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Local Authors => Brandon Sanderson => Topic started by: Creative_Vortx on August 04, 2010, 05:06:48 PM

Title: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 04, 2010, 05:06:48 PM
I was one of the lucky 200 out of 3450. But do not fear BS, for I still plan on buying a copy when you come down to San Diego! I'm here to help you rise to #1!

Very cool tho, that email right there made my week. Anybody else get a little lucky today?
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Rrikor on August 04, 2010, 07:34:44 PM
I lost. :(  I did go and check to see if I won though.  I have also started to use the site. I like it and am rereading books now so I am filling out very basic reviews as I go though my library.  Currently reading Magic's Pawn, from the Last Herald-Mage trilogy. 
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: JCHancey on August 04, 2010, 08:32:59 PM
I did! And I've already paid for my 2 copies of the book for the Provo signing :D
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Phaz on August 04, 2010, 08:34:37 PM
It seems like there are a TON of ARCs of Way of Kings that were made.  I wonder how many there were and if that is the standard number for books being published.  I've heard all kinds of people talking about them and giveaways and such for this book but rarely hear about them for others.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 04, 2010, 09:22:05 PM
It seems like there are a TON of ARCs of Way of Kings that were made.  I wonder how many there were and if that is the standard number for books being published.  I've heard all kinds of people talking about them and giveaways and such for this book but rarely hear about them for others.

I was also wondering how many were out there and how many have been distributed to the general public.. would like to know what my ratio is. Am I getting 1 out of 400.. 1 out of 1000.. are they numbered? Lets turn this into a collectors item! Might have to get the ARC signed too because it's just that cool.  :D

I did! And I've already paid for my 2 copies of the book for the Provo signing :D

You already got in the the mail too? It said to expect up to 2-3 weeks for delivery. Guess they over exaggerated that a little.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: mycoltbug on August 04, 2010, 10:51:42 PM
I got one too! Only problem is that they sent the email to the wrong email address.  So I never got the notification until I checked on the site.  SO I hope I can get that resolved with them soon.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: JCHancey on August 04, 2010, 11:34:44 PM
Hmmm maybe mine wasn't from Goodreads... Oh hey the return address is Tor, so I won that one I guess?
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Peter Ahlstrom on August 05, 2010, 03:48:42 AM
This is NOT a standard number of ARCs. This is THE book Tor is pushing this year. It wouldn't surprise me if there are more ARCs of this book than any other single book published by any company this year.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: guessingo on August 05, 2010, 12:26:40 PM
TOR is pushing Way of Kings more than the next WoT book Brandon has out in October? Is that because this is a new series and WoT is more likely to sell itself?
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Moggle on August 05, 2010, 03:02:34 PM
I entered the giveaway, but did not win.  I found it highly peculiar that about 25% of the winners had like zero books read or shelved on their account.   It seems like they just basically signed up just so they can enter the contest.   I don't see how someone who just signed up has priority over me.  The drawing isn't completely random, goodreads does have criteria they go by.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Peter Ahlstrom on August 05, 2010, 04:20:28 PM
guessingo: Yes. Oh, once WoK has been out for a few weeks they'll posh TofM, but it won't get any ARCs. Not that there's time for any.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Bookstore Guy on August 05, 2010, 04:41:04 PM
guessingo: Yes. Oh, once WoK has been out for a few weeks they'll posh TofM, but it won't get any ARCs. Not that there's time for any.

There's no point in pushing TofM.  It has its own legs--over 1 million English-language Edition legs.  Why waste extra finds on a novel that will already sell millions of copies when you can put that same money into "the next big series" to bump the sales of its first book.

And yeah, as I understood from Publicist Justin at Tor, there won't be any WoT ARCs.  Again, what would be the point.

Elitist Book Reviews will probably be giving away the ARC we received, signed of course, at the release signing.  (Peter: remind Brandon to respond to that email from me!)
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: mycoltbug on August 05, 2010, 04:43:44 PM
Can anyone tell me what the email said or what you need to do to give goodreads your mailing address? I still haven't got a hold of them but I did win.  It shows that I won. 
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 05, 2010, 06:18:47 PM
Can anyone tell me what the email said or what you need to do to give goodreads your mailing address? I still haven't got a hold of them but I did win.  It shows that I won. 

Quote
Congratulations CreativeVortx!

