Bookworm vs. Book Critic – Who To Trust? [My Opinion]
*This post is purely based on opinions and spurred on by a post from BookRiot
Sometimes you’re looking for a good book to read, but the question remains where to get your suggestions from.
Should you go and ask some serious bookworms what they found to be good and would recommend? Or should you go and find some detailed suggestions from Book Critics?
Naturally, one might think that they should turn to the Critic because, after all, it is their job to recommend and review books. But a critic (based on my knowledge) doesn’t exactly do a book review. Sure, they will ‘review’ the book, but it’s nothing like those reviews you find on bookworms blogs where they just fangirl and say how much they liked it and why. Critics are critical (hence the name).
They will look at a book and rip it apart, finding what was wrong with it, saying why it didn’t sell well, showing how it is similar (or not similar) to others books and all that good stuff.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes I do truly appreciate that. But I want the honest reviews from the reader.
I like reading reviews that have the emotions of the writer. Bookworms, who are passionate about books can sway me to read a book that got a bad review from a critic, just because they’re so passionate. And hey, generally I end up loving it.
If I left it up to critic I might never have read that book and lost out, which would have been so sad!
Bookworms are passionate and can make good arguments. Critics look at it from the literature stand point. And not all good books (story wise) have fantastic writing styles. Look at a lot of romance books! You may love a really badly written romance book, just because of the story. A critic would most likely rip it apart. Another bookworm would fangirl/boy with you about it until kingdom comes.
Now, this is not saying that critics are useless. They write some really helpful reviews and it can be necessary for an author to grow and do better. It can also have its negative sides too, such as completely destroying a pretty decent book.
So when it comes to who you should trust, that is completely up to the individual!
For me, I trust the bookworms. They are passionate about series and read so much, not critically but just for enjoyment, that I feel that their opinions are good.
This is not me telling you to trust what I say on my blog in my review, and on others too. You have to take their opinions with a grain of salt too. A disgruntled bookworm can be nastier than a book critic (as they’re paid and can’t say certain things generally). You really have to read the review and see if it fits what you’re looking for. I’ve had recommendations of books in genres that I would never read, and even though it got a great recommendation/review, I still didn’t read it. It’s up to your opinion.
If you want something more….detached and factual, I’d look for a decent critic review. If you’re looking for something with some serious passion (or hate, depending on the review), then maybe a bookworm is your choice.
What are your thoughts? Do you like reviews from bookworms or critics more?
*All points made in this post reflect my own personal opinions and are noway backed up by data or studies. This is just me, a bookworm, doing her little rant.*
