Prompt Two for Readers Advisory
Prompt #2
For this week's prompt, I want to start a conversation about the different types of reviews. Different publications review different types of books and they allow different types of conversations. For example, Booklist will not publish negative reviews, while, as you have all seen, Kirkus has no problems with it (check out this savage review - https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sebastia-alzamora/blood-crime/). Ebook only books, which are increasingly popular (especially in the romance genre) see little to no reviews in professional publications unless they have a big name author. How does this affect collection development?
Naturally, less reviews, especially by professionals, means that I am less likely to take notice of a book. However, with the rise of BookTok and BookTube, libraries are more likely to order indie books. I also think that BookTok has been important for erotica in library collections. Other digital mediums, such as Hoopla, have made erotica much more accessible for enthusiasts. I find a lot of it on Hoopla in particular.
I also think that simply relying on professional reviews can make us more likely to ignore popular books that are considered “low-brow.” Critics are only expressing their opinions, and those opinions may not line up with patrons’. I think it can be important to listen to critics when it comes to problematic things, such as racism or homophobia in a book, but just because a critic is personally offended by or finds Mafia romances distasteful, doesn’t mean that other people aren’t very much into it. Ignoring and not adding these to our collections may be an expression of our own prejudices too! Professionals can also help us determine if a book belongs in the adult section as well. Female romance authors, especially fantasy romance, get chucked in the YA section, when they really shouldn’t be.
As a final note on this: I think every library needs to have a few librarians monitoring TikTok for trends. I am the person who does that at my library and that has helped us stay with the times.
I have posted two more documents in the week five files. 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?
I think both of these reviews are reliable. I don’t know the credentials of the blogger, but I think their review is good regardless for the same reason that I find the Amazon review reliable. Both of them say what they liked and disliked about the book in detail. The Amazon reviewer states that she loves clean Christmas romances, so that gives us an idea of the content of the novel and who it might appeal to (n.d., para. 1). The blogger generally likes the book by she mentions a few things she didn’t care for as well, giving us a slightly more critical review (n.d., p. 2)
As for whether I would order it… I actually don’t think I would. It was released in 2014, so it’s a bit older than most books that we order new to the collection. If there was a sudden demand for it, then I would definitely order it, such as rave reviews on TikTok or if a movie were made. In addition to this, I’m having a hard time finding a place to buy it? The blog review states that it is available for free on Amazon, but I don't see it (n.d., p. 2). All of the “Billionaire” books by Holly Rayner listed on Amazon don’t have the correct protagonist names and seem to be spinoffs?
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?
We actually already have Angela’s Ashes in our library, but if we didn’t, I would likely order it. The book boasts overwhelmingly positive reviews from prominent publications like Kirkus, which makes a difference in whether we acquire an item or not. I’ve seen this on reading lists for schools, which is another important aspect of collection development. As a different approach to this question, I would re-order this book if all or most of our copies disappeared because they check out pretty frequently according to our records.
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?
Of course not! I anecdotally notice books that aren’t considered the arbitrarily named “literary fiction” tend to not get as much coverage or they are panned by critics. Critics of media, especially books and movies tend to be populated by a certain population of people who have biases against certain genres. A famous example is the well-known snubbing of critically acclaimed horror movies at the Oscars. Another way to consider this is to look at the audience score vs. critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics may love a movie that general audiences hate and vice versa. The “tomatometer” for the 2007 movie Teeth is 80% by critics, while only 45% of casual viewers liked it (Teeth, n.d.). An example in the reverse would be the 1999 movie But I’m a Cheerleader. I'm leery of critical reviews to LGBTQ+ classics, given the very male, very white, very straight nature of common review sources. Audiences rated it 74% while the critics didn’t seem to like it much with an average score of 42% (Rotten Tomatoes, n.d.). Books are victims to this same phenomenon. We can’t only rely on professional reviews, even though those reviewers are slowly becoming more diverse.
How does this affect a library's collection?
If we aren’t careful, we could overlook books that our patrons might enjoy simply because they aren’t deemed “worthy” of a review by the big players (Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, etc.).
