http://sidekickbooks.blogspot.co.uk/201 ... er-on.html
Do you read reviews of poetry books? Do you, as suggested here, tend to read them to confirm/elucidate/enhance your reading of a book you've already got/decided to buy?
Ros
Poetry reviews etc
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I only read them when I am reading something else and they happen to be there. e.g. I read the reviews in The Journal because I read the mag. If I did not read the mag, I would not be reading the reviews. I would certainly never look for reviews.
We fray into the future, rarely wrought
Save in the tapestries of afterthought.
Richard Wilbur
Save in the tapestries of afterthought.
Richard Wilbur
I read them for all those reasons (except that I'm more likely to borrow from the library than buy). I even read mags/sites (like Sphinx) that are only reviews. Sometimes the reviews can be a good read in their own right. An example that people are currently praising is David Wheatley's Poetry London piece, which I like too.
I certainly read reviews before I buy a book. I mostly buy from Amazon so I will read the overall description of the book then read the reviews posted by readers of the book. I find this helpful as it goes some way to getting an overall view of what the book contains. And I also find the chance of reading through some pages of the book helpful too. All helps to minimize buying a dud in my opinion.
Deryn
Deryn