They both feel sort of reliable, the blog more than the Amazon review. I think that for personal use an Amazon review might be helpful, but for a library it is hard to justify a purchase decision with that. The blog, on the other hand, is good. The author took time to explain more of the plot and had more of a critique to their review than the Amazon review. I would personally not buy this book for my library. The main reason is because of the lack of professional reviews and the fact that it is, most-likely, self-published. The library that I currently work for has a strict rule against self-published materials, so if this book is, it would not be able to be purchased for that reason alone.
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?
These reviews would give good justification towards purchasing this book. They all speak highly of the book and speak of how good of a story teller the author is. They are all from credible review sources and the book is most likely traditionally published. I would be inclined to purchase a few copies to see if they circulated well and then purchase more if it did.
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?
I personally do not think that it is fair that one type of book gets reviewed professionally over another. In the age of the e-reader books that would not have ever been traditionally published are becoming immensely popular and then being picked up by publishers. The most recent example I can think of is Freida McFadden. Her work started off as self-published and now all of her books are extremely popular. I have never seen one of her books last more than an hour on the shelves. By having to justify purchases by things like professional reviews or traditional publishing you are harming the collection. The invention of the e-reader has changed the landscape of both publishing and libraries. We need to find new ways to justify purchases so that the collection can reflect the interests and needs of patrons.
I am ambivalent on the fact that some reviewers do not publish negative content. I personally do not like it, but I understand where the idea is coming from. They do not want to disparage an author who worked hard on their novel. I would personally never use a review site that does not publish negative reviews. Criticism, especially the kind that is negative, is very important. It is important for the author to receive honest feedback for the work that they put out into the world. It is also important so that people can make informed decisions about their purchases.
I do not buy for my library, so for personal purchases I mostly go by word-of-mouth and things that catch my eye. I do not often look at reviews as the deciding factor on whether or not I purchase a book. If I do I might look at GoodReads or whatever review comes up when I Google the book. The vast majority of the time when I buy a book, or check something out from my library, it is based on vibes or coworker recommendations. Of the two items that I have currently checked out one is off of a coworker’s display and the other is a collection of manga that one of my favorite animes was based on.
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