You are one of our First Reads lucky winners! You will soon receive a
free copy of The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, #1) in the mail. Please allow a few
weeks for shipping.

Don't forget to add the book to your Goodreads currently-reading
shelf, and we encourage you to also add it to a "first-reads" shelf when you are done reading. Posting a review is optional, but please keep in mind that
reviewing the book is in the spirit of First Reads. Publishers provide
free copies to Goodreads in hopes of getting early feedback about the
book. First Readers who post reviews are also more likely to win free
books in the future!

If you have further questions, please contact Tor Books,
who listed this book for giveaway.
Goodreads is not involved in the shipment of books to winners. Books usually arrive within 4-6 weeks.
If you've waited more than 30 days, visit the Giveaway Details page to let us know you haven't received your copy.

Other then that there isn't much info. All the address info you had to input when you signed up for the give away if I recall correctly.

I entered the giveaway, but did not win.  I found it highly peculiar that about 25% of the winners had like zero books read or shelved on their account.   It seems like they just basically signed up just so they can enter the contest.   I don't see how someone who just signed up has priority over me.  The drawing isn't completely random, goodreads does have criteria they go by.

Aparently they do go to the people who have reviewed books in the past as their winners. I've been on goodreads for a good couple of years... reviewed only like.. 5 books in length so that's all the info I can give you. Not an AVID user of Goodreads.com but I also didn't sign up just for the contest.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: guessingo on August 05, 2010, 06:32:53 PM
I get it. So the arcs mainly go out to book review sites to get them to post reviews for publicity? How  many arcs go out for Way of Kings? 100s or 1000s?

What have been some other books that TOR has pushed recently other than this and Wheel of Time?
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: mycoltbug on August 05, 2010, 07:11:10 PM
Can anyone tell me what the email said or what you need to do to give goodreads your mailing address? I still haven't got a hold of them but I did win.  It shows that I won. 

Quote
Congratulations CreativeVortx!

You are one of our First Reads lucky winners! You will soon receive a
free copy of The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, #1) in the mail. Please allow a few
weeks for shipping.

Don't forget to add the book to your Goodreads currently-reading
shelf, and we encourage you to also add it to a "first-reads" shelf when you are done reading. Posting a review is optional, but please keep in mind that
reviewing the book is in the spirit of First Reads. Publishers provide
free copies to Goodreads in hopes of getting early feedback about the
book. First Readers who post reviews are also more likely to win free
books in the future!

If you have further questions, please contact Tor Books,
who listed this book for giveaway.
Goodreads is not involved in the shipment of books to winners. Books usually arrive within 4-6 weeks.
If you've waited more than 30 days, visit the Giveaway Details page to let us know you haven't received your copy.

Other then that there isn't much info. All the address info you had to input when you signed up for the give away if I recall correctly.

I entered the giveaway, but did not win.  I found it highly peculiar that about 25% of the winners had like zero books read or shelved on their account.   It seems like they just basically signed up just so they can enter the contest.   I don't see how someone who just signed up has priority over me.  The drawing isn't completely random, goodreads does have criteria they go by.

Aparently they do go to the people who have reviewed books in the past as their winners. I've been on goodreads for a good couple of years... reviewed only like.. 5 books in length so that's all the info I can give you. Not an AVID user of Goodreads.com but I also didn't sign up just for the contest.


I had totally forgot about that. Thanks!
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 05, 2010, 11:17:47 PM
I had totally forgot about that. Thanks!

Quite welcome.  :D
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: mycoltbug on August 06, 2010, 09:46:57 PM
In positive news Tor notified me today that the shipping labels were given yesterday to their warehouse to send those books out.  So it shouldn't be long till we get them.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 06, 2010, 09:48:53 PM
Woot. Awesome. I should really stop walking into my house after work expecting it to be there, waiting.. in all it's glorious glory.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Valkynphyre on August 10, 2010, 08:07:49 PM
WOOT! I just won an ARC! rejoice with me!
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Peter Ahlstrom on August 10, 2010, 11:00:28 PM
Man, I hope people like this book. It's less than 3 weeks away, and I'm starting to get anxious. So far most of the early reviews I've seen have been good, but there have been a few interesting so-so reviews.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 10, 2010, 11:53:43 PM
Man, I hope people like this book. It's less than 3 weeks away, and I'm starting to get anxious. So far most of the early reviews I've seen have been good, but there have been a few interesting so-so reviews.

