Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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The literary critic/scholar Harold Bloom has this to say about rank-and-file reader reviews: "They do not enlarge and make the mind more keen and independent."
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Reader-for-reader reviews are one thing. With the modest price of an ebook, little is wasted if the recommendation is a dud. I do see them as a problem for writers, creating a false idea of what is admirable. Four and five stars have come to mean next to nothing, they are so capriciously awarded. (I am talking about Amazon, not here.)
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I saw another quote this week. "If you do not read, you cannot write. You don't have the tools." (I did not take down the name of the speaker. When will I learn?) I'd add to that: if you don't read outside your comfort zone, you will not grow. Your conceptual powers especially, that might resist formulas, may be insufficiently developed.
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What do others think?
--edited by Mimi Speike on 5/22/2015, 9:43 PM--
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Joined: 6/15/2015
Posts: 16
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I don't post very many reviews for reading on Amazon. The look inside feature tells me more than the reader reviews. I am new at workshopping, but have been in music writing circles for a few years. I generally focus on the positive in comments and if asked, point out possible areas to improve and solutions to consider. For the nib ratings themselves, I try to be honest. I struggle with only giving one or two nibs.
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