Last Wednesday, we received our first Amazon Kindle. Hard to believe we have finally arrived in the year 2011! Yea for us.
But I was already an avid book reader before the Kindle arrived…so I don’t expect that to change. While was surfing the Kindle site for a book to purchase (hey, it’s a new “toy” and I had to “try” it out), I was reading the reviews and the idea for this blog post popped into my head.
Be very careful when reading book reviews…anywhere
Just because someone reviewed the book, doesn’t mean that they actually read the book! That’s right, there is no way for Amazon or any other online store where you can write reviews to know if the person who wrote the review actually read the book. Think about that. For the most part, online reviews (for anything) are pretty much on the honor system.
The person writing the review could also hate the person who wrote it (or be jealous). So read every review with a grain of salt…and a lot of common sense.
The best way to find books to read
Ask people you know and trust. While I was listening to a talk from a speaker from the National Speaker’s Association’s annual convention (I am a member of NSA Houston), the person talking recommended a book. When I went to the Kindle Store to find the book and read the reviews, of course, there was ONE “1 star” (poor) review of the book….along with several 5 and 4 star reviews.
I asked myself…who do I trust more? The speaker who is nationally recognized and respected (whom I don’t know personally)…who I have heard speak several times via mp3…or someone I don’t know?
Not a tough choice.
The takeaway here: ask people you know what they recommend and use discernment when reading online reviews. And when I say people you know…I am not talking about your Uncle Fred who has never worked in (or even heard of) your field. Again, use common sense.
What say you?
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