Don't do that to us Peter! It's your job to be anxious, bringing this info to us will make us anxious and we're the fans. We must be happy! APPEASE THE FANS!

It's annoying though, knowing that every day that I go home there could be a nice shiney WoK waiting for me. Every day that it isn't there is one more day I have to wait to put up an awesome review of it on Goodreads.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: JCHancey on August 11, 2010, 02:07:44 AM
WOOT! I just won an ARC! rejoice with me!

Congrats! As is usual with BS, you will not be disappointed!
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: mycoltbug on August 12, 2010, 03:35:53 PM
K it's official the ARCs will leave the warehouse tomorrow as per the people at TOR. So we should receive it sometime next week.  Just enough time to read it before the release party.  If you are at the release party, I'll be the guy sitting in line reading the ARC in front of you all :D
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Bookstore Guy on August 12, 2010, 05:17:25 PM
Man, I hope people like this book. It's less than 3 weeks away, and I'm starting to get anxious. So far most of the early reviews I've seen have been good, but there have been a few interesting so-so reviews.

You want me to email you the draft of EBR's review?  It's good, but honest.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 12, 2010, 05:53:50 PM
K it's official the ARCs will leave the warehouse tomorrow as per the people at TOR. So we should receive it sometime next week.  Just enough time to read it before the release party.  If you are at the release party, I'll be the guy sitting in line reading the ARC in front of you all :D

Woohoo! Media mail for the fail though. Ha!
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Peter Ahlstrom on August 12, 2010, 06:39:00 PM
BSG: No. I'll see it when you put it up.

The only thing I'm really worried about with the early reviews is if they have too many spoilers. Which I know yours won't.

Ultimately I don't think reviewer reviews matter that much. Word of mouth will make or break the book. Cumulative Amazon reviews will likely have some effect on Amazon sales. What I really hope though is that there will be a number of people who see a stack of OMG HUEG books in the store, and pick one up and flip through it and see all the gorgeous art and buy it for that reason alone (plus maybe reading some jacket material). Though up until now,  the early reviews have often not mentioned the art. And readers read books for the story, y'know? So I wonder if the art will affect things at all.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 12, 2010, 06:45:09 PM
I appreciate artwork in large books when it is done well. If it's too much or doesn't fit the book then it can ruin the book. But I feel like the art in WoK that I've seen (only the previewed piece and the chapter heads) has added a very warranted flair that most large epics probably couldn't pull off. For example: if I had seen an art page in Eragon i'd have considered it childish. Probably because of his age and more so at his possible inability to depict that piece of art with words. (yea, I just bashed Christopher Paolini, sp? It's okay, if Brandon can't pronounce it correct i'm allowed to not know how to spell it. <3)
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Ari54 on August 13, 2010, 03:06:03 PM
Man, I hope people like this book. It's less than 3 weeks away, and I'm starting to get anxious. So far most of the early reviews I've seen have been good, but there have been a few interesting so-so reviews.

Reading the sample chapters... I feel confident at least fantasy fans will like it. It's just the pre-game jitters. I can tell that Brandon's topped himself again, and you can really see how WoT has made him grow as a writer. With TOR giving this book its big marketing push... I think that should be enough to get it the audience it deserves, good reviews or no. :)
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Bookstore Guy on August 13, 2010, 04:22:54 PM
Ultimately I don't think reviewer reviews matter that much.

Thank you for your seemingly accidental insult.  I know you probably didn't mean it that way, but still.  Good book reviewers actually put in a lot of work, and have a lot of people who rely on their reviews.  Reviews, after all, can be considered "word of mouth". 
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 13, 2010, 06:01:24 PM
Ultimately I don't think reviewer reviews matter that much.

Thank you for your seemingly accidental insult.  I know you probably didn't mean it that way, but still.  Good book reviewers actually put in a lot of work, and have a lot of people who rely on their reviews.  Reviews, after all, can be considered "word of mouth". 

