I review a book. The first is if I've got a review copy of it- I kinda feel like I should in that case since the reason I got the free book was so that the publisher could get a review. The second reason is if I have something I really want to say about it: this will either be a really good book or a really terrible book. So if a "popular" book falls under these categories, then I will review them. I mean, a person's opinion is always going to someone, be it one who trusts that particular person's tastes, or someone who is just looking through reviews and agrees with that particular opinion or whatever.
ReplyDeleteReview copy, of course I can understand! If I have strong opinions on a popular book, I don't think I would review it. Instead, it would be more like a book talk with my opinions. So less professional and organized than a review
DeleteBlogging already takes up so much of my time, so with older books/popular books, at most now I write a mini review and post it with a few other mini reviews on my blog. Like you, I don't feel the need to write such a long review for a book that's already been talked about to death. I don't think my opinion will necessarily get anyone to read it, if they haven't already.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion post!
Exactly! I haven't gotten to the point of "mini reviews" but if I were to review everything I read, that would probably be me.
DeleteI'm really weird about the books I review. I obviously review ARCs when I have them, but for the most part I read whatever I want and whenever. I review older books, newer books, in-between books. I think it's great when someone reviews an "old" book because you're basically saying "Hey, don't forget about this book!"
ReplyDeleteThere are so many pros and cons to "popular books." A pro? More people visiting your blog will have likely read the book so you have a wider audience. A con? Some people might find reviews of said book redundant and not want to talk about that book AGAIN on another blog.
Lately I've been staggering reviews. I try and review old books or books people aren't really talking about (like comic books) because I want to keep new and original stuff on my blog. Just more fun, y'know? Great discussion post!
I try to read everything,also, but i tend to get sucked into the current year's releases. oops.
DeleteI see what you mean. I usually will review any book that I liked reading, whether it's popular or not.
ReplyDeleteIf it's popular, I love getting the chance to discuss it. Because everybody knows about it, I actually get to talk books with other people. But I don't think it will do anything for the book's readership, because it's already popular. It doesn't need me telling others that they should read it and why.
But I love, love reviewing less known books that I adore. Because nobody knows about them and I want to share the amazingness with everyone! I enjoy giving these books more exposure than they get. The down side is that it's unlikely that anyone will strike a discussion with me about it, because there aren't many people who've read it. So I don't get to fangirl with fellow, uh, fangirls. ;)
I don't know why, but I've always considered a book talk to be different than a review. For a book talk, like you said, it'smore of a discussion and I love to spoil. I'm like "you know that part where MC did this? I wanted to kick her in the teeth because she killed (character)"
DeleteI review everything I read (excluding school books) for the most part, but I can totally see how reviewing and reading reviews of popular books can be redundant. I'll read a few reviews of a really popular title, but after about three, I'll pass up others that show up on my feed. I love it when I discover NEW books, which is one of the reasons I started blogging!
ReplyDeleteEmily @ Books & Cleverness
Exactly! And when they all come out on the same day, bloglovin' have mercy.
DeletePersonally, I prefer reviewing books that are beginning to get hype. I feel like when I review books that no one has ever heard of, people would be less likely to click on it. For me, I only read reviews for books that I've seen and am curious about. So I try to do the same when writing reviews for others. Does that make sense? I don't even know LOL! But like you, I stray away from super popular books as well. It can definitely get redundant.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I'll review a book that I don't even know has hype andwhen I see other reviews and promo, I'm like WHAAA?!
