Why Are Book Reviews So Popular?

Of my top 10 posts, 6 of them are book reviews. It amazes me at the popularity of book reviews on a lot of websites. Why are they popular? Why do people read them more than anyone blog entry? I can only think of two reasons why book reviews are popular:

1. People want to know if the book is good before purchasing it. How many of you look at movie reviews before going to the movies? I know I have at times. We treat books that way too. We want to know if it is worth our time, effort, and money. I made a little exception to this rule when Rob Bell's Love Wins came out a couple of years ago. I read a lot of reviews on it but wanted to read it for myself. It was exactly like I thought it was, a Bible teacher going against the Bible on the doctrine of hell.

2. People who have read the book want to hear other opinions. Most of the book I have reviewed have been read by other readers and I am sure, they want to know if I liked as much as they did. Also those who liked or did not like the book can offer some if their insights on the book. My most popular book review to date is Mark Batterson's The Circle Maker, which I did not care for nor recommend, and one lady in the comment section talked about her and her husband's experience in reading the book. They were excited about reading the book then they were more "confused and mislead." She went on to say this book is some from of witchcraft. I did not think of witchcraft when I read the book and I appreciated her input.

Please note that I have only reviewed non-fiction Christian books. I have never reviewed a fiction book and do not see myself doing that in the near future. So I know the reasons for book reviews on fiction books maybe different than other genre of books. When I write a book review, I will give you my honest opinion about the book. I will tell you if it is worth it or not. If you have read a book that you liked that I did not, and vice versa, that's okay. We are all entitled to our own opinions. I know I have other book reviews on books I liked that the writer did not.

As you read a book review, do it prayerfully and understand what the writer is expressing no matter how long or short it is.