Why do Professional Book Reviews Matter? In the age of star ratings and reader comments, you might wonder why professional book reviews are still important. The truth is that crowd-sourced opinions (like those on Goodreads or Amazon) can be useful but should be just one data point. Readers on these platforms often rate generously – 5-star ratings can be given out “like they’re giving away candy,” as one commenter put it. Popular opinion can also be volatile or “trendy”​, sometimes skewed by hype, author fandom, or even coordinated campaigns (both positive and negative). For example, Goodreads users posted 26 million reviews and 300 million ratings in one recent year​ – an overwhelming v...

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