A question came up for me this week: Should book bloggers do research before posting reviews?
What got me thinking about this topic was a comment I received on a book review I posted several weeks ago. I didn’t love the book, and explained why.
In the review, I stated that the book is apparently a stand-alone. A commenter informed me that they found my statement confusing, because the author had stated in interviews that this book was intended to have follow-ups involving some of the supporting characters. Additionally, I mentioned some elements of the setting and world-building that I found odd or muddled. The commenter again referred to author interviews, which explain why she chose to include some of the elements that I found out of place, and also mentioned that some of this was addressed in the author’s notes at the end of the book.
Note: Because I’d read the book via audiobook, I did not have access to the author’s notes — which is a pet peeve of mine when it comes to audiobooks, but that’s a topic for another day!
All this is fine. I appreciate hearing more information and getting other perspectives, and it was good to know that this author’s fans seem to enjoy the book more than I did.
What puzzles me, though, is the implication that I should have known these pieces of information prior to posting a review. This raises a few questions for me:
Do book bloggers have an obligation — to the author or to other readers — to track down answers to questions, Google facts about their books, check out author posts, etc before sharing a review, especially one that might not be 4- or 5-stars? Essentially, is it a reasonable expectation that bloggers do more than “just” read the book before posting a review?
In the case of this particular book, it was by an author I’d read before, but not recently. I thought it sounded interesting, so I grabbed the audiobook when it became available. This isn’t an author I follow on social media or elsewhere.
Before writing my review, I checked out the available information on Goodreads. There was no indication that this is part of a series. I looked at the book’s description on retail sites. Again, nothing to indicate that this is anything but a standalone. Without going out looking for more information, all I could go by was what was in front of me — and to me, that appeared to indicate that this book was a stand-alone.
Could I have learned more if I’d searched for interviews and profiles of the author, or checked out their social feeds? Sure. But should these additional steps be an obligation before writing a review? I think not.
My stance is that the reading experience should speak for itself. Sure, it’s fun to follow authors and dig deeper, especially when it comes to our favorites — to understand inspiration, to learn about what might be next, to get more details on the plot and characters, to get insight into intention, writing process, and more.
But also — that shouldn’t be necessary in order to share my feelings about a book. As a casual reviewer, I see my book reviews as expressions of my reactions and thoughts. I don’t pretend to be a journalist or a literary critic! I certainly don’t claim to have any expertise in regard to any particular book, beyond being an avid reader. In general, my reviews are simply my way of sharing my responses to books I’ve read. And with that approach, a deeper dive isn’t always needed.
What I like to focus on is how I felt while reading: Was I interested? Emotionally invested? Compelled to keep going? Or perhaps, confused or bored, or not blown away? Did the book itself make me want to know more about its subject or author? Or was I content to finish the book, whether I loved it or not, and then put it away?
Personally, I don’t feel obligated to look at media coverage or author reviews before posting a review. I share reviews to express my reactions to the books I read. Sometimes I’ll dig deeper or go looking for more information, especially if a book blows me away or sparks my interest in a new or unusual topic — but more often, I write my reviews based on the actual book content, and nothing else. This may not be everyone’s approach, but it works for me.
What do you think? Do you feel obligated to go beyond the book before writing a review? Why or why not?
Please share your thoughts!
Bookshelf Fantasies 