I was discussing the interesting and controversial subject of book reviews the other day with a colleague and we agreed that reader reviews are often swayed by moods. If a reader picks up a book to escape and is faced with a more serious conflict than she expected, this might launch her into a foul mood. If a character or scenario reminds her of something ugly in her past—too close to home—her demeanor and opinion of the book might change dramatically. Or maybe she’s not in a reading mood, but wants to get this book off her tabletop—feels an obligation to read it. She may not spend one enjoyable moment in the process.
So what is her response when Amazon comes around and asks her to review the book she purchased? She’s not going to be kind. She’s too angry, upset or disturbed, not particularly by the story itself, but by something it stirred up inside her.
Truthfully now, have you ever read a book or tried to read a book and just couldn’t get into it—didn’t like the premise, it started too slow…whatever? Yet, you picked up the same book months or years later, slipped right into the story and enjoy it.
Could this be one reason for such conflicting reviews for the same book—why some readers lambaste it, while others praise it to the hilt? Yeah, that makes sense. It isn’t the book as much as it is the reader—what’s going on in his or her life, their current mood, their past experiences and, of course, their preferences in books. There are reviewers who have strong ideas about the direction a story should go and when the author chooses a different route, they complain and criticize. Don’t believe me? Just go read some of the reviews people leave at Amazon. It’s quite an interesting study in human nature.