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Excerpts, or Reviews, or...July 1, 2008 It seems it's Washington Post week for me; this a.m. I opened up the local paper of choice and saw an article about Bit o' Lit, which I'd first learned about when I had lunch last month with fellow NBCC members Scott McLemee and Mark Athitakis -- we walked past one of the Bit o' Lit dispenser boxes near the Dupont Circle Metro. All three of us were intrigued and Scott wondered out loud "I wonder how they're getting advertising."Evidently they aren't. The piece says that Bit o' Lit founder Shannon McDonald "has had little success in selling advertisements, which means she hasn't seen much in the way of profits." That's really unfortunate, since McDonald has a great concept: "A bite-size (8 1/2 -by-5 1/2 -inch) magazine containing four or five excerpts in each issue, Bit o' Lit made its debut May 5 and has come out on alternate Mondays since then." For people like Mr. Bethanne, who rides the Metro every day, this idea is intriguing: pick up a free publication that will help you decide if a book is worth reading, or not. Until everyone has some kind of e-reading device and there are WiFi depots at every corner, something like Bit o' Lit is probably the most efficient way to get several book excerpts at a time in front of readers. But...is that what readers want? McDonald believes it is. "One of the things MacDonald remains adamant about is that the magazine will not include reviews. She maintains that people have such different tastes that they should be able to judge the books for themselves...'A good portion of the population . . . does not read book reviews, because there is no common language to talk about writing,' she said. 'Someone could say 'This is the best book in the world!' and that could mean nothing to me.'" So, dear readers, my question today is about whether or not reviews matter. I think they do, but I won't bore you with my reasons just now. I'd rather hear about what makes the biggest difference to you in choosing a book: is it a review, or an excerpt, or... Is it that more elusive thing -- a recommendation? What makes you decide a book is worth picking up and reading? Advertisers don't necessarily know. Posted by Bethanne Patrick on July 1, 2008 | Comments (4)
July 1, 2008
In response to: Excerpts, or Reviews, or... mrssherrieb commented: When I see a book by a new (to me) author, the cover is what gets my attention first, then I read the book jacket and if the story is appealing I check out the reviews on various web sites before I buy. If the author is one of my favorites, I still read the book jacket but then I head straight for the cash register. Sometimes, if a book is attracting a great deal of attention in its reviews, it will make me want to check it out, so yes, I agree, reviews are important.
July 1, 2008
In response to: Excerpts, or Reviews, or... Julianne Daggett commented: I generally go to the bookstore with no idea of which book I'll buy. What gets me first is the cover art, then I look at the synopsis, normally this is all I need to decide if I’ll purchase or not, but if I’m still unsure I’ll read the first few page of the first chapter or prologue. I read a lot of book reviews, NY Times, CS Monitor, Book Slut, but that’s normally just to see what others are thinking about books. I rarely make my book purchases from them, but every once in a while a book review will be intriguing enough for me to buy a book. I will also buy a book if it generates a lot of buzz in Publishers Weekly.
July 1, 2008
In response to: Excerpts, or Reviews, or... Becky LeJeune commented: I use any and all resources in deciding if I want to read a book. Catchy covers, interesting websites, info on the author, reviews, excerpts, you name it, it gets my attention.
July 1, 2008
In response to: Excerpts, or Reviews, or... Leah Davidson commented: I do read reviews, but with a grain or more of salt. Of course great jackets catch my eye, but if the synopsis doesn't grab me I won't begin reading -- and I'd never buy a book without reading at least the first few pages, to be sure it's worth it. I think I'd be the right audience for Bit o' Lit if it were available to me.
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