DeleteFascinating discussion Nova! I can definitely see where you're coming from with this, though like a few other people on here I just tend to review what I've received from publishers (whether they are getting 'popular' or not), though I guess that's different since they aren't MASSIVELY well-known right then. I think there are some books out there which deserve more recognition in the blogosphere that can get superseded by all these other reviews for books that people already know everything about - which isn't always a good thing. Every book deserves a chance in the spotlight, so I think reviewing and featuring books that are lesser-known instead of the popular big-hits can give the reading community a more diverse viewpoint on the novels out there. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteEugenia @ Genie In A Book
Review copies definitely make up the most of the books I review. And yes, I agree that every book deserves at least, a CHANCE to make it big and as a blogger, I really want to help that book get the chance if I like it (:
DeleteWhoa, this is very interesting. I rarely write full reviews like the very long ones where I really peruse every aspect of the book, but when I do, I usually do it with my 4 and 5 star reads. I don't mind reviewing popular books, it makes the readers of my reviews connected even for a bit since they might have read the book already. But in the case of Clare, Green, Riordan, Dessen etc., I might take a few steps back and just write a quick note, like a one or two sentences expressing what I thought of the book. I'm actually happy I can do that. And gifs are very handy when it comes to that kind of comments, so yeah. I'm actually glad that you review less popular books and try to expand its popularity and introduce it to other readers *thumbs up*
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion, Nova! :D
I've never written mini reviews, probably because I can't keep my mouth shut, haha! But for me, it's actually negative reviews that can be longer because there's just so many things to be angry about.
DeleteAnd yes, short little gif reviews also get points across very easily
I love this discussion! I have been finding it hard to find reviews that I want to read, mostly because everyone is reviewing the same books. Honestly, reading one review of a book is more than enough for me to form an opinion and decide whether I want to read it or not.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, if you have a different opinion about a popular book then you should write the review.
I like reviewing lesser known books more too, but I feel like they do not get as much interaction and views. I love to introduce people to new books more than repeating something they already know about a very popular book.
Tessa @ Crazy for YA
I definitely agree. Some days, Bloglovin' will be all the same review [of a book i DON'T care about] and I skip all of them. it's a shame. so considering that, it would be even worse if it were popular books because the reviews on those things are insane!
DeleteI basically review whatever I want! I have some books FOR review and I try to make it a priority but it doesn't always work out. I def know what you mean that it feels like EVERYTHING has been said with a popular book but sometimes, it's also just fun to review a book that everyone knows so you can all discuss it together!
ReplyDeleteThat's really true! But is it weird that if I were to review a popular book, it wouldn't be a review. I'd probably end up doing that thing that booktubers do where they talk about specific scenes and such.
DeleteOooo - I like this discussion, Nova :D
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I review the "popular" books because I'm not certain I really read them, haha. Sure, there are some new releases that I have read and posted reviews for, but that was before they were released and subsequently became super popular (OH SO HIPSTER RIGHT HERE).
As for the reviews of just-released or book-to-movie or popular reviews ... sometimes there are too many of them, and I will stop opening the new reviews to read them. I kind of feel like I have read all there is to read of that book, and everything else will just be a repeat of what I've already read. Which sounds horrible but it's the truth.
I like posting reviews of books that AREN'T getting all the love, but those reviews get the least love from commenters and viewers. And that seriously makes me more sad than I can even express. It's like ... are people only interested in the books they already know about? Then what is even the point? :(
HIPSTER YAS *high five*
DeleteI always like to look at a positive review from a reviewer I trust and a negative [usually 1 and 5 stars] That way, I don't have to read any more.
I understand what you mean. I don't typically check out reviews from books I hadn't heard of, only because I don't really have anything to say. But I'm so glad I checked out your review for None of the Above ;)
This is an interesting topic, and it's one I've never really thought about before. I've always reviewed books for ME rather than for anyone else. I started writing reviews just as a way to force me to start writing ANYTHING again. And I kept writing them because I liked thinking critically about the books I was reading. So for me, I write a review every time I finish reading a book because I like to document that accomplishment --- how I felt, what I thought, etc.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I do really like writing reviews for lesser known books because I DO like to help get them more exposure, but that's never really been my GOAL.
~ Liza @ Classy Cat Books
I read the popular books. About two years after the hype has fizzled out. Sometimes I review the books, and sometimes I don't. I'm honestly more likely to write a review of a popular book if I have an unpopular opinion though (ie. I didn't like it as much as everyone else). Otherwise, you're right-- the internet is already flooded with enough reviews for the book, and chances are I cannot come up with words half as eloquent as other people.
ReplyDeleteToday, I just wrote a review for ACOTAR and I don't even know if I want to post it because everyone writes reviews for that book. Am I just another # right?
DeleteI'm pleased to discover this article! Thank you for sharing your personal thoughts with us! Browsing http://bigessaywriter.com/blog/why-printed-books-are-losing-popularity will help you determine the whole issue!
ReplyDelete