I rely completely on reviewers because I don't have many friends that read. Without book review sites I would buy very few books that I wasn't already in love with (ie, anything BS I will buy no matter what just because I love his style, and if Patrick Rothfuss ever puts his sequel out I will have that one the first day). A review on Goodreads is actually how I came to learn about Brandon Sanderson (yup, found him BEFORE WoT, lol) and subsequently bought multiple copies of all his books and gifted tons off to friends and family in hopes to get them reading. I put a lot of weight on what other similar minded people (into fantasy or sci-fi) say about books in the genre. I reject your opinion Peter!  :D
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Peter Ahlstrom on August 13, 2010, 10:07:49 PM
I honestly believe most people who buy books do not read reviews, and I'm not sure why you would find it insulting. There's nothing wrong with writing reviews. I just ultimately feel their affect on sales is debatable. Even if a lot of people rely on someone's reviews, it's a drop in the bucket compared to the total number of people who buy the books. I could be wrong, but it's the feeling I've gotten over the last 6 years. People put more stock in their friends saying "this is cool" than a pro or semipro reviewer sitting down and figuring out why something is cool.

Reviewers add to the discourse and analysis of books, but critical acclaim often bears no relationship to sales. Criticism is great; critics should keep on doing their thing! It just won't necessarily impact whether or not most people buy the book. And I don't think critics need to feel that it should have an impact.

If a lot of people like a book, and people know that a lot of people like a book, that will make them more likely to look into it themselves. But exactly what those people say about that book they like is often irrelevant. The quantity of the feedback has more effect than the quality. The number of Amazon reviews a book gets shows how it's selling more than the quality of those reviews or even how a book is rated. Most books on Amazon that sell decently have over a hundred reviews and between 3.5 and 4.5 stars. Similarly, lots of people look on Rotten Tomatoes at the cumulative score and don't read a single review, then combine that with a trailer viewing to decide whether to see something. But then after something's been out a week, it's not the Tomatometer that affects whether someone will go see a movie: it's what their personal friends have said about it.

Lots of critics liked Daniel Abraham's books and Ken Scholes' books. Sales have been dismal in both cases. Why? The critics are doing their job, if their job is to try to affect sales of books they like or dislike (which I expect most critics would deny). But a lot of people who would like the books if they read them just don't know about the books. Those people don't pay attention to reviews. Somehow a critical mass of word of mouth has not occurred. It's a very mysterious process that rejects all attempts to define it.

Some people do pay a lot of attention to reviews and find reviewers they know the tastes of and decide to buy something based on whether they know to agree or disagree with a reviewer. But for the vast majority of book buyers this is not the case.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 13, 2010, 11:13:49 PM
Kay, you may be right about the general reading public. If everybody took stock in reviews a lot more then we wouldn't have people standing in Barnes n Noble for 2 hours staring at the Fantasy section, irritating me because they're standing right in front of the area that the book I'm about to buy is in!  >:( Grr!

I guess sales are still defined by how much $$ you ultimately put into marketing. Look at Dan Brown and his crazy female following of house wives (personal observation  :D ). It seems to me that they just constantly threw $$ at the book's marketing even if it was horrid (personal opinion  :D ).

Now that you've explained your reasoning behind it I officially remove my rejection of your opinion Peter, we can be friends again.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: zas678 on August 13, 2010, 11:48:22 PM
I think some reviews are helpful. I know there are quite a few people who started on Brandon Sanderson because of the quote on the front of Elantris from Orson Scott Card.

But, I agree with you that most reviews aren't going to be the major determining factor in reading a book. Personal Recommendations are.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Peter Ahlstrom on August 14, 2010, 02:22:59 AM
I wasn't considering cover blurbs at all. That's a different story, though also something that has more effect on some people than others, and perhaps not as useful as Tor thinks (the LOVE their cover blurbs). However, I have indeed heard of a lot of people who picked up Brandon for that reason. But then, it turns out that Scott Card is effusive whenever he blurbs a book, and not all of those books go on to success.

And whether sales are definied by how much $$ you put into marketing is HUGE question mark. Now, if some complete nobody first-time author got the embarrassingly huge marketing push that Brandon is getting on WoK, would it make a sales difference? You bet; it would make an enormous sales difference even if the book is only OK. But what percentage difference is it going to make for WoK? Much, much less difference than it would make for a no-name. A lot of the people who are doing things like entering the ARC contests would have bought the book anyway because they're already Brandon fans. I do think the marketing will make a difference, but this is something you can't scientifically test. You'd need an alternate universe in which little to no marketing was done in order to see what difference the marketing made. Of course if the book does sell well, the marketing department will pat itself on the back for a job well done, whether it sold well because of anything they did or just because people read THE GATHERING STORM and liked it and decided to pick up Brandon's next book. Which is probably going to be the greatest single contributing factor to its sales.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Peter Ahlstrom on August 14, 2010, 02:58:32 AM
By the way, I heard the GoodReads winners' copies were mailed out today. Not sure why it took them that long.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Terrisman243 on August 14, 2010, 05:05:02 PM
You'd need an alternate universe in which little to no marketing was done in order to see what difference the marketing made.

Or a time machine. That would do it too.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Peter Ahlstrom on August 14, 2010, 07:29:51 PM
But going back in time to change the variable would create an alternate timeline.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 16, 2010, 05:24:16 PM
I think some reviews are helpful. I know there are quite a few people who started on Brandon Sanderson because of the quote on the front of Elantris from Orson Scott Card.

But, I agree with you that most reviews aren't going to be the major determining factor in reading a book. Personal Recommendations are.

Thats the reason I first looked for a review. I saw the blurb on Elantris by OSC and went to look for more information, found that Mistborn was more a story I could get into so I picked that up first. Forgot about that.

By the way, I heard the GoodReads winners' copies were mailed out today. Not sure why it took them that long.

Thanks for the info Peter. Can't wait to get it. And you're right, most of us that get ARCs will end up buying the book anyways to show support. I know I will be gifting a copy to my girlfriend and a friend.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: calvin on August 19, 2010, 05:43:28 PM
I'm one of those that definitely reads the reviews...even for the authors that I love to death.  I use them to help get me in the mood to plow through the book, and to get excited about what's coming.  If it's an author that I've never read before, the reviews (and sometimes who wrote them) are critical to my buying the book.

With Brandon Sanderson, my brother was the first review that I got, and I bought everything he had published after that (there's no fail in buying a Brandon Sanderson book).  Now I'm waiting for the first moment that each new book comes out, and gnawing on the short stories and blogs on his website in the meantime.  I can't wait until he's done with the WOT books so that he can go full time on his own series.  I've even gotten to read an advance copy of one of his books that won't be published for some time, probably...not sure if that was a good idea, since I LOVE the story and it's gonna kill me waiting for it to get published.  I read Warbreaker on line twice and then bought it immediately when it came out.

Now, I'm the happy winner of an ARC...to the dismay of my brother who is a die-hard Brandon Sanderson fan.  He flipped out that I "scooped" him on this one.  He was already planning on being at the midnight signing for the release.

Okay, now the suspense is killing me waiting for that ARC to show up...Mr. Postman, WHERE ARE YOU???? 
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: mycoltbug on August 19, 2010, 06:46:36 PM
I so agree with you Calvin! I go home from work and frantically check the mailbox, table, under the couch, bedrooms, kitchen, bookshelves, and then the bathroom to see if it has arrived.  Why all those locations? I'm married to a non-reader, so my books tend to get hidden as a joke. Hopefully it won't take much longer, it's been 6 days since they "shipped" out.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 19, 2010, 07:35:19 PM
My father once took a book I was desperately waiting for.. wrapped it in saran wrap, then put it in a zip lock back, then duck taped the whole thing, then repeated that step 3 times. THEN he put it on the roof of our apt outside our patio. What a great father. Took me an hour to remove it without damaging it.

And yes, I'm still waiting for mine as well. Irritating as heck.
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: calvin on August 19, 2010, 07:48:40 PM
My father once took a book I was desperately waiting for.. wrapped it in saran wrap, then put it in a zip lock back, then duck taped the whole thing, then repeated that step 3 times. THEN he put it on the roof of our apt outside our patio. What a great father. Took me an hour to remove it without damaging it.

And yes, I'm still waiting for mine as well. Irritating as heck.

Wow...cool Dad!  I know you were probably furious with him at the time, but looking back, he gave you an amazing memory!  AND he delayed the "post-partum" blues that come from finishing a great book by an hour.  LOL
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Creative_Vortx on August 19, 2010, 08:52:43 PM
My father once took a book I was desperately waiting for.. wrapped it in saran wrap, then put it in a zip lock back, then duck taped the whole thing, then repeated that step 3 times. THEN he put it on the roof of our apt outside our patio. What a great father. Took me an hour to remove it without damaging it.

And yes, I'm still waiting for mine as well. Irritating as heck.

Wow...cool Dad!  I know you were probably furious with him at the time, but looking back, he gave you an amazing memory!  AND he delayed the "post-partum" blues that come from finishing a great book by an hour.  LOL

To this day every time I get a book delivered I make sure I take both the saran wrap and duct tape and put it in my closet. Ya great memory, but i'm scarred for life now. LOL
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: fantastyfreak on August 20, 2010, 05:36:23 PM
I'm one of those that definitely reads the reviews...even for the authors that I love to death.  I use them to help get me in the mood to plow through the book, and to get excited about what's coming.  If it's an author that I've never read before, the reviews (and sometimes who wrote them) are critical to my buying the book.

With Brandon Sanderson, my brother was the first review that I got, and I bought everything he had published after that (there's no fail in buying a Brandon Sanderson book).  Now I'm waiting for the first moment that each new book comes out, and gnawing on the short stories and blogs on his website in the meantime.  I can't wait until he's done with the WOT books so that he can go full time on his own series.  I've even gotten to read an advance copy of one of his books that won't be published for some time, probably...not sure if that was a good idea, since I LOVE the story and it's gonna kill me waiting for it to get published.  I read Warbreaker on line twice and then bought it immediately when it came out.

Now, I'm the happy winner of an ARC...to the dismay of my brother who is a die-hard Brandon Sanderson fan.  He flipped out that I "scooped" him on this one.  He was already planning on being at the midnight signing for the release.

Okay, now the suspense is killing me waiting for that ARC to show up...Mr. Postman, WHERE ARE YOU???? 

Honestly, I used to be a cynic about book reviews. I always denounced them for their  noncontributory reviews that were never  real initiators for intelligent dialogue about the book. Simply put, some reviewers write uninspired reviews that noticeably mime the format, the comments, and details of their former reviewers. This usually helps purport the belief of readers that these reviewers are not necessarily reading the reviewed book.

Mind you, I'm only noticing a growing trend with many blogger. Since, I happen to be a blogger. I cannot help but see this error being magnified to a greater degree in nearly every review. Many reviewers depend upon the principle of quantity over quality. Therefore, their reviews suffer gravely from pithy statements about the books that could easily be used with any number of books. Rather than the book they are aiming to review properly.

Why do I feel disheartened by this? Because the book bloggers with flashy animations can easily delude readers into overlooking these reviews. In effect, bloggers like myself who will write a lower quantity of reviews due to closely reading the requested book happen to never be noticed. I'm fortunate for the ecstatic readers that sparsely populate my blog or the many authors that offer encouragement. But the traffic of my blog remains stalled because I forbade myself to use contests or higher quantities of terse reviews to promote my blog.

Anyways, I will probably have a "Way of Kings" review around October because I wish to write an exemplar review that proves to readers that I carefully read the book. And there are several great blog reviewers that have high traffic yet write fantastic reviews. I'm not directing my criticism to every single book blogger. My statement involves the pool of bloggers with high traffic yet have reviews that lack substance.

Sorry for the long winded rant!!
Title: Re: I Love Goodreads
Post by: Eerongal on August 20, 2010, 05:46:04 PM
I'm one of those that definitely reads the reviews...even for the authors that I love to death.  I use them to help get me in the mood to plow through the book, and to get excited about what's coming.  If it's an author that I've never read before, the reviews (and sometimes who wrote them) are critical to my buying the book.

With Brandon Sanderson, my brother was the first review that I got, and I bought everything he had published after that (there's no fail in buying a Brandon Sanderson book).  Now I'm waiting for the first moment that each new book comes out, and gnawing on the short stories and blogs on his website in the meantime.  I can't wait until he's done with the WOT books so that he can go full time on his own series.  I've even gotten to read an advance copy of one of his books that won't be published for some time, probably...not sure if that was a good idea, since I LOVE the story and it's gonna kill me waiting for it to get published.  I read Warbreaker on line twice and then bought it immediately when it came out.

Now, I'm the happy winner of an ARC...to the dismay of my brother who is a die-hard Brandon Sanderson fan.  He flipped out that I "scooped" him on this one.  He was already planning on being at the midnight signing for the release.

Okay, now the suspense is killing me waiting for that ARC to show up...Mr. Postman, WHERE ARE YOU???? 

Honestly, I used to be a cynic ...

[snip]

...Sorry for the long winded rant!!

Yeah, the problem with user-generated content is that everyone is an artist, however most people are rather bad at it.