And how do you feel about review sources that won't print negative content? Do you think that's appropriate?
I’m not sure. The lack of a review from such a source is a review in and of itself if the book is one that it would be odd for them to neglect. In addition, there are multiple places to obtain reviews, so I’m not sure how much it matters. As you mentioned, Kirkus doesn’t have any issues publishing negative reviews.
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 use reviews to make many decisions on books, especially non-fiction books about health. I strongly prefer to buy books from M.D.s, PhDs, PsyDs, and the like. Likewise for science; I’m simply not going to purchase a book that seriously entertains something like flat-earth theory as a serious stance. We should have diverse opinions, not diverse “facts.” I use them for fiction reviews as well, especially for genres that I don’t read.
In my personal life, I use Goodreads and sometimes Kirkus to decide what I want to spend my time on. I do put stock in popular review sources like TikTok. And of course, I like to hear people’s personal recommendations (like my coworkers and friends).
Sources
Amazon User Deborah (2014, December 20). Beautiful sweet Christmas romance. Amazon. Obtained from Canvas.
Book review: The billionaire’s first Christmas by Holly Rayner (n.d.). Obtained from Canvas.
Goodreads (n.d.). The billionaire’s first Christmas. Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/23790008
Rotten Tomatoes (n.d.). But I’m a cheerleader. Rotten Tomatoes. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/but_im_a_cheerleader
Rotten Tomatoes (n.d.). Teeth. Rotten Tomatoes. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/teeth
Hi Haley,
ReplyDeleteHow would you approach negative reviews when selecting items for your library?
As someone who does not look at reviews before choosing to read a book, is there a particular element of reviews you find helpful? We discussed the importance of appeal factors in previous modules. I wonder whether you find that the reviews you read successfully highlight certain appeal factors (or factors that do not appeal to you) as a reader, or do the reviews serve another function for you?
I do not have TikTok, but I have heard of BookTok, and find it interesting. Is this a resource you utilize, either personally or professionally? Do you think BookTok users successfully produce succinct yet informative reviews? Do you think these reviews are more reliable or less reliable than a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or another non-professional review site?
Negative reviews are more important, in my opinion, than positive ones for the sole reason of detail. Sometimes people make long and detailed positive reviews, but often those end at "I liked it, five stars," whereas someone who doesn't like it will tell you exactly why. A good example of this is people who like sexy romances/erotica. If they look at a book review that says "This was a little too graphic for me," they may say "Sounds like something I want to read!!"
DeleteI highly recommend TikTok to everyone who doesn't have it. Even if you don't post (which I don't), it's almost impossible to keep up with the micro-trends nowadays, which are really fun to use for passive readers advisory. As far as quality but succinct reviews, that varies from user to user. Naturally, some people are more gifted at that than others. One downside of BookTok is that the FYP (For You Page) can become hyper-specific to what an individual person likes, so it's important to actively search for other genres.
TikTok needs to be more incorporated in public libraries!! Especially for the teens! I attended OLA and there was a session on TikTok and how BookTok on there sky rocketed in popularity and affected the circulation stats of a particular library just because the librarians made an account on there. I would LOVE to do this at my own library, however, I do not have the authority to do so just yet..! :P
ReplyDeleteOur statistics have gone up a lot in my opinion just because of Colleen Hoover. I never interrupt them, but I almost always know if someone is going to ask for her books before they even start talking! I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about her writing (I'm not super interested in her style of writing), but I am thankful because her books never touch a shelf, meaning we get a LOT of stats, both new borrowers and higher check-outs from existing patrons.
DeleteI like TikTok for passive readers advisory as well. We had a display at my library back when the "He's a ten, but..." trend was going on. You know, "He's a ten but he owns a creepy book store (wait, that's just a ten)*.
*That's Barrons from the Fever series in case anyone is curious.
You bring up so many excellent points! I love your statement "Critics are only expressing their opinions, and those opinions may not line up with patrons" - it's so true - many patrons are just average readers they don't want JUST high brow literature - they want a variety of items - many of which may be unreviewed. Full points!
ReplyDelete