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Book Blogger Hop | Book Bloggers versus Professional Critics

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Laurie
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The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, Billy @ Ramblings Of A Coffee Addicted Writer relaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

When looking back into my archives it has been about 5 months since I last participated in this meme, but this week’s topic is rather interesting. This week’s topic:

29th-4th – Which has more power over readers: a book blogger or a professional critic? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Well, it really depends on the target audience. Personally, I believe book bloggers have more power over readers than professional critics. This especially is the case for YA, romance or the hyped books. Book bloggers often are “peers” of said readers and therefore the reading tastes are quite similar to their target audience whereas professional critics often have no choice in the books they discuss. Also, they forcus more on literary fiction or nonfiction, as far as I’m concerned. At least, this is the case in my country. I honestly don’t care about professionally written reviews because the reviewed books are absolutely not my taste.

Moreover, the language used in reviews and discussions differ as well. Professional critics tend to be more formal since their reviews are published in for instance newspapers or high profile magazines while book bloggers have the luxoury to use informal language. Therefore, most readers are able to resonate with and relate more to the book bloggers because they are more of an influencer. For example, iff I’m not interested in a book, I won’t be reding a book review. However, there’s a shift now where book bloggers are losing power to bookstagrammers and booktokers, but that’s another discussion.

Which has more power over readers according to you? A book bloggers or a professional critic?

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Comments

4 responses to “Book Blogger Hop | Book Bloggers versus Professional Critics”

  1. Juli @ A Universe in Words Avatar
    Juli @ A Universe in Words

    For me it really depends on the genre, like with what you mention, YA, Fantasy, etc. I prefer the opinion of book bloggers because they tend to take those genres more seriously. But when I feel in the mood for literary fiction or non-fiction, I do enjoy reading literary critics and their takes. And I fully agree on the requirements for professional critics, they’re bound by different rules do to where they publish, so it doesn’t always fit with the vibe, if that makes sense? I hope you have a lovely weekend 🙂
    Juli @ A Universe in Words

    Reply
  2. Literary Feline Avatar
    Literary Feline

    You make some good points, Laurie. I read a wide variety of books and sometimes I like to seek out a professional review for their take, but most of the time I am more interested in the level of reviews and discussion one finds at the book blogger level. I like that informality. It feels more personal and relatable.

    I see that shift too. Lots of people are becoming bookstagrammers and booktokkers.

    I hope you have a great weekend, Laurie!

    Reply
  3. Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog Avatar
    Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog

    Well said.

    I have my Bookstagram account alongside my blog and a Facebook account. I sometimes use TikTok but not often.

    Reply
  4. Elizabeth@Silver'sReviews Avatar
    Elizabeth@Silver’sReviews

    Fantastic answer!! Thanks.

    I trust bloggers more is my answer. 🙂

    Reply

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