tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6508687179750096771.post5565576772008752070..comments2023-09-05T19:46:14.276-07:00Comments on Forrest for the Trees: Keeping it Honest on Goodreads, part IIForrest Aguirrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531127358059851571noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6508687179750096771.post-69140358329318696452012-11-05T09:55:34.454-08:002012-11-05T09:55:34.454-08:00And all three of those are legitimate. I've en...And all three of those are legitimate. I've encountered each of these issues myself. Your reviews (http://maskedpersona.blogspot.com/) seem to be well-thought-out and insightful. I'm talking mainly about those who will rate several hundred books, but not write *any* reviews at all. I don't go to Goodreads to glean star ratings. Star ratings are unreliable indicators anyway. I go to discuss books and to learn about potential new reading material and authors. When someone give a lot of ratings, but no reviews, I have to question that person's tastes because 1) star ratings are relative - my 3* may be your 1*, or vice versa, and 2) I don't know what that reviewer really *thinks* about the book or about *any* books, for that matter, which means that I don't know if I can trust their (already problematic) star ratings and I certainly can't triangulate opinions to determine a book that is likely to match my reading tastes. Not only that, if I see no evidence that the person has actually read the book, how do I know if the person has even read the book? Did they give [insert title here] 5* because it was actually one of the more mindblowing books that they've read,or did they do so because it's the cool book du-jour. 1* reveies with no commentary are equally suspect. Did you read the book and dislike it that much? Or are you bowing to the tyranny of the academic/intellectual majority and giving a low rating because to do otherwise would expose you to the ridicule of your well-read friends who find such a book beneath them, despite their lack of effort to condescend enough to actually read it?<br /><br />Goodreads, to me, is place for discourse. Short, sometimes terse discourse, but it's a place to talk about books, not just a place to affix stars. I'm there to explore books with others who may or may not agree with my opinion, because the multiplicity of opinions is what makes Goodreads a useful (and fun) tool. But when the opinion is boiled down to a simple number attached to some arbitrary sliding scale of emotional or intellectual response, it rings hollow. Frankly, if I don't know you read the book, how can I trust your opinion? And how can I know your opinion unless you state it using evidence that you've read the work in question? That's what I'm getting at.Forrest Aguirrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05531127358059851571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6508687179750096771.post-7789928445130279122012-11-05T01:15:44.351-08:002012-11-05T01:15:44.351-08:00When I rate books, but don't review them it ma... When I rate books, but don't review them it may be because I read the book some time ago. I can recall my general opinion of the book, but not specific discussion points. Another reason why I rate and don't review is because I have seen a great many interesting and cogent reviews that have already been posted to Goodreads, and I don't feel that I have anything new to contribute to the discussion. A third reason why I rate and don't review is that I'm a grad student and sometimes may not have the time to write a quality review. I prefer to write none at all.<br /><br /> Linda Frankelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10698453010174443045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6508687179750096771.post-68480887888425039622012-11-03T20:39:23.162-07:002012-11-03T20:39:23.162-07:00Me too! I sometimes wonder, as I write blog entrie...Me too! I sometimes wonder, as I write blog entries, "Am I going to feel like the last human survivor of the zombie apocalypse, socially speaking, after I post this"? Glad to know there's another out there. Now if I can just find where I put that shotgun . . .Forrest Aguirrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05531127358059851571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6508687179750096771.post-62569207690197189102012-11-03T19:36:20.608-07:002012-11-03T19:36:20.608-07:00I've been the same way, too. I always have thi...I've been the same way, too. I always have this creeping suspicion about that particular part of Goodreads. Glad I'm not the only one who has that same suspicion.A. Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08938278956210191544noreply@blogger.com