On the Road: The Kindle, Barbecue Joints, and Lobster Shacks

Submitted by Bibliofuture on December 3, 2008 - 12:56am
Topic: 
Electronic Publications

There is a review on Amazon for the book Roadfood: The Coast-to-Coast Guide to 700 of the Best Barbecue Joints, Lobster Shacks, Ice Cream Parlors, Highway Diners, and Much, Much More.

The review is titled: "Roadfood Not Adapted to Kindle"

In the comments to the review there is a lively debate about whether the review of the format is appropriate.

I think the review does raise the issue that if books are converted to an electronic format they should at least be formatted so they can be used in a non frustrating way.

Comments

Submitted by Walt on December 3, 2008 - 12:22pm.

Since the review is attached to Amazon's listing for the Kindle edition, I don't buy the objections. The reviewer is saying that the Kindle version doesn't work well--and since that's the version under review, it's appropriate.

If a great travel book was published in an edition that weighed 25 pounds because it used super-thick paper and fancy bindings, it would be appropriate to give that edition a bad review as a travel book: Unsuitable for purpose.

Submitted by Bibliofuture on December 3, 2008 - 12:56pm.

You are correct that the review is under the Kindle version of the book. The review also shows under the paper version of the book. I think if someone writes a review and post it under either edition it will show on both.

Submitted by Walt on December 3, 2008 - 1:18pm.

But the review makes it clear that the Kindle edition is the problem. If you're considering the paper version, you'd just ignore that review...or read it and wonder whether a map-based index makes a lot of sense to you. (As a "roadside" guide, I'd be inclined to say it does. If the maps are readable, that is.)

Now, if people only go by star ratings, there's a problem. But if people only go by star ratings, there's not much hope anyway--after all, you have the increasingly clear clusters of 5-star ratings on some brand-new books (sometimes before they even appear!) accompanied by strikingly similar reviews from a whole group of usernames. See the star rating, you think "must be a great book!" Read the reviews, and I (at least) think "The author's gaming the system."

(Actually, after reading through sets of user reviews on IMDB and Amazon, I am also acutely aware of the sheer amount of axe-grinding going on--maybe more on IMDB. One problem with user-generated content is that people with very strong feelings and time on their hands are likely to be responsible for a lot of it.)