The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for The Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control
Because The Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.
Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.
This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.
Christina O Phillips
I am not interested in science non-fiction books. The layout of this book looks more like a research paper. I struggled to get through the first ten pages. It was not interesting to me.
First Ten review added on May 16, 2017, at 9:07 am by Christina O Phillips.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Momlovesbooks
The review was informative and well-written. However, it seemed like this might be a bit too "technical" for me. I read the sample and realized it wasn't for me. It seemed to be detailed and well-researched, but too much like a textbook. For those wishing to get dig deep into facts, this would be a good choice.
First Ten review added on May 16, 2017, at 9:04 am by Momlovesbooks.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
truebookaddict
Had I not sampled the first ten pages as part of this program, I would have chosen to read/sample this book because the subject matter interests me.
The book was free so I did download it. I will read the whole book eventually. While the book seems very sceintific, and some of it may be a bit difficult to understand, I recognize its importance. As a person who recycles regularly, I found the first ten pages alarming. It's something we know is going on, but not until we see it in print do we realize how bad things really are.
The book seems professionally edited. I noticed no typos or grammatical errors.
I like the straightforward attack on the subject and the facts to back it up. I know this is going to be a difficult read when I get around to reading the whole book, but we can't continue to run away from what's staring us in the face. That's why books like this are important.
This book was officially reviewed on OBC.
First Ten review added on May 16, 2017, at 8:46 am by truebookaddict.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Cjgarland89
At first glance I knew I would want to read this book. This topic is of great interest to me, and I try to stay ahead of the fast pace at which the world is growing, and how exciting but dangerous it is at the same time. After getting into the sample I've already decided to go buy and finish the book. The author has different perspective I haven't seen before so I can't wait to finish it and see where it goes.
First Ten review added on May 16, 2017, at 7:17 am by Cjgarland89.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Annelore Trujillo
I would have sampled this book based on the OBC review and the blurb. After reading the first ten pages, I won't be purchasing this book. It was too matter-of-fact for me. I liked the use of charts, and I liked how the other used bold type for the min concepts. I just couldn't get engaged in the book. It did seem to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on May 16, 2017, at 6:53 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kourtney Bradley
The first thing that caught my attention with this one was finding the perfect rating it received from the review team. From reading the synopsis and the first ten pages, I was able to gather that this one is definitely not a book to read when you want to be entertained, due to it being about a serious subject matter. I wouldn't choose this book on my own just because I don't enjoy non fiction.
First Ten review added on May 16, 2017, at 6:15 am by Kourtney Bradley.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kitkat3
The title and cover grab my attention, and the two go together well. The blurb is thorough, and there are many good reviews. Taking all of these things into account, I probably would have sampled this book without this program. The Official OnlineBookClub review makes me want to read the rest of the book, because it tells me that the book is well written (4/4), but it also contains a lot of information. Since I tend to enjoy science and nonfiction, this may be a book that I would enjoy. The first ten pages are about plastics and the effect on the environment which interests me, so I will be reading the rest of the book. It does appear to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on May 16, 2017, at 2:06 am by Kitkat3.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
jungkookblog
I don't think I will be reading this book because at first glance it seems it's about how the world will function. I will not be reading this book because the first ten pages made me very confused with all the terms and data that I cannot seem to understand. It seems like the book is a nonfiction, about how the world will function and it's urbanization. It seems professionally edited. I did not see a review, and I don't think that would affect my decision.
First Ten review added on May 16, 2017, at 1:59 am by jungkookblog.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
chocomeiske
Definitely not a book I would pick up if not for this program since I'm not much of a non-fiction book reader.
I read a sample and found some interesting points about the amount of plastic polluting the earth's oceans so many that they can be seen from space! What I read was really enlightening but I don't see myself reading this from cover to cover. I can't recall any glaring editing issues.
First Ten review added on May 16, 2017, at 1:57 am by chocomeiske.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
bookowlie
The cover of this book is very unique and eye-catching. The summary blurb appears to be professionally edited, but I thought it was a bit long-winded. I didn't really care for the sample pages due to the textbook-like writing style. Still, the section I read was well written and might appeal to readers who are interested in this type of subject matter. As for me, I am not likely to read the rest of this book based on the sample.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 11:59 pm by bookowlie.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
L_Therese
As I encountered this book, my main problem was not knowing clearly what to expect. I wasn't sure how speed and control were going to be central concepts. As I read the first ten pages, I was somewhat interested in the new facts about the sand industry that I didn't know, but it was still unclear where the book was headed. Was it about use of natural resources? the modern economy? the environment? Although the book seemed technically well-written and informative, it took a long time to make a point, and I wasn't sure what that point really led to. I'm going to pass today.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 9:38 pm by L_Therese.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
MarisaRose
'The Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control' is not a book I would typically choose to read. The subject matter of this book seems heavy and a little hard to digest. Plus, the OBC reviewer stated this isn't a book that should be read quickly, and I don't typically like to spend too much time with any one book. After reading the first ten pages of the book for this program, I was impressed with the author's ability to write about scientific and complicated topics in an easy to understand manner. I really think almost anyone could pick up this book and follow the author's words. That being said, the focus of the book didn't really interest me. The book is about how quickly the world is moving and all the changes that are happing extremely fast. Though I think there are interesting points here and there, and I might want to flip through to specific sections of this book, I can't see myself sitting down and really getting into this one. Since this was a free book, I will keep it around for a bit and maybe give it another shot. But at this point, I don't plan on finishing this book.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 8:58 pm by MarisaRose.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Amagine
The cover of the book complements the title well. There were no grammatical errors and the book was well written. The beginning of the book succeeded in catching my interest and making me want to read more. I look forward to reading more of this book.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 7:55 pm by Amagine.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Miche Sora
The author seems very knowledgeable about how plastic is affecting the world's environment and oceans, and asks a lot of good questions. There are technical terms in this book, but they are explained for a lay reader - this is definitely not a technical manual by any means. Because I was able to read the sample, it piqued my interest where I'd ordinarily not even look at this book once, let alone twice.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 5:19 pm by Miche Sora.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Kdonegan91
The cover and title left me very intrigued. After reading the first ten pages, I have decided this book is not for me. I am not interested in the topic or the genre. I will not be purchasing this book.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 3:47 pm by Kdonegan91.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
e-tasana-williams
Had I not sampled the first ten pages as part of the First Ten program, I would not have chosen to read this book. Based on the blurb and my personal time constraints I would not have chosen it, and reading the sample did not change my mind. The work does appear to be professionally edited, with no errors noted. The best part of the first ten pages is the thorough but condensed presentation. I don't see improvements to be made. I did not see an OBC review of this title, but that would not have affected my decision.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 12:56 pm by e-tasana-williams.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CataclysmicKnight
This book covers some really frightening things that we'll be facing in the near future, and so far the book balances entertainment and education very well. I knew plastic was a problem but didn't realize just how bad it already is! I can definitely see finishing this one, especially since it was free!
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 11:55 am by CataclysmicKnight.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Heidi M Simone
I would not have sampled this read without this program. In general, the topic at hand (how the world is changing and the global phenomena) is of little interest to me. Though there are great reviews, including the OBC one, I still would not have sampled this non-fiction text. Based on what I read, the book does seem to be professionally edited. I really like the author's tone-of-voice here. He is realistic and I can see him connecting to many individuals. Also, I like how the author is including graphs explaining thoughts (such as, the one about the amount of plastic that is being produced and how it has increased tremendously over the years). Though, I can see many enjoying the chance to learn this information, I do not see myself finishing the book due to its content.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 11:08 am by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
ananya92
This is a book in the non-fiction genre. It discusses serious issues like the progress-regression spiral. The author focuses on the cost of development, and backs his arguments with facts and figures. The book is pretty detailed and will surely prove very informative for the reader. However, as illuminating as the book seems to be, it is slightly dull. The review and description were pretty useful, and the former was spot-on about the book being serious and not for entertainment. The book seems to be edited properly. Though the book is a valuable read in these times, I'm not at looking at reading serious material as of now, therefore, I'll skip this one.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 4:10 am by ananya92.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CarrieMe
Looking at this book initially, I felt intrigued. The cover is very professionally done and interesting, and the premise sounds thought-provoking. This isn't the kind of book I normally seek out, but if I had stumbled across it randomly, I think I would've been interested enough to check it out.
After reading the first ten pages, I would not buy or read this book. The content seems fairly interesting and I appreciate the author's accessible style of writing, but the book doesn't seem to be professionally edited. I counted at least ten errors in the first ten pages, which really throws the author's credibility into question. (For example the first error I noticed was at Location 62: "How could there be SOME much plastic in the oceans?" -emphasis mine.) Errors in any work are a negative, but especially in a non-fiction book like this. It makes me wonder if the author was as casual with the quality of his research as he was with the editing process. If it hadn't been for the errors, I would have considered reading the rest of the book.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 1:30 am by CarrieMe.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Azeline Arcenal
The book was informative and detailed, but I usually don't read books like this one so I'll pass on this book. The cover of the book looks pretty interesting and the title seems to match what the book is talking about. I didn't notice any major grammatical errors either.
First Ten review added on May 15, 2017, at 12:06 am by Azeline Arcenal.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
classicaltwist
My first impression of this book is that it's one that I might enjoy. So based on just the title and the blurb, I would read it. The ratings don't affect my opinion here too much since there are so few of them.
After reading the sample, I would not read the rest of the book. The writing isn't that great and it takes on a bit of a dramatic tone, which is not something I like in nonfiction books. I wanted to stop after I read "Something was happening. Something interesting. Something that called for a deeper investigation." It sounded like something a teenager would write.
Also, I like nonfiction books to be precise. 20 million tons to 330 tons is not a 20x increase, it's a bit over a 16x increase. This kind of inaccuracy makes it seem like the author is fudging the numbers for more dramatic effect and calls the rest of the data the book presents into question.
The book does have an official OnlineBookClub review, but it didn't have an affect on my impression of the book.
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 10:03 pm by classicaltwist.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Scerakor
The cover, blurb, and descriptions of this book intrigued me. I likely would have checked this book out even were it not for the first ten program. Books with a wide variety of scientific topics like this have always interested me. After reading the first ten pages I didn't change my mind. Although the first pages, talking about plastic, weren't the most interesting, I thoroughly believe this one merits further reading. I will definitely finish reading this one. It seems week written and edited from what I have read. The official OBC review was very complimentary and convinced me in the end.
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 9:31 pm by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Catherine Hsu
If I had not read the sample, I would not have read this book. I am not sure this is what I'm looking for at the moment but I do really like the cover design. After reading the sample, I have changed my mind. I really enjoyed the simplicity and the breakdown of our current situation, and I thought the bullet point style and graphs helped a lot. The official review made me a little worried about my being unable to understand the jargon, but I found that this was not the case.
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 9:20 pm by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Vermont Reviews
First of all I would like to thank the author of today's book of the day. Emmanuel Cassimatis for making his book free to the readers of onlinebookclub. I would also like to comment and say what an excellent source of information this book gives the reader. With that said I would also like to say the book need to have the content edited the information is repeated many different times. Once is ok, but three to four is overdone.
Vermont Reviews
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 6:47 pm by Vermont Reviews.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Gravy
I would not have looked at this. The thought behind it is one I can respect, but I'm not a fan of the author's style. It was somewhat repetitive, and could use an edit (there were errors).
I can't say that I plan to read this. It just isn't something I'd normally read, and the sample didn't change my mind.
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 6:41 pm by Gravy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
va2016
I sampled the book a first few pages, and it gives me a couple of impressions, one, the book in English may be a translation as there's definitely some awkwardness about the writing style, and two, which leads me to believe that the author is rather confused or trying desperately to piece together the various phenomena that were noticed by him into some common understanding or a 'Eureka!'
I am going to skip this book.
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 1:59 pm by va2016.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sarah_Khan
I like the title and cover of this book. The plot definitely piques my interest and seems different, in a good way. After reading a few pages, I can say that this book is professionally edited and easy-to-read. I look forward to reading the rest.
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 1:21 pm by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
James Craft
Interesting topic covered in this book to be sure and one which is sure to be of interest to a lot of people. I don't generally read a lot of non-fiction or informational books like this but I can see how this one in particular would be extremely valuable to a lot of people. All in all I won't be continuing but I definitely see how valuable this could be for many readers.
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 1:00 pm by James Craft.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CrescentMoon
After reading the blurb, I don't think this book is for me because it sounds like a very serious topic and also very informative. I like to lose myself in a good book with a fictional world so I don't think this book is for me. I do think that people who like these serious topics would greatly appreciate this book.
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 12:57 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
gali
I wouldn't have sampled the book on my own as it isn't a genre that I typically read. The cover is lovely and the blurb informative. The book seems well organized, informative, and well written. Adding the graphs sure adds to its authenticity. However, I won't read the book as its subject matter doesn't interest me. The official review further made me realize that the book isn't for me. I am sure it is a good book for fans of the genre, though.
First Ten review added on May 14, 2017, at 10:42 am by gali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 32%
The Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control earned a score of 32%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 32% plan to read the whole book.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.
Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.
Go to main Bookshelves page for The Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control
