Your opinion: Good, bad, or indifferent to be reviewed by Amazon's #1 Customer Reviewer, HK? - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T14:58:55Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:56289?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A56305&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI think that a number of mino…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:Comment:565392007-07-21T21:50:13.211ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
I think that a number of minor reviewers use the reviews published by PW, Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal. All of these appear the month before the book comes out. Some of the phrasing of such reviews gives away the source. It could explain the arithmetic problem above. No harm done. Authors like to get as many reviews as possible.
I think that a number of minor reviewers use the reviews published by PW, Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal. All of these appear the month before the book comes out. Some of the phrasing of such reviews gives away the source. It could explain the arithmetic problem above. No harm done. Authors like to get as many reviews as possible. If that fence were made from…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:Comment:565292007-07-21T20:31:56.749ZJohn Dishonhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
If that fence were made from anything but solid steel, then the bull could just charge through it.
If that fence were made from anything but solid steel, then the bull could just charge through it. Harriet Klausner submitted he…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:Comment:565272007-07-21T20:24:34.125Zstrugglerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/struggler
Harriet Klausner submitted her first review to Amazon on November 22, 1999, nearly 8 years ago. In all she has submitted 14,371 (as of this moment!) which means that she has on average reviewed just over 5 books every single day during that period. In her profile she calls herself a 'speed reader' and reads 2 books a day, which immediately calls into question how she can review 5. And give all of them nice happy opinions.<br />
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I'm not going to waste (any more) time analysing this woman's…
Harriet Klausner submitted her first review to Amazon on November 22, 1999, nearly 8 years ago. In all she has submitted 14,371 (as of this moment!) which means that she has on average reviewed just over 5 books every single day during that period. In her profile she calls herself a 'speed reader' and reads 2 books a day, which immediately calls into question how she can review 5. And give all of them nice happy opinions.<br />
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I'm not going to waste (any more) time analysing this woman's authenticity or speculating about her influence. I would instead prefer to sum her 'work' up by recalling a humourous little cartoon puzzle I first saw many years ago - I will do my best to describe it.<br />
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Ferdinand the Bull was in his field, while Daisy the Cow was in hers. Much to Ferdinand's frustration, he was separated from the source of his ardent desires by a very tall fence. The puzzle was to work out how Ferdinand could reach Daisy, because I was assured there was an answer. I looked at the picture closely. There was Ferdinand, there was Daisy. Both surrounded to all four sides by a huge fence, impossible to scale or leap over. There were no gaps, no gates, no doors. Then I noticed something else, in a corner of Ferdinand's field. It was difficult to tell what shape it was but it seemed to be about half the size of his head, and slightly darker in colour than his own hide. I had the growing feeling that whatever the solution to this conundrum should be, a clue lay in this object in the corner.<br />
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As everybody has done on the many occasions that I have drawn this diagram and challenged them with for the answer, I asked just one question.<br />
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"What's that?"<br />
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And it was true. The answer did indeed lie right there.<br />
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It was Bullshit. Google announced that they we…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:Comment:565222007-07-21T18:34:45.776ZPepper Smithhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Reefrunner
Google announced that they were doing this project, and that the publishers of books had the right to 'opt out' if they wanted. It requires that the publisher goes through and opts out for all their books, rather than Google coming to them and asking permission first, and it's got a lot of publishers very unhappy with them.
Google announced that they were doing this project, and that the publishers of books had the right to 'opt out' if they wanted. It requires that the publisher goes through and opts out for all their books, rather than Google coming to them and asking permission first, and it's got a lot of publishers very unhappy with them. I've found lots of book I wou…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:Comment:565212007-07-21T18:34:29.996ZJohn Dishonhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
I've found lots of book I would otherwise never of heard of from the recommendations thing you're talking about.<br />
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I can understand what you mean by the used copies sections. Although as a reader, I like it.
I've found lots of book I would otherwise never of heard of from the recommendations thing you're talking about.<br />
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I can understand what you mean by the used copies sections. Although as a reader, I like it. "People who bought this" reco…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:Comment:565162007-07-21T17:41:12.389ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
"People who bought this" recommendations are excellent. They show if the reader liked the book well enough to buy any other books by that author. And being "bundled" with other authors is also good. It's a neat way to find new customers (an author's point of view). Amazon does a fine job, as far as I'm concerned. I just wish they didn't offer used copies side by side with the new releases.<br />
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I'm less happy with the "google" project that makes available portions of novels without the author's (or…
"People who bought this" recommendations are excellent. They show if the reader liked the book well enough to buy any other books by that author. And being "bundled" with other authors is also good. It's a neat way to find new customers (an author's point of view). Amazon does a fine job, as far as I'm concerned. I just wish they didn't offer used copies side by side with the new releases.<br />
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I'm less happy with the "google" project that makes available portions of novels without the author's (or publisher's) consent. They manage to give far too much away in mysteries. I think one does well on Amaz…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:Comment:564872007-07-21T15:13:25.987ZK Barretthttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/KBarrett
I think one does well on Amazon based on the ability to read the first few pages of the book. That's my ultimate deciding factor in making a purchase. I guess its a holdover from shopping in a bricks-and-mortar bookstore. I read the first few pages and if it makes me want to read more I buy the book. I understand that if someone has the time and desire one can read the whole book that way, but I just don't have the time or desire to sit and work the system to get the book. Heck, by that time…
I think one does well on Amazon based on the ability to read the first few pages of the book. That's my ultimate deciding factor in making a purchase. I guess its a holdover from shopping in a bricks-and-mortar bookstore. I read the first few pages and if it makes me want to read more I buy the book. I understand that if someone has the time and desire one can read the whole book that way, but I just don't have the time or desire to sit and work the system to get the book. Heck, by that time one could have ordered it and have received it in the mail, LOL! If the publisher doesn't want the whole book available, its nice to have the first few pages on the author's website.<br />
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Getting back to K(lausner) and reviews in general, I do read the Amazon reviews and I do consider them when I buy. (Does that make me a bad person? LOL!) That's why I like to have the first few pages so I can see if I agree with what's been said online and in the reviews. On Audible (where I do most of my "reading" these days) I really like that they have a sample download. You can hear the narrator and decide whether you can stand his/her voice. *G*<br />
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Dare I say it? I also pay a little attention to the 'People who bought this also bought...' recommendations becasue sometimes I'll find a new author that way. (Even a blind squirrel finds a nut.) Booklist used to have the sam…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:Comment:564102007-07-21T04:13:43.631ZDave Zeltsermanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DaveZeltserman
Booklist used to have the same policy--they'd only review books they felt libraries should buy. Over the years they modified that policy to also include books they anticipate strong demand for, which meant they started also writing negative reviews. I've talked with librarians who liked Booklist's original approach--it made it easy to find which books to buy, and Ms. Klausner is basically providing the same service. Readers who trust/follow her judgment can use her reviews to easily identify…
Booklist used to have the same policy--they'd only review books they felt libraries should buy. Over the years they modified that policy to also include books they anticipate strong demand for, which meant they started also writing negative reviews. I've talked with librarians who liked Booklist's original approach--it made it easy to find which books to buy, and Ms. Klausner is basically providing the same service. Readers who trust/follow her judgment can use her reviews to easily identify which books they might be interested in. There's nothing wrong with what she's doing, in fact I wish there were a lot more people who loved books as much as she does. As writers I think that's something we should all be wishing for. She probably acquires a lot o…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-21:537324:Comment:564032007-07-21T01:05:37.737ZPepper Smithhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Reefrunner
She probably acquires a lot of them the way many reviewers do--they're sent to her, both by publishers and by small press authors looking for reviews. I do know authors who have actively courted getting a review from her, which involved sending her a copy of their books.
She probably acquires a lot of them the way many reviewers do--they're sent to her, both by publishers and by small press authors looking for reviews. I do know authors who have actively courted getting a review from her, which involved sending her a copy of their books. She has 14,369 reviews listed…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-20:537324:Comment:563882007-07-20T22:10:47.214ZJohn Dishonhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
She has 14,369 reviews listed on Amazon, and I assume they are all four or five stars (I didn't go through all of them, but the several pages I did go through were all four or five stars). She says in her profile she reads 2 books a day. At that rate, it would take 19.6 years (ignoring leap year days) to read that many books. Now of course, she could have included books she had read prior to writing reviews on Amazon, and there are probably times she reads more than two books a day, if she's a…
She has 14,369 reviews listed on Amazon, and I assume they are all four or five stars (I didn't go through all of them, but the several pages I did go through were all four or five stars). She says in her profile she reads 2 books a day. At that rate, it would take 19.6 years (ignoring leap year days) to read that many books. Now of course, she could have included books she had read prior to writing reviews on Amazon, and there are probably times she reads more than two books a day, if she's a speed reader.<br />
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Even so, the numbers are staggering. And since those are all good reviews, that means those are 14,369 books that she liked. What about the ones she disliked? Does she like every book she reads? How does she even acquire that many books? I mean, I know libraries are great, and her financial status in unknown to me, but that's still a lot of books.<br />
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The point I'm getting at it that it is reasonable to question whether she has really read all those books.<br />
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Anyway, I never make a decision based on one review anyway, so HK's reviews don't mean anymore than anyone else's.