[LET’S CHAT] Who Are Reviews Really For?

 As book bloggers, we’re usually expected to write reviews.

I’ve talked a lot about reviews in the past few months – whether they should be subjective or objective or if we should even be writing them – and I feel like there’s always been a constant chat in the book blogosphere about how unpopular book reviews are and how some of us just really don’t like writing  them. Which begs the question, “Who are we writing reviews for if we feel like no one’s reading them?”

Of course, we’re the ones who write reviews, so they can be for…

Obviously, since we’re the ones who write reviews, sometimes, we might just be writing them for us for a multitude of reasons. I know I personally have the worst book memory in the world, so it’s nice to have my thoughts on a book recorded somewhere so I can always go back to it if I need some reminding. We, as bookworms, also really enjoy tracking what we read, whether it’s because we have certain yearly goals we want to meet or reading challenges we’re doing or you just want to know how much you’re reading per year. Reviews can definitely help us keep track of what we’ve read for the year. We can also see how our tastes have changed over the years, especially if you blog for a long period of time and see that as the years go by, you’re diving into different genres or not into the same genres as you were before.

Of course, whether you post your reviews on your blog or on Goodreads or on Amazon or any other reviewing type site, you will quickly realize that other people will read them, which means that reviews could be for…

When you post your reviews for the world to see, it means that, eventually, someone will stumble upon it somehow. There are some bookworms who want to get several other people’s opinions on a book before they decide to check it out at the library or buy it, so reading reviews is helpful for them. It can also give a sense of community with other book nerds. Whether you like or dislike the book, I’m sure you can find a kindred spirit who will feel the same way, and want to rant and rave about the book to you, and that’s what’s so much fun about being a book lover. And I know there are some people who appreciate being warned about things that can trigger them in books, so having a community behind that and reviewers who do those things is always nice for those who need them.

But, of course, regular old fangirls and fanboys aren’t the only ones who are bookworms! Reviews can also be for…

I’ve talked about this a little bit in a post last month where I talked about authors. Some people say that it’s okay for authors to see the reviews we write, but some say that our reviews aren’t for authors at all. There’s also been warnings against tagging authors in negative reviews of books, which is basic common courtesy. Personally, I’ve never had problems with posting negative or positive reviews, but I’m sure we’ve all heard of some sort of drama where an author reacts badly to a negative review and it causes lots of backlash against them, which might make some bloggers or reviewers feel uncomfortable. I’ve also wondered if authors have ever read my reviews, and I don’t mean when I tag them on Twitter, but if they ever just stumble upon my blog. If they do, EXCUSE ME WHILE I BRIEFLY PANIC.

Not to mention our reviews might get people to actually buy an author’s books or check them out at the library, and promoting an author’s books if they’re not very popular is always a good thing! We obviously love to promote the books and authors that we don’t think are getting enough attention or love.

But, of course, authors wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for a certain something. So, maybe our reviews are truly going towards…

Of course, with this whole business of receiving ARCs, our reviews definitely, in someway, go towards publishers and publicists alike. Most of the time, when a publicist decides to accept your request on Netgalley or Edelweiss or they send you a package of ARCs in the mail, they expect you to give them some sort of publicity for it – whether it’s just telling people you have it on Twitter or taking pretty pictures of it for Instagram or reviewing the book on your blog and cross-posting the review on Goodreads and Amazon. As anyone will tell you, it can definitely cause pressure, especially when you end up requesting a lot of books that you get approved for, and realize that it seems like all of them are being published at the same time and you’re not in the mood for any of them (YES, I still regret requesting all those damn summer Netgalley books. WHY DID I DO THAT?). But, in a way, our reviews are a type of payment for them for giving us a book for publicity!

Obviously, we as book bloggers write reviews for various reasons.

I think we all have different expectations for our own reviews and who we write our reviews for, so I definitely want to hear who you guys write your reviews for.

(Also, completely unrelated, but I’m getting braces today, AND I AM NOT EXCITED. Hopefully, it goes well.)

Who do you think reviews are really for? Who do you write reviews for?

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