https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 03 May 2026 08:49:05 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2530605 Thu, 21 Apr 2016 09:35:46 +0000 Bao 2530605@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JennyD: broke down and ordered a book ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2530152 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 19:50:53 +0000 JennyD 2530152@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Bao: haha! I'm glad I'm not the only one! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2530151 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 19:49:06 +0000 Bao 2530151@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JennyD: I'm whining right now to DH because I finished my book and have nothing to read haha </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2530145 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 19:44:03 +0000 JennyD 2530145@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My BFF and I have a "book club". Really, we just pick a dozen books (6 each) and read them at the same time. Usually we pick categories (in a vague attempt to branch out). </p> <p>Otherwise, I whine when I run out of books and someone has pity on me and brings me a bag of books. If I get desperate, there's this fantastic place called "books between friends" that runs entirely on donations of books. They sell the books for a great price and there's always great stuff there. All the proceeds go to charity. </p> <p>If I'm really desperate, I go to chapters. And get ONE book. Then whine more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2529875 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:15:20 +0000 Bao 2529875@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@raspberries: thank you!! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2529870 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:08:19 +0000 raspberries 2529870@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Bao: What @Adira: said. :) I'll usually look up one of my favorite books and then click on the profile of the review that resonated most with me. Usually, we'll have pretty similar taste in other books too! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2529866 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:04:39 +0000 Bao 2529866@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: awesome! Thanks so much :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2529864 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:02:52 +0000 Adira 2529864@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Bao: Go find a book you really liked. Then look at the reviews. Find a reviewer who agrees with you and who has something like "Review also at LINK" or "Full review at LINK." Then "Compare Books" (might be a desktop thing only) to see if your tastes are similar. For example, my brother and I are 76% similar for the books we've both rated. I follow a professional reviewer who's 81% similar to me. Then when they read books and give them high ratings and good reviews, I know I might be interested! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2529844 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 13:46:59 +0000 Bao 2529844@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@raspberries: how do you find the reviewers? Maybe I need to go on laptop or I'm just overlooking it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2529657 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 11:29:02 +0000 Adira 2529657@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Goodreads! But also my brother, since we have similar tastes.</p> <p>Something to look into when you are checking out Goodreads, is to look at the ratings. Check out the number of ratings, which will give you an idea if the overall rating is even accurate. Then click on rating details to get the percentages of how many 5 star ratings it got vs. 4 star vs 3 star. Sometimes a book will have a 4+ overall rating, but the rating details will tell you if more people thought it was a 4 star book or a 5 star book. If it got more 5 stars than 4 stars, that means the majority of people really like it, and I figure I will too. If it got more 4 stars than 5, then it's more iffy. And if it's mostly 3 stars - forget it! I also try to only read books that get over 4 star ratings in general. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2529636 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 11:13:17 +0000 raspberries 2529636@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I use Goodreads too, and I think my taste in books is totally out of whack with everyone else's taste. (For instance, I couldn't get into Pillars of the Earth or A Discover of Witches, even though I really enjoy historical fiction and fantasy.) I follow a few professional reviewers on Goodreads who seem to like the books I like, and that's a much better indicator than the top reviews. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2529608 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 10:46:38 +0000 meredithNYC 2529608@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I'm in NYC, I check out some of the independent stores and see what they're raving about. Otherwise, I like NY Times, Elle and Vanity Fair for reviews.<br /> ETA: and NPR, of course! They have wonderful book coverage. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/book-reviews#post-2529539 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:57:40 +0000 Bao 2529539@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm curious how you choose what to read next... </p> <p>I am on Goodreads so I use that to help me decide what to read next, plus recommendations from others. I always read reviews which I don't think is a good idea for me, since it persuades me and I'll sometimes not try a book because of a few negative reviews. On the other hand, some books will be highly recommended and have good reviews and I just can't get into them! </p> <p>Do you read reviews for books? How do you decide what to read? Have there been any books lately that came highly recommended but you couldn't get into? Or books that maybe didn't get the best reviews but you enjoyed? </p>