Do you read other people's reviews before writing your own?

[Kristin Ransome]

I don't read other reviews until after mine is written! The only instance I did read a couple was when I was afraid I was being too harsh on a book and wanted to see if it was just my feelings about it or if others shared the same sentiments!

[SangeethaNarayan]

Ideally, I wouldn't want to read another persons review before writing mine. But occasianlly I do get tempted and take a peak at some one else's review.

[Demotronic]

I read reviews before I buy, so technically I have read the reviews before I write

[Shams Sahbani]

I never do. Maybe I should generally I read the book, all at once without bothering about notes and reviews. I enjoy reading, and if I don't I stop. Then I write my first impressions, sometimes I just scramble them randomly, and the last step is writing the review, and I need to come back to the book to read twice or more some passages that I want to focus on, or to remember some minor détails...

[MandyP]

I've read reviews after i've submitted my own, to see if others agreed with my thoughts or had other opinions. I wouldn't want to be swayed by someone elses opinions before I made my own.

[Galesphere]

I really only read other people's reviews when my rating varies so differently. It won't change my review, but I always want to know why people feel differently than I do about a book. I do think it helps to see what others are writing, because it uncovers what kind of reviewer you are too. You know what I mean? There are reviewers who have an open mind and seem to love everything they read, while there are others (more like me) who are critical of everything they read. It's a good way to get to know what kind of reviewer you are.

[Renu G]

I usually write my review without being influenced by anyone else's opinion. After finishing sometimes I read what others have to say.

[Nisha Ward]

I try not to read reviews until after I've posted mine. As much as I enjoy others' points of view on the books I've read, I want to be sure that I'm not letting them influence what I think of the book. There's also a bit of joy in finding other people who think of things the same way I do, or have a perspective I had not considered when reading, so reviews tend to be a kind of treat/incentive for me to get my review done.

[Letora]

I don't read other reviews before I write my own. I will look at them after the fact, but I don't want to accidentally add anyone else's views into my own.

[BySarahAnneCarter]

I really try not to unless I'm forgetting name or key piece of information. I try to use the Goodreads summary first before digging in reviews for it.

[Dragonsend]

I don't read other reviews about the book I am going to review. I too, do not want it to sway my opinion. As soon as I submit the review, I agree, I can't wait to find out what everyone else thought about the book. It doesn't hurt to look at a variety of reviews , as a newer reviewer, to help with style , though.

[Ragnar Lothbrok]

I may have read other people's reviews while writing my first review, just to give me an insight on how the structure of the review should be.
But after that, I realized I'm someone who gets influenced quite easily by other reviews. I either feel bad because I start thinking my review won't be any better or I stop being genuine and that is because my mind is on everything but myself, so I unconsciously choose to copy what others have already said. Fortunately, I could avoid all that and my "need" to read other reviews before writing mine finally ceased. Now I write my reviews, submit them and that's it. Why read other reviews when you may end up putting them on a pedestal by thinking they are better than your own?

[Florence Nalianya]

[quote=BookishCreature post_id=810815 time=1516294050 user_id=431248]
I'm curious whether the other reviewers here read everyone else's take on a book before writing their own review. Personally, I try to let the book stand on its own, so I only read other reviews after I've finished mine. What do you guys do?
[/quote]
Nah, I like my own original for I would also want to rate myself.

[Mrunal Tikekar]

I usually write my own review before reading others' reviews. But if I find myself inclining towards a horribly negative review, I like to take a peek at what other's have written so I do not feel to bad about my negative review.

[dorebri2020]

I normally avoid reading the other reviews as I want my thoughts to be original and stand-alone from other reviews. However, I will read them after I finish mine to see if we agreed.