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I'm curious whether the other reviewers here read everyone else's take on a book before writing their own review. Personally, I try to let the book stand on its own, so I only read other reviews after I've finished mine. What do you guys do?

I write my review and then before posting it check others. It's only to see if I have forgotten something I wanted to include. It's why I write it first, otherwise I know I would be influenced momentarily by what I read But I almost never change what I wrote because I mostly try and take notes while reading if I have intentions to review something.

The problem with checking other's reviews is that eventually you'll get books that don't have others reviewing it. You really have to let your opinion stand on its own.

I prefer not to look at other people's reviews before writing mine so that my opinion is not swayed by their observations. However, after posting my review, I like to look at what others say about the same book. It is amazing how much insight I then gain from these reviews.

Cotwani wrote: ↑22 Jan 2018, 06:50 I prefer not to look at other people's reviews before writing mine so that my opinion is not swayed by their observations. However, after posting my review, I like to look at what others say about the same book. It is amazing how much insight I then gain from these reviews.

I do the same thing! That's my favorite part, actually - submitting my review and then making a mad dash to the forums to finally read what everyone else wrote.

I have specifically chosen not read any other reviews before I've written mine. I know I'm easily influenced and I'm afraid I may unintentionally use another reviewer's structure, examples, or arguments as my own.

After I write my review, I often go and read others because I am genuinely interested in what other people thought of the same material. So it gives me a little motivation to write my review and get it out of the way.

jaylperry wrote: ↑22 Jan 2018, 13:55 I have specifically chosen not read any other reviews before I've written mine. I know I'm easily influenced and I'm afraid I may unintentionally use another reviewer's structure, examples, or arguments as my own.

That's my fear as well. Sometimes I'll read a review that completely changes my opinion of a book, and I think it's kind of disingenuous to write a review after that. After all, it's supposed to be about my honest first impression, right?

BookishCreature wrote: ↑22 Jan 2018, 14:08

jaylperry wrote: ↑22 Jan 2018, 13:55 I have specifically chosen not read any other reviews before I've written mine. I know I'm easily influenced and I'm afraid I may unintentionally use another reviewer's structure, examples, or arguments as my own.

That's my fear as well. Sometimes I'll read a review that completely changes my opinion of a book, and I think it's kind of disingenuous to write a review after that. After all, it's supposed to be about my honest first impression, right?

I agree.

Never. It is too easy to be influenced by what others say about the book. The author is not looking for that in your review. They want to know what YOU think about it.

No. I prefer writing my own unique view and rating it with minimal influence. After submitting it, I then look at what other people thought.

I actually read other people's reviews before deciding on the book i'm going to review. I don't easily get influenced by others but it's nice to see what other people thought.

I sometimes do read other reviews if I'm having trouble getting my thoughts in order. Often other reviewers hit on something you felt but couldn't put into words, or reminded you so something you forgot, or say something you disagree with. In any case, it helps get the ball rolling.

I sometimes do this if it was a really long book that had a lot of sub-plots (for example; Game of Thrones), or if I just found it a really difficult read and wasn't sure how I initially felt about it. Reading others reviews provides a bit of clarity to what I actually thought about the book.

Carmel Bachelor wrote: ↑04 Feb 2018, 14:44 I sometimes do this if it was a really long book that had a lot of sub-plots (for example; Game of Thrones), or if I just found it a really difficult read and wasn't sure how I initially felt about it. Reading others reviews provides a bit of clarity to what I actually thought about the book.

That's a really good point. Sometimes I'll finish a book and know I loved or hated it, but I can't quite put my finger on why.

I don't. I don't want to be influenced. Going forward I won't recheck the star rating either. I know you see it in the beginning, but I won't look at it before I've written my review if I can help it. I gave the first book I reviewed 1 star. It felt strange and made me feel bad because it was rated much higher, and it happened with my second review as well.