A lot of people enjoy diving headfirst into a new book or movie. Some people like to take stock of a review or a critic first. Thankfully in the realm of movies and books, there is no shortage of people throwing in their two cents on a topic at hand. This past week I have been glancing over a number of review locations, and comparing the reviews you’d find from their sources from teens to adults. After looking through quite a number of them, I’ve found much like the books themselves, there are reviews that also cater to taste as a reader.
As librarians we are constantly presented with authoritative material that helps go into the selection of our catalogs. Right our desk you might catch us looking through a Publisher’s Weekly or Library Journal. In them, nearly a 3rd of the content is devoted to reviews of materials. Many of the reviews are clear, concise, and to the point. They usually close the review giving a short synopsis of the story, its tone of writing, and usually brief recommendation for its audience. They are pretty hand snippets to give you an idea of the story, and this usually is the formats you'll see on major review sites like Kirkus or Horn Book.
As librarians we are constantly presented with authoritative material that helps go into the selection of our catalogs. Right our desk you might catch us looking through a Publisher’s Weekly or Library Journal. In them, nearly a 3rd of the content is devoted to reviews of materials. Many of the reviews are clear, concise, and to the point. They usually close the review giving a short synopsis of the story, its tone of writing, and usually brief recommendation for its audience. They are pretty hand snippets to give you an idea of the story, and this usually is the formats you'll see on major review sites like Kirkus or Horn Book.
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| Library Journal: Quick reviews in a tight nutshell. |
However, if you are avid reader, you have no doubt found your way over to the community over at Goodreads.com. Starting in 2006 as a small 'social cataloging' community to find and share books and materials, it has since exploded into a user base of over 20 million people of readers and authors alike.
I affectionately refer to sites like this as "The Bad Lands of Reviews" because after you read the book synopsis, you really are jumping into the wilds of social media interaction. You will find a number of impassioned reviewers who (not unlike myself) will launch into extensive dissertations about the entirety of the book. There are some who will trail into unrelated context about their lives and how the book compares, and some will be short simple "I LOVED/HATED this book". Until recently it was fairly unmoderated so be wary, there are no language filters here. But you won't find reviews with more honest feelings anywhere else, and I think that's the reason I love it.
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| You'll find community reviewers are much more excited to talk about a book. |
All of these review places have their own merits, and you would do well to explore these options. It is all going to boil down to a matter of your own taste. You find some new stuff to read, and you might find a place to voice your own impassioned reviews as well. Looking to try it out? Our very own CLEVNET catalog has similar community functionality! You can go in, rate your books, give a review, insert quotes, or add videos to your favorite items. Be sure to check them out!
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