While adding the Allrighters' best books of the year details to the list of the 140 plus reviews we have made since this time last year we realise why our overall rating at one time up under 30,000 has dropped to over 4,000,000. The Amazon system derives a rating from people looking at each of your reviews and then either liking it or not. Some readers of our reviews appear not to like what we have said about some of the books particularly Daffodils, Bring up the Bodies and Harry Bingham's book on writing. Statistically I think there is a bit of a problem as only 32 or 25% of the number of reviews have registered comments. Also the adverse comments are those where we have made low star ratings so people are expressing a view that the book is better in their eyes than in our view. This seems to cross check against our belief that the Amazon system is weighted towards better rather than less highly rated books where people either do not read them in the first place or remain silent.
We have re-read the reviews which have been disliked and find no reason to change what has been stated. They are personal views anyway and the great thing about books is that not everyone likes or dislikes particular books. Life would be dull is they did.
Three people who commented have made some useful points about the reviews and these have resulted in additions or further comments which we were happy to give.
Books in the 24 hour read category have rarely raised interest and ratings above three stars. Perhaps we have become as bored with these books as we did when we stopped reading them in the 1990s and turned to factual books for more depth.
We will continue to review undaunted.
The Allrighters'
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