We are a group of three book bloggers situated on different continents but brought together by our love for books and a penchant for talking about them. We’ve joined our forces to create a collaborative series of posts about book blogging and we hope you’ll enjoy the discussions.
Would you read a book that has no/few reviews?
I’m pretty sure I’ve read many books that had few reviews of Goodreads and I think I’ve read books with no reviews on Goodreads at least 2 times. I think this was mostly when I first started my book blog. Even now, I’m definitely not against reading books with few reviews but now that I’m drowning in review copies and ARCs, I don’t have a choice but to prioritize the order in which I read books. But if i come across a book that has few reviews but a very intriguing premise, I would definitely pick it up!
Ummmm it depends. I take other factors into account, too (like cover, whether it’s a debut author, etc) but,like Uma, I was definitely more willing to accept books with little or no reviews when I first started my blog. Now I’m more fussy, so I like to see at least a few reviews of the book to give me an idea whether it’s something I might enjoy.
Do book covers matter?
I’d like to say they definitely don’t but they kind of do! I don’t judge a book by it’s cover per se. A ‘meh’ cover won’t stop me from picking up a book with a great premise. But I admit I have made quite a few cover buys. What I’m trying to say is, when I’m at a bookstore to pick up a new read and can’t afford the time to look through every book, I’m going to be picking up the books that catch my eye. If I read the back cover and decide it is definitely not for me, I put it back in the shelves; but my point is, it’s the eye catching covers I’m going to be picking up in the first place unless I’m there looking for a particular book. And I think this is true for many people but it’s sort of a thing we don’t generally admit out loud!
I feel guilty saying this, but yes! I know, I know, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s be honest, covers do influence whether we pick up a book or not, right? They definitely influence me. Of course, I have occasionally picked up a book - or accepted a review copy - where the cover hasn’t been that appealing but the premise really is. So I guess it comes to whether the premise outweighs the cover?
I don’t know. Covers do influence my decision to whether or not to read the book, but sometimes the premise overshadows it so completely that that is the deciding factor.
Do series covers matter?
Not really. I mean it’s nice when covers match and I can take beautiful pictures for my bookstagram BUT the world won’t end if my covers don’t match. And there are more important things. For example, recently Sabaa Tahir worked with the publishers to change the covers of her Ember series. The previous covers were gorgeous but Tahir wanted to showcase the diversity within her book on the cover but having the faces of people of color on it. While I love the old covers and am not a huge fan of real people on covers, I have NO complaint. Diversity and representation is far more important that the aesthetics of my bookstagram posts. I’m going to buy the new editions because I want to support her decision and the need for representation in books and yes, even the book covers. As a brown girl myself, it is empowering to see a brown girl on the cover of a book I love so much.<3 br="">
Not particularly. I’m more concerned with the edition of one book, but I rarely think about the series as a whole. It’s nice if the covers match, but it’s not a big deal. I also don’t have an issue with publishers changing the covers halfway through the series - which I know annoys many other readers. But it doesn’t bother me.
To see my answers make sure to visit the other collab posts!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our discussion post! Please talk to us and let us know YOUR answers below. What do you think of our responses? If you have any specific questions you’d like us to address in the future, please let us know in the comments section below. Stay tuned for our next post!
