Review: Refreshing conversation with Rebecca Johnson
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 8, 2013
For those who regularly review books, CDs, DVDs, and other paraphernalia for Amazon.com this little shared book by Rebecca Johnson, one of Amazon's very best reviewers, is a breath of fresh air.  In this book she shares her history of starting to review for Amazon in the early days, the progress she has enjoyed with her reviewing for Amazon, a bit of inside information about the ranking system (the abrupt changes when Amazon dumped helpful votes a few years back and then started new rules and regulations for reviewers, etc), the types of things she enjoys reviewing, her procedure of writing reviews, and the positive and negative comments that are destined to appear on occasion by people who read reviews.What happens in this book is a series of `aHa' moments and a good number of knowing winks for those of us who review daily for Amazon.  It is great to both share and commiserate about the ups and down side of reviewing, how books from authors requesting reviews pile up, the dastardly habit some publishers have of sending out books with heavy ink markings on the books sides of pages as `For Review Purposes ONLY' or the ugly sticky stickers on the front or back cover of books stating the book is not for sale - those little annoyances that make you want to put that book at the bottom of the to-read pile.But she also shares a lot of information for authors and PR publicists and publishers on what works for and against making a positive impression on the reviewer: good lessons in courtesy and polite responses are included.  Then towards book's end Rebecca adds questions various people have posed to her - why her reviews tend to be positive, how she responds to those who email her or place nasty comments in the comment section, what her personal likes and dislikes are, etc.  All of this information is eminently readable and carries that same degree of caring and informed sense of intellectual responsibility that suffuses her reviews.  So from both sides  - from the fellow reviewers and from those who seek reviews - there is a plethora of information and a delightful bit of inside views to the charming Rebecca Johnson...perhaps over a special brand of chocolate! Grady Harp, April 13The author kindly gifted me with a Kindle copy of her book to review. Thanks, Rebecca