Horror Aficionados discussion

When you shop for a new book, what's more important to you? Star ratings or reviews? How often do you look inside and see if you like the style of writing? I always look inside to see if I like the storyteller, but that's just me. Sidney Sheldon is a great storyteller.

I'll read bad reviews hooked to low ratings before I read the good reviews. But, if certain of my friends have something marked 5 Stars, I'll consider that a firm endorsement. I dumped a GR friend that rated everything 5 Stars. (what good is that to anyone?) I also have one GR friend that is a very harsh reviewer which is funny to me because the person is an author. I've learned to discount those reviews as well.

If something is still questionable, I will look at a book preview.

Ken wrote: "I'll read bad reviews hooked to low ratings before I read the good reviews. But, if certain of my friends have something marked 5 Stars, I'll consider that a firm endorsement. I dumped a GR friend ..."
I, too, read some of the poor reviews. I don't look at the long reviews that tell you the story, though. I've learned that five star ratings are given out like candy. I wish there was a hundred point system, I think that would benefit a book and writer more. I myself have never given a five, but that's because a five is perfect, and I'm not sure if there is such a thing. So you don't sample your books? I feel like I'm the only who does.

John wrote: "Star ratings because they are an average, unless there are too few ratings."
I'll ask what I asked Ken. You don't sample your books? I feel like I'm the only one who does. I'm reading The Passenger by Lisa Lutz, and that's why I bought it. Went to book section in Target, picked it up, read first three pages, figured it was interesting enough to keep going, so I bought it.

Covers catch me. Then I'll read any friend reviews first. Then general reviews, then a pan or two. I glance at the star rating but I'll always read the reviews. And no, I never crack a book I'm not planned on finishing. DNFs happen but rarely out of writing style. Once I did freak out at an audiobook voice - it was this cool criminology book that was unexpectedly read by a woman with the HARSHEST Scottish accent I had ever heard. Before that woman I thought Scottish was a pleasant sound. Nope, not sixty seconds in and I couldn't take it, lol!

Lena wrote: "Covers catch me. Then I'll read any friend reviews first. Then general reviews, then a pan or two. I glance at the star rating but I'll always read the reviews. And no, I never crack a book I'm not..."
Interesting....and the second part was funny.

Lena wrote: "Once I did freak out at an audiobook voice - it was this cool criminology book that was unexpectedly read by a woman with the HARSHEST Scottish accent I had ever heard. .."

Ha, a terrible narrator can certainly ruin a book!

I rarely visit actual bookstores these days because I have too many unread physical books sitting around and I am just too easily tempted to buy everything. When I buy kindle books, I do rely on my friends reviews. I know whose taste usually meshes with mine because I've been doing this so long. I don't usually do the "look inside" thing because I'm lazy and I figure if the book is written terribly then one of my friends definitely would've mentioned it.

If I'm choosing a title with no reviews it usually has to be written by an author I've read in the past or have a plot that really intrigues me or it has to be free, lol.

It varies for me. Some books I pick up just for a group read that's been voted on. Most books grab me by the name or cover. I do read the inside jacket cover, and I will read the first page sometimes too. If I'm leaning, I will scan the inside of the book too. See if anything catches my attention.

Although there are a few friends' reviews I do value (about six people) and pay attention to, I rarely read through random reviews. I figure you never know the other person's quirks in reading. Like what if they hate horror, but I love it or other genre specific issues? Once in a while I will even (insert shocking gasp) read the last page of a book.

Sometimes if I love an author, I will just buy all of their books to read. Let's say like SK or Kris Radish. I figure I like most of their other books so it's a go.

Once in a while, if I'm unsure and the book is free or cheap, I will just go ahead. I mean you can never have too many books.

Wow! You read the last page?! LOL!!!

I barely picked up reading three years ago. Before then, I was a movie buff. And I was very selective on what movies I added to my library. I kind of do the same with books, but I buy more freely. I don't have a lot of time to invest in reading because of my schedule, so when I do, I try and find gems or something that I will at lest finish. I guess that's why I always read the first pages. When I was learning scripts writing that's what was told in the "How to" books I read. It said producers and agents give a script 10 pages. If you don't grab them, they toss it. So I do the same in my selecting. And I like my books to read fast. I know some people are word people, but not me. That's why I don't read anymore of King's books. He's a great word guy, has great plots, but they read too slow for me.

