Post originally by Conan McKegg at 2004-03-08 12:14:10
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A review is meant to convince a potential buyer as to whether the purchase is worth it or not. This is not an academic book review site, it is a commercial site aimed at providing views on a product.

I feel that my review does what it is meant to do - detail what you essentially get for your money and whether, <i>in my opinion</i>, it is value for money. I have trained in reviewing, and that is what my job is. A Review <b>is</b> an opinion column on whether the reviewer feels something is worth spending money on, and provides enough detail to convince a potential buyer that the product will interest them.

There is a big difference between commercial reviews and academic book reviews. An Academic book review is aimed at helping a researcher ascertain whether a book will have the necessary information that she needs. A Commercial book review discusses whether the book is worth spending money on - and it <u>is</u> more opinion based.

Just because I don't list flaws - of which I genuinely found none - doesn't lessen my review in anyway. I state clearly what the book contains and I mention how I felt that it was a great book that was well worth the purchase. I did that. And I'm happy with the quality of the review.