Blogs kind of are the new word of mouth, I guess. Better than words from actual mouths, in some ways. With blogs you can get outside voices, which can be good, especially for getting us to notice things outside our personal circle, and yet at the same time also get the opinion of someone you know.

hehehe @ professional reviews and “as if it’s not a subjective judgment.” I know. Sometimes you’re made to feel like you’re an utter moron if you don’t agree with their completely subjective opinion. Using big words to describe things doesn’t make an opinion empirically true.

I’m starting to think that blog reviews may turn out to be the most valuable in the end. And I dont’ say that as a way to go “oh look at me and my opinions!” but because of what you say about people whose blog you read regularly, their view is more than a “stranger’s view.”

It’s very much word of mouth, like a virtual friend giving a recommendation.

Sometimes I look at them, but only to find out whether the book (movie, music, whatever) has the kind of features I enjoy. I try not to let them bias me. I especially don’t pay attention to Amazon reviews. Apologies if anyone here has actually written one, but I’ve found they’re usually woefully off-base or (at best) uninformative.

I really hate how professional movie and music and lit reviewers act like they, and they alone, know what’s worthwhile, as if it’s not a subjective judgment. (Have you ever noticed that movie critics nearly always give poor reviews to comedies? You’d miss a lot of damn fun movies if you believed them.) I’m fine with people making critical judgments, just as long as they acknowledge (at some level) that there are other valid reactions.

Having said that, I will pay attention to the opinions of people I already know and trust. For instance, I have a friend who is a professional movie critic, but who (despite that handicap) also tends to have taste in movies that agrees with mine; if he says something is good, I can trust that it probably is. Same goes for the people whose blogs I read. I know you’re giving honest opinions, and I also know whether I’m likely to agree with you (or not) because I know where you’re coming from. In that case, I can appreciate a review of something.

Hehe, well I’m not a finalist yet. This is the second round. If I get enough votes I’ll go on to the third round, which is where the judges pick the grand prize winner. So I guess you could call this the semi-finals.

Like Edie, I base my book-buying on the back cover synopsis. Nothing will get me to buy a book, not even if some NY Times bestselling author blurbed it. The only other option is if I know the person, then I’ll buy their book. Otherwise, they’re SOL.

And by the way, CONGRATS on being a finalist!! Woohoooo!

“Oh yeah, this is a GREAT book, trust me.” tee hee.