Friday, May 31, 2019

Discussion: Old versus New


This Week’s Topic: Old vs. New

Last week, we were talking about review books, and I found out that many of you review books from your shelf or the library. Now I'm curious - do you review newer titles, backlist, or a mix?


Because I review a lot of ARCs, most of the reviews featured on my blog are for new or unreleased books. These reviews seem to get a good amount of interaction and views. I think, it's because people are curious as to how the book is, and also because there aren't necessarily 1000+ reviews available (yet).

I don't tend to post reviews on my blog for my backlist, but on the occasions that I have, the results have not been the same as for a new release. The exception being, when the book was madly popular, written by a hyped author, was well received, or was adapted.

There are so many books I did not get to the year they were released, and I really, really do want to read those books on my backlist (and my shelf). I have also discovered many new-to-me authors, and have a strong desire to binge their back catalog, BUT I still want people to read and interact with my post.

One thing that has worked well for me is grouping my books. I really only post a single review at time for blog tours these days, otherwise I publish my reviews in groups of 2 or 3. It's easy to hide an older book in the group, and you never know who it will click with.

What I want to know:
  1. If you review your own/library books more or less exclusively, do you feature newer releases, backlist, or both?
  2. If you feature a mix, do you think they perform equally? 
Now it's your turn!

Do you favor backlist or new releases? 
Let us know in the comments!

42 comments:

  1. I definitely review both. I've actually never paid attention to the response of my new vs backlist reviews so I don't know if one is more or less popular. I just read what I want and then want to talk about it. LOL I enjoy seeing both newer and backlist reviews on other blogs and I still find it interesting to read someone's thoughts on a title no matter when it was released. Maybe a focus on brand new/upcoming releases garners more attention (I don't know??) but it's never been a real factor for me - neither at my own blog, nor at others.

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    1. My hope is to have some sort of engagement, otherwise, I am just screaming into the void. I have a TBR mountain, and my backlist is vast. I am always checking out reviews for older books, but I know that my reviews for new releases get more engagement.

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  2. I've always reviewed every book I read, be it backlist or ARC. I do think that newer books tend to bring more traffic to the blog, but I'm always surprised by the traffic that some backlist books bring. I think it really comes down to the appeal of the title. My review of Pet Sematary, a book that originally published 30 years ago was one of my highest viewed ever!

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    1. Stephen King is one of those perennial authors, who everyone wants to try at some point. I feel like Pet Sematary got a little boost when they did yet another adaptation of the story too. With all the YA books getting adapted on Netflix, I am seeing a bunch of my old reviews getting views. Good for those authors getting the boosts.

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  3. I’ve noticed that reviews for new books or popular books tend to do better on my blog. When I review something old and obscure, pretty much nobody looks at the review.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. If I pick the right backlist book, I can get a lot of engagement, because many people have read it or want to read it. Hey, I am never thought I read obscure books, but on Top Ten Tuesday, people constantly tell me, they have heard of NONE of my books.

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  4. I don't read ARCs at all so most are from my backlist of books I own. I do sometimes buy a new release and read it straight away but mostly they sit for a while with over 1000 books waiting on my bookshelves and ereader! I review all my books on my blog and Goodreads so reviews of new and backlist books both appear. I don't watch blog stats so I have no idea about reactions to them.

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    1. I review every book and audiobook I "read", but I don't feature them all on my blog. Stats are one thing, but I am more interested in engagement, and I only feature books I enjoy, so I love to talk to people about them, and wonder if my backlist would do as well as new releases for starting conversations.

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  5. I'm fairly certain nobody reads my reviews, and I post them very sporadically--only when I have a personal response or connection, not just "liked it" or "didn't like it." Books that inspire me to write about them might be very old or very new, or anywhere in between. Personally, I only like reading super short and vague reviews of new books or longer more detailed reviews of books I've already read. I want to form my own opinion first (which kind of belies the whole purpose of reviews, I guess.)

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    1. I read your reviews. I like reading reviews. I agree, that most of the reviews I read are AFTER I have read the book. I like to see what others thoughts or if they gleaned something from the story that I missed. When I read reviews prior to reading the book, I stay away from the negative reviews, because I don't want to be looking for those things as the reader didn't enjoy as I am reading the book myself.

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  6. For years, I've almost exclusively reviewed new books because that's what I had from book cons etc. But now, I'm mostly reading library books and older books.

    I read so randomly anyway (with genres) so my posts vary in views already so I don't think it matters for me. lol reviews, in general, do worse than opinion/discussion posts.

    I guess I don't think about it anymore - I haven't read my stats in ages but I've found that I need to blog about whatever I want or I burn out.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I am never going to have stats that matter, but I like to feature books that people want to talk to me about. All my reviews are on GR, but I feature only a few reviews a week, therefore, I like to make sure they are for books that will draw some sort of interest.

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  7. I review mostly new books but sometimes do feature some old ones that I call my "little gem" as they deserve to be loved again. I would say that I review 10 to 20% of "older" books.

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    1. I feel like, if it's the right backlist book, it will generate plenty of discussion, even if it's an older book. I usually post groups of reviews, so there is bound to be at least one book for someone to talk about in the post.

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  8. Good question. I tend to do both but I think mine skew towards newer books more on balance. And when I do review something older or a bit obscure, it may not get a lot of attention. I've kinda come to terms with that. But then again sometimes I'm surprised so you never really can tell. :)

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    1. I am definitely new release heavy, though I regularly read backlist. I don't have a goal number of comments on a review, but I would hate to post something and get zero engagement. That would be sad for me and for that book.

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  9. I used to do both, but this year I find myself getting away from writing reviews for my older books. I tend to get backlogged on writing reviews so easily that something had to give, and unfortunately, that something ended up being backlist reviews. I do want to share what I've read though so I do plan to do some kind of a backlist recap, probably one in June and then again at the end of the year.

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    1. A very good point. I am reading about 8 books a week. If I had to write full-on reviews for every book, I would be so burned out. But, sometimes I will read a phenomenal backlist book, and I just want to feature it, but worry that nobody will care about the book because it is old.

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  10. I do a mix of both. I actually probably read more backlist then new releases. I generally do full reviews for newer books and mini-reviews for older books. I think in terms of views and comments, they get about the same. Sometimes it seems that by the time I read a new release, particularly a hyped one, everyone else has already read and reviewed it, so I don't want to keep rehashing it. I try to review more books that I haven't seen in a lot of other places.

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    1. That's a solid plan. My reviews for non-review books are usually pretty brief, but I like to write something on GR for every book I finish. I definitely feel that way about a hyped book. I am usually a later reviewer. I post less than a month before release, and there will be a glut of reviews for that particular book already. The good thing is, that a lot of people have read it, and are usually willing to discuss it, which is really what I am looking for on my blog. BUT, I also love the idea of giving love to that lesser known book.

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  11. I do both. Though lately it seems I read more and more new books and ARCs, I've been trying really hard to get back to my backlist. But I fall victim to the one click on ARC requests and then they get approved and then I find myself in review book overload! Which is where I put myself this week! Although one book was too much of a mad dash click and I'm like...I really ought to read the first book to see if I want to read the sequel. Guess we'll find out! Lol.

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    1. I had 45 May releases to read. I obviously have no self control, when requesting books. It's been killing me to not request all the fall releases. Good luck with all your review books!

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  12. I review books from Netgalley, blog tours, and arcs/earcs that publishers have contacted me about. However, lately, I've also been reviewing books that I have purchased and read for fun. Some are old and some are newer.

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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    1. I have been playing around with posts, which will allow me to feature some older books. There are so many I missed over the years. Honestly, I really only need to read about 10 new releases a month for posts, but I just fall victim to clicking that request button.

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  13. I review both, books I've had for a while and ARCs. Right now, I don't know which one does better, to be honest. I'll have to pay attention.
    Genesis @ Whispering Chapters

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    1. I love when a backlist books dazzles me, and I want to feature those books that were fantastic reads for me, old or new, but I also want to engage and interact with other readers. Will they come to read a review of an older book?

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  14. I review a mix but I don't write/post as many reviews as I should... Plus, I find that review posts have less interaction than the other posts regardless of whether they're new releases or backlist.

    I like the idea of grouping reviews. I think it would be particularly useful for me as I rarely post lengthy or in-depth reviews anyway and as you said you could easily slip older books in amongst the new(er).

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    1. For me, I comment on a review for two reasons - I either read the book and have something to say about it, or I want to read the book and have a question/comment about your review. I don't like to write throwaway comments, so I don't comment or read every review I come across.

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  15. I review a mix newer releases and backlist books. I like reviewing older books because there could be a diamond in the ruff that either people never heard of or forgot about and is worth reading. I think you should review books you want to review. I have learned that if I push myself to review books I don't want to or feel pressured to I get burnt out or feel too pressured. I try to make my blog fun for me. Great topic!!

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    1. I love finding an older book, that is so wonderful, and am so compelled to share it. I usually shout about those books on a TTT or discussion post, though. I did a "hidden gems" review post once, but almost nobody interacted with it. So, still hidden. 😂

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  16. My blog was born from the very need of spotlighting less hyped, but equally amazing books, so of course I don't pay stats any heed LOL. I'm not saying I don't care about comments and visitors - also because my very point is to make those books KNOWN, if a little...so, basically, what I'm saying is, I'm in a catch-22 LOL. At the end of the day, I review books at my own pace and I hope some of the reviews I throw at the wall stick 😂.

    Also, apart from the few authors I collaborate with (all small-pub or indie), I'm not getting ARCs anymore since January. My old ones came from Curiosity Quills, a small publisher of speculative fiction that went out of business. It's not easy for a small blogger like me to find someone willing to send me ARCs (even digital ones), especially since I don't read romance (which seems to be easier to get).

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    1. So many things in this comment. Agreed - it is a catch-22. Though I review large press books, they are usually less hyped simply due to the nature of the types of books I like to read. I love to feature any book that knocked my socks off, but have noticed that newer books tend to get more attention than backlist books (unless it's a well loved/hyped backlist book). I must also agree that romances are easier to get approvals for. This is primarily a YA blog, yet I can get approved for an adult romance a lot more often then for a YA book.

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  17. I review a mix. Maybe the views are not as good because when people come to your blog they expect to be coming for newer releases? I find mine are more or less the same because I know a lot of people who don't read reviews unless they've read the book -- so they like backlist reviews. But then I also know a lot of people who only read reviews of new releases as that is what they are excited for!

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    1. *raises hand* I mostly only read reviews for books I have read. I will skim a review for a book I want to read, but I fear spoilers and someone planting something in my subconscious that will affect my reading.

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  18. I think I have a healthy mix of both! Most of the audiobooks I listen to are for older books, and I love re-reading books from my shelves. I understand that reviewing newer books brings more traction to your blog, I've noticed the same thing with mine, but I also want to bring attention to books that people may have forgotten about. There are A LOT of amazing books out there, and I love to share my experiences with all of them. :)

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?

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    1. Same. I do most of my backlist via audio. I have way too many new releases to read. (HA!) Like Roberta said, it's a catch-22, because, like you, I want to scream about this gem I found, but I also want people to interact with my post.

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  19. I pretty much review everything I read (unless I wasn't a fan), but I agree that newer books definitely get more views. I almost always include reviews for older books in a bite-sized review post. Like you say, usually people will check those out because of one of the newer books, but then they might discover an older book they hadn't realized they might like!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I definitely get more views with my grouped reviews, than my solo ones. Now I only read do one review at a time for blog tours, otherwise, it's at least two.

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  20. Mostly new releases, tbh. Okay fine, only new releases. Well, I should say, they're the only ones that get *full* reviews. Backlist get short reviews that are not even actually qualified to be called reviews, but they're fun and people seem to kind of like them? This reminds me that I need to do a batch of them soon!

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    1. I like to capture some thoughts on backlist on GR, but I don't tend to feature them on my blog, though, I would like to. At least you give them more love than I do on your blog, even if they are only short reviews.

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  21. You know, to be honest, I just never thought of it. I read what I read. I guess, overall, I read a mix of both. Most tours I do of course are for new releases so those are always new books. The ones I read and review on my own are mostly older books I guess. Usually, I get some feedback on them so that is good. I do notice that most feedback comes on the newer books.

    Mary

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    1. My goal is a mix, but I am really new release heavy. I am having a lot of fun with my One Old, One New feature, though, and will be doing a lot more of those.

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