Yes I have quite a few times. It doesn't spoil the book for me.

And star ratings mean nothing to me. I mean I only look at those based on a friend. I don't normally care about the average star rating.

Plus my picks are more specific. I have a friend who loves books about animals. We recommend animal books to each other. I have another friend who loves SK so she is my go to for him. I have several horror friends and they tell it like it is which I like.

And then there is the used bookstores where I have absolutely no control at all. I just run in and yell give me all the books (unless the name of some dumbass appears in the books).

jennbunny wrote: "Yes I have quite a few times. It doesn't spoil the book for me.

And star ratings mean nothing to me. I mean I only look at those based on a friend. I don't normally care about the average star ra..."
Now I'm curious, I'm going to look you up and see your selections.

For the most part, I trust the ratings of the reviewers that I follow here. I've made a lot of friends among reviewers that I trust, and if one of them raves about a book, I will add it and/or buy it, based upon that.

I do participate in group reads and if it's a book I'm unfamiliar with, I go with it. I do have a 10-20% rule-if I'm not enjoying it by that point, I ditch it.

I also do sometimes pick up advance review copies based on the cover/description alone. Sometimes these work out great like: Everything Under the Moon and sometimes not. It's not such a big deal with these, since they're free and all I've wasted is the time I've spent reading the 10-20% .

John wrote: "To me, the only worthwhile reviews are short ones. The ones that say whether they liked the book, and why. I don't even know why people write long synopses. All I want to read are a few adjectives ..."
I like your outlook, John. You seem like an easy feller who shoots from the hip.

Matter-of-fact, I'm considering a western in the near future. I may just have to character profile you, and put you in it. If you don't mind of course.

Anthony wrote: "jennbunny wrote: "Yes I have quite a few times. It doesn't spoil the book for me.

And star ratings mean nothing to me. I mean I only look at those based on a friend. I don't normally care about t..."


LOL feel free. But my reading has been very off this year. I have read quite a few children's books. My reading tastes are all over. I actually like to read a lot of non fiction too. My plan is to get back on track next year with my reading.

I tend to go by the blurb to see what the story is about more than anything. If the blurb spends too long talking about the other books the author has written, the awards they've won, and quoting reviews, I don't give it any time.
Reviews I pay attention to a few things. I sometimes want a couple more plot details to decide. I like to see why someone gives it a really bad review, but I'm more concerned with things like "the book was so full of spelling mistakes I had to stop" than their opinions of characters, etc.
If a reviewer uses the word "unputdownable" I will not listen to anything they say.

I do all different kind of things to find books that I think I might like to read. I go by reviews of fellow friends and GR members. I also go by the storyline and if it is a story that I think I might like, then I will buy the book. I also tend to go towards authors that I am familiar with, but I always want to try different authors that I don't know about because I always feel that I might find that one book that to me would be the gem I was looking for and I have found some really good authors too.

In my opinion, five star ratings are an iffy thing. Matter of fact, I do give five star ratings to books if I love them and to me they are re-readable. I have my own ratings and I don't go by GR's ratings.

To me if the book to me is awsome I will give it a five star rating.
If the book is great but not awesome it gets a four star rating.
Pretty good read would be three stars. If it is an okay read then it is a two star rating. If the book is not even worth a penny (which I haven't read many of those - lol), then it gets one star. But of course this is all my opinion and my ratings.

I glance at the overall rating, then read some 5, 3 and 1 star reviews. There are certain reviewers I trust for the different genres I read. I read the spoilers too, because they rarely spoil the book and give me a better idea as to whether or not I will like it. I agree that too many readers are very indiscriminately handing out a lot of 5 star reviews.

The general story has to sound interesting for me to even bother picking up a book, but I'm not afraid to stop reading if a book doesn't live up to the description.
I'll read a few 5 star and 1 star reviews to get a general feeling of what might be good or bad about a book, and I'll look at any reviews and ratings posted by my friends and those I follow.
One book I picked up because of the cover (I mean, c'mon! wouldn't that book catch your eye....heehee) lead me to a very good author but generally a interesting cover is just a bonus, the book has to be good too.

When you're in an actual bookstore, an interesting cover, title, or even font is pretty key, because something has to get a person to even look at your book. I found a good author because his titles were too good to pass up. The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Practical Demonkeeping, and one of my Christmas favourites, The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

At this point, I mainly go with the recommendations of people that I've met in this community, or authors that I know I've enjoyed in the past. As a reviewer, I try to take only the ones whose synopsis captures my attention as something I'm "predisposed" to like. Although that's not always the case.

Recently, I've been experimenting with some new authors that are published through certain publishing companies that I find myself buying from frequently. Best bet for myself, overall, is when another reader (who is familiar with the styles I enjoy) recommends something to me.

Sometimes I go by recommendations by other people or favorite authors but most of the time I buy a book if it appeals to me. Reviews can come into play if I am debating whether to buy a particular book or not. If there are a lot of good reviews then I'll probably go and buy it or if the reviews are mostly bad then I'll pass on the buy.

Usually if it's similar to what I typically read, or by an author I've already read, I'll pick it up. Other times, if I see it brought up a lot, I'll usually check it out as well.

I never really read reviews, or check the ratings. Just because some people don't like something, doesn't mean I will too. It's been going well so far, although some books I didn't like at all that probably could've been avoided due to reading a review or two.

Anthony wrote: "When you shop for a new book, what's more important to you? Star ratings or reviews? How often do you look inside and see if you like the style of writing? I always look inside to see if I like the..."

For a book or author I know nothing about I usually look at the star ratings first. However, if the story sounds interesting I'll read the reviews and decide if I want to invest the time in reading it even if it has a low rating.

Before GR and Amazon, I would go by the back cover synopsis, careful not to be spoiled by storyline. Depending on my mood and the writing of that synopsis, I’d buy. And oh boy, how often would I be burned! But that was the norm in those days...tricked by other authors’ comments and quotes.

But since joined GR 4 years or so ago, I “carefully glance” through reviews, especially from my GR friends who I’ve come to trust have similars interests as me.

But I read the reviews VERY carefully. If they start to give away anything about the book, I’ll skip to the next review. I liked to be surprised by the storyline and not know ANY of the plot. All I want to know is the style, genre, and general idea of the book.

I read the book blurb and that determines if I am interested. Ratings/reviews are a minimal consideration. Everyone has their own view-point, which more than likely, does not mirror my own.

I will look at reviews to see what others have taken from the book; but that does not determine if I will read or not, in most cases.

John wrote: "To me, the only worthwhile reviews are short ones. The ones that say whether they liked the book, and why. I don't even know why people write long synopses. All I want to read are a few adjectives ..."

This is me to a tee. Hate the long reviews as more time than not, I feel like they give to much away for me. Just tell me how fantastic it was or how miserable it was (well a little more than that, but you get my meaning).

The covers and the titles draw me in first - then I read the blurb on it and if I like that I will check the reviews and stars. From there it is my gut feeling on whether I want to dig in or not, even if it is an author I like. I also love recommendations from other GR readers too.

John wrote: "To me, the only worthwhile reviews are short ones. The ones that say whether they liked the book, and why. I don't even know why people write long synopses. All I want to read are a few adjectives ..."

Right! It's not a book report where you have to prove that you actually read the book by summarizing it for the teacher.

It might sound stupid and wrong, but I actually judge a book by its cover and title. For me, that's usually more important than both ratings and reviews. Luckily, my taste in these matters is rather strange and deranged.

Bark's Book Nonsense wrote: "Ha, a terrible narrator can certainly ruin a book!

I rarely visit actual bookstores these days because I have too many unread physical books sitting around and I am just too easily tempted to buy everything."

Are you me?

My favorite book of all time is The Shining, but a few months back I went to listen to its narration and it was so bad I had to stop.

Some authors are instant-buy, such as Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, or Peter Clines. Some narrators will also make me very strongly consider buying the audiobook without knowing anything else about it, like Ray Porter. Shamefully, I will say that a good cover can catch my eye. I don't really read full reviews, but I'll glimpse what people seem to think overall on Goodreads.

There are some kinds of GR reviewers though whose reviews I absolutely despise--the ones with a hundred gifs in the review and a ton of nonsense about what they were doing/eating/thinking/feeling before they started to read the book. It's like they're trying to fashion their 'brand' as a reviewer or something. I hate that. I don't have time for a bunch of fluff and nonsense, tell me what you think succinctly without spoiling anything and move on.

R. Leigh wrote: "Bark's Book Nonsense wrote: "Ha, a terrible narrator can certainly ruin a book!

I rarely visit actual bookstores these days because I have too many unread physical books sitting around and I am ju..."

Unfortunately, social media gives certain types a platform to pontificate and preach in the belief that we’re all in awe of their opinions. I skip lengthy reviews and those kind you mention with all the gifs etc. A selection of shorter reviews from people who seem to write in a down-to-earth style can help decide whether to choose certain books, but often just a cover and a few lines describing a book is enough to draw me in.

Anthony wrote: "When you shop for a new book, what's more important to you? Star ratings or reviews? How often do you look inside and see if you like the style of writing? I always look inside to see if I like the..."

I try to avoid ratings and reviews until after I read it. I just shop around for whatever catches my eye usually. I don't mind hearing if a book is good, or seeing it around a lot, but I like to try and keep the info to a minimum. I don't like to read reviews of books I want to buy because I like to come up with my own thoughts and ideas about what was good or bad about it. It is hard for me to read a review and then start the book and NOT keep looking out for what the review had talked about. Like, say a review said the book had a bothersome hidden political agenda to the story. Well I would go in to the book looking to spot the hidden political agenda. Where as if I didn't read the review that said that, maybe I would have read the story and interpreted it a different way or not have been bothered by it. If that makes sense.

Also... I've found that my taste in fiction books is vastly different then what critics give raving reviews to. :/ Some of the top popular books out there.... *shrug* I don't know... I read them, and I don't get why they are so popular, why everyone says it's the best thing ever. Sometimes I read them and I just think it's a bad book all together.

I'm a fan of audiobooks...unfortunately the ratings does slightly influence my decision when choosing a book. I wish it didn't, since I'm pretty sure I've bypassed a few books I would have otherwise loved. On the other hand I've also tried a few books with high reviews and been left disappointed.

As others have mentioned, 5 star ratings are given out way too frequently. I've even caught myself doing this and I went back to give a more honest rating. Perhaps I'm too nice, but the lowest rating I've given is 3 stars. If I truly dislike the book, to the point I don't bother finishing it, I simply don't rate the book at all.

Moving on, what usually attracts me to a book would be both the title and cover. One example would be "Armageddon's Children" by Terry Brooks. It was my 1st "blind" purchase of an audio book (CD - eBay) and I hit the jackpot. Armageddon's Children ignited my love for books and specifically audiobooks.

Another book (Kindle e-book) that caught my attention solely based on the title is Demon Blood: Enlightenment by Tim Meyer. It's a fantastic horror book from a truly underappreciated and/or unknown author.

One thing the irritates me is people's choice for Top 10 or Must Read Horror Books/Audiobooks. In general people tend to choose books by well known authors. Which wouldn't be a problem, if the book is truly deserving (Example: IT). Yet in most cases people will have book such as "The Heart Shaped Box" by Joe Hill on their list of Must Read Horror. Let's all be honest, it's a great fictional book, but not a great Horror book. Similar to the music industry (entertainment industry), people are being told who to read, what to read, etc. Try giving a book from an unknown author a chance, you might just get surprised.


Armageddon's Children


Demon Blood: Enlightenment

My rant is over...lol.

If it's an author I'm unfamiliar with, or a subject matter I'm iffy on, I rely on both. If Amazon has a lot of ratings, but not necessarily mostly in the top tiers, I will look at what people who loved it say and people who hated it say to get a feel if it's something I want to bother trying. If 15% say they didn't like it and their reasons are the kinds that would dissuade me, I just skip it.