Reader suspense isn’t always a good thing. Luckily, book reviews can make individual reader preferences heard and help a range of readers to fairly quickly decide what books they would like to read next.
More than one million new books are published around the world each year. Not even taking newspapers, magazines, websites or social media into account, that’s certainly a lot of reading material for anyone to consider! Which is why book reviews can be so crucial for readers.
Book reviews help readers to more efficiently and more enjoyably navigate all the book choices that are available to them.
“Is This Book Any Good? And Is It the Right Book for Me Right Now?”
It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for fiction or nonfiction titles, book reviews give all types of readers a better chance to find great books—and ignore the books that aren’t right for them at this moment.
Did you know that the average American reads 12 books a year? Or that since some readers are such avid readers, the typical American actually only reads four books a year?
As people don’t usually read that many books on the whole, it makes sense for readers to want the books they do read to be worthwhile for them and deliver on their promises. After all, who really wants to spend their precious time on an unsatisfying book?
Book reviews can shine a light on what makes a book great, or not so great, for each particular reader. And other readers, if they recognize a kindred soul in the writer of the book review, are more likely to trust that advice and follow suit.
As one example, a book review might say that a particular book was more entertaining than one well-known book, but had a much slower pace than another well-known book. Depending on how you felt about those other two books, you would most likely now know whether you should buy this new book immediately, or steer clear of it, and be grateful to the book review writer for the tip.
“Will This Book Help with My Concerns?”
Most nonfiction readers in the market for a new book are looking to solve a particular problem they have, but sometimes it can be difficult to tell from book descriptions alone which book would best meet their needs.
Fortunately, book reviews often get to the heart of the matter very quickly, providing insights into the book that are often not available elsewhere.
For example, a book review might reveal that a certain book is best for advanced practitioners, even though the book’s marketing indicates that it is suitable for all levels. Depending on your current expertise, that information could help you to decide whether that particular book was the right one for you, or whether another book would suit you better instead.
“I’d Like to Tell You About How This Book Impacted Me”
Writing and sharing a book review allows readers to have their voices heard and to participate in a larger discussion (and sometimes a larger community).
Many active readers feel really drawn to the idea of sharing their thoughts and sharing with others how a book affected them. After all, writing a book review can be a fun creative undertaking, but it doesn’t require any previous experience or special skills to participate.
The process of writing and sharing a book review helps readers to reflect on what they thought of a particular book, how they experienced the book and what they got out of the book. Then it allows them to contribute those thoughts to a community of readers in a constructive way. And in the end, they can feel satisfied knowing that other readers like themselves will appreciate their efforts.
“Is This the Book I Should Buy for Them?”
Book reviews aren’t just helpful for the people who will ultimately read those books either.
Books make great gifts for birthdays, Christmases, weddings, graduations and a whole host of other occasions, as book buyers look to give the gift of entertainment, knowledge and ideas to those whom they love and respect. And since there are many books competing for a gift buyer’s dollars, book reviews can help those generous souls with the process of selecting the most suitable book for the gift recipient.
When reading book reviews, gift buyers might use different selection criteria than the gift recipients would use themselves, but in both cases, book reviews are able to help people get the most out of every book that they dedicate their time and resources to.
Book reviews provide a necessary filter to help other people find the books that are best for them. I highly encourage you to consider writing and sharing a book review if you’ve never done so before. It can be really fun!
Dudley Court Press
Dudley Court Press works with writers like you every day. As a full-service, hybrid publishing house, we help thoughtful people write their books and become successful published authors.
For more information, including about DCP’s programs for writers including Writers’ Sprint, Memoir Writing Made Easy, and Aspiring Author to Published Pro, please get in touch at +1-520-329-2729 or info@DudleyCourtPress.com.