Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Buying a Christian book - whose fault is it?

Some of the places I review for ask for a review to also be put on a site that sells books. i.e. Amazon. As I have done this, I have run across an interesting phenomenon: people who either bought a Christian fiction book, or downloaded one - usually for free - and didn't realize it was a Christian book. Some of these people leave a nasty and negative review, and harp about the fact that Amazon should have been more plain about the fact that it was a Christian book.

Here is my opinion - yeah, I have one. Big shock? :-) If I were buying a book - or downloading it for free, and was not familiar with the author, I would research them. Find out more about them, what kind of reviews their books got. And surely by doing so, you would discover that fact. So, I think it is the fault of the reader for not finding out more about the book/author.

What do you think? Should Amazon do a better job of labeling Christian fiction, or is it the fault of the person buying the book. And does it give the person the right to post a negative review because they got a Christian book?

3 comments:

Annette said...

The people buying the book needed to have done careful research before the purchase, that is a dah moment!
I do lots of research before even saying yes I'll review a book....and the book is going to be free for me. Even more so when I'm in a store browsing books or purchasing a book on Amazon--I want to know about the author, previous books written, etc.
I guess most people impulