yeah, I know I've posted a thread similar to this before, but hey, I'm nothing if not redundant.

I was looking up a few books that I've got on my reminder list, trying to find something that might get me out of my reading slump and I was looking at reviews of them.  It drives me crazy when someone posts a "review" that is nothing more than re-typing the freaking synopsis on the book jacket.  It helps me pick a book when I can see what others think - it was slow, bad/good characters, etc...

So my little PSA today is yet again, tell others what you thought of the book.  It doesn't have to be long, just let others know if you liked it or not and breifly why

To be honest, I get a lot more ideas reading the various genre forums or my other online book groups than from reading reviews. As you say, some people just put the book description. Others will type "Great book!" (Wow, that was helpful. LOL) Or they'll give away major spoilers or tell the ending. (Gee, thanks!)

I rarely read reviews, because unless you know the person doing the reviewing and share their taste in books, a review isn't really all that helpful, IMO, because it's just one person's opinion of the book. That person could like totally the opposite type of books you do, but you'd never know that. Which is why I pay more attention in groups like this, to recommendations from people who seem to share my tastes.

That said, I have started putting more reviews in again, just copy/pasting what I write in my book journal, because I know they are helpful to some folks.

Cheryl

There are a few members I know who like the same type of books as I do, by and large.  If I see one of them has written a review and liked it I feel much more confident ordering it. I try to review the books I have read, but have to admit that I don't do all of them. Generally I find the reviews helpful. Except of course for copying info from the back of the book.

heck, the reality is, I could read for the next 5 years off just my TBR list and the ideas I get from LeeAnne.  Tack on another 3 years for the ideas I get from just this forum. lol

Some of those book synopsis reviews could be from when there was not option to edit book data and many books had no information. So people were asked to put it in a review. And some are probably from people who don't realize they can submit a data edit or who think they have to review a book to get it on their BIR list but don't want to put their own opinion down. 

I have stopped reading reviews.  I've found I love books that people have rated badly and hated books that people rave about.  I've also had whole series ruined for me because people give too much info away in their book reviews.  Like a family series I was reading and the review noted that 2 major characters of one book would be murdered in the next.  This was a romance series and why would I now want to read this book knowing the hero/heroine would be murdered in the next book?