Week 5 Prompt

Not having professional publications of ebooks greatly affects collection development. Many librarians and library patrons (who request books) often look at review publications such as Booklist, Book Page, Kirkus Reviews, etc. when deciding on what to order. If ebooks are left out from reviews then a really wonderful, potentially favorite book for patrons may get overlooked because it did not have a review written for it. Having a professional review and analysis of the book really helps the reader and collection development decide if the book would be worth adding to their collection. Without it, we can be left with sub-par reviews that may not actually reflect to book or do it justice.

The Billionaire’s First Christmas by Holly Rayner

Based off of the Amazon book review, I feel like the reviewer could have went deeper in explaining the story. When reading the amazing review versus the blog review, the blogger went into a lot more detail about the book giving it pros and cons, whereas the amazon review was very generic and a little confusing. Deborah (amazon reviewer) began saying the woman loves Christmas then goes on to say she has a Santa obsession which catches the eye of the CEO Aaron. Which does not make sense as he apparently despises any type of Christmas spirit.

The blog reviewer gave more background and thoughts on the book. She listed her honest thoughts on the book, saying it may not be for everyone, but it is a wonderful, cheesy, Christmas story. Good for reading during the busy holiday season as it is short and sweet. Something the amazon reviewer didn’t mention.

Based off of the two reviews, I would order the book after reading the Blog review. While it might not be a best-seller, there still is a high demand for cute, little holiday stories and I think the blogger showed that about this book. If I went off of the amazon review, I probably would not purchase the book for my library simply because I felt like there is a lot left to be desired about this book. Although, because the book was free for kindle, it would still be worth having because I am sure there is someone who would enjoy this novel.

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

The articles that were provided in this week’s assignment, were professional reviews about McCourt’s book.  The Kirkus Review was the better of the one’s listed, in my opinion, simply because it goes into more detail about the book. If a librarian were reading reviews trying to decide if they should add this book to their collection, they need more detail than what some of the other reviewers gave. The Kirkus Review explained who McCourt was in a way that made it so the reader did not have to go read the book synopsis before reading the review. The Booklist review I felt like I needed to go and read the author’s synopsis before I understood what the book was truly about.

I found a review done by the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/17/books/generous-memories-of-a-poor-painful-childhood.html).  They quoted the scenes from the book and gave the reader more of an insight into the book without having to read the book to decide for themselves if it would be a good fit. I feel like the Kirkus review and the New York Times reviews sold the book for what it worth. A captivating memoir about McCourt growing up in abuse and poverty and striving for a better life.

I believe it is unfair when certain books are reviewed to death and others are left in the shadows. Many times the books that are reviewed already sell themselves because the author or publisher pushes them in a way where they are popular bestsellers with little effort. While it is not possible for every single book out there to be professionally reviewed, I believe more should be done to have equal representation of books. Give the new authors a chance because their story might be one our reader’s need to hear. When only certain books get reviewed especially in library journals, it skews the library collection. Reader’s typically want the bestsellers and popular works at the time, but they are missing out on so many other books they may enjoy simply because it did not receive a review. Reviewers who only print positive book reviews are doing a disservice to the library patrons. If all they see are good reviews they will feel discouraged when they open the book and find they do not enjoy it because they were led astray by the many positive reviews that may not always be accurate. I think the review sources should be fair and print both negative and positive comments to ensure that there is a balance to the books they are selling. They should not be focused on the amount they sell but on the quality and thought behind the books they sell.

I have only ever ordered bestsellers for my library and when I did I generally read the reviews on Baker and Taylor or Publisher’s Weekly. My co-worker who orders generally reads review magazines such as Kirkus Review, Book Page, and Publisher’s Weekly then decides if the book fits into what our patrons normally check out. We know we have high numbers for general fiction and mystery, but lower numbers on science fiction or fantasy. So she generally stays away from that genre unless the reviews are very good and have a lot of requests for the item.

I actually do not usually read book reviews unless I am at work, for my personal reading I just like to browse and read the author’s synopsis and decide if it is something I would enjoy. When I do read book reviews, I like to read Publisher’s Weekly and Book Page.