Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted with Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Book Nook Bits has hosted since April 2022.
February 3rd: Do You Read Reviews and Spoilers Before or After?
(Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)
Prompts: Do you like looking at reviews for books before you read them? Is reading reviews important to you when choosing what books to read next? Or do you prefer to wait until after you’ve read a book to look at reviews? Do you ever look at spoilers before you read a book?
Whether I read reviews before the book really depends – sometimes if I’m trying to decide what to read next, I do have a peek at the reviews. They might have more information that helps me deciding if I’m in the mood for this book right now. Sometimes, if I’m feeling particularly meh towards a certain book, peeking at the reviews while reading might help me decide whether I should stick with it or DNF.
It’s not always important, but if I am looking to buy a book I’m more likely to have a glance over the reviews. If I’m, say, requesting it on NetGalley, I might have a quick peek, but rarely, as especially at that stage, I want to go into it with no preconceptions. Maybe I should pay more attention to reviews though – might help me avoid some of the stuff that’s not-really-for-me!
If I haven’t read them before, I do tend to read the reviews once I have finished. This is especially for books I felt strongly about, one way or another, and I particularly like reading reviews from people who have different opinions on the book than I do. It’s interesting how often my reason for loving/disliking a book matches up with someone else’s reason for the opposite. And I don’t look up spoilers. I try not to watch the adaption before reading the book, but sometimes that can’t be helped. I look going in without knowing too much about what happens.
When do you tend to read reviews? Before you purchase/request, before you read or after?
Unwrapping Words 