Thursday, March 5, 2009

Elisa Rolle on ratings

Prolific book reader and insightful book reviewer Elisa Rolle has explained on her blog why she does not give ratings to the books she reviews. It is in response to a question posted in comments regarding a book she sort of liked, but not with great enthusiasm. Link here:

Elisa Rolle - My Reviews and Ramblings

She also tells why when she is forced to give a rating, such as at Amazon, she gives the top by default.

Elisa's blog is worth a visit. Her reviews are entertaining and the eye candy she posts nearly melts the ice caps. Do partake.

4 comments:

williammaltese said...

This lady is a genuinely class act ... not only as a reviewer whose opinion I respect (not something I can say about a lot of reviewers out there today who just because they happen to be able to read think they're able to give a viable critique and that their inane opinions should count) ... not only because she's garnered a knowledgeable following who has learned to pay attention to what she says and value it as not having been said lightly ... but because she has a genuine empathy for authors and truly cares about them and their books. --Besides which, she was able not only to clue me in on the existence of a Harlequin SuperRomance of mine that had gone into an Italian-language edition, without my having ever known it, and -- all of these years after the fact -- actually track down a copy of it for my files. --I always feel particularly privileged when this woman deigns not only read one of my books but review it. If only all reviewers were as astute in their analysis of a read as she is, the world would be filled with far less no-nothing opinions than it is. --Ciao, baby!

Jeanne said...

I so agree with William.
What I loved about her review for my first solo work for MLR was that she understood the context in which the story was written. She related to the different setting and pinpointed the feelings of the couples involved with precision.
I also wish more reviewers read with such a wealth of knowledge.
Brava, Elisa!

Anonymous said...

I only notice today this nice post (it went out in my google alert...). Thank you so much for the kind words, above all since it was a comment on a post, so it means that you read my post ;-) Elisa

Unknown said...

Yes, Elisa, I subscribe to your "Reviews and Ramblings" and try to visit every day.
Ours is a fairly new blog, and you probably recognize some of the authors here (so far) who have signed up to post. Certainly the one named William Maltese! We all enjoy what you have to say.
Thank you for stopping by.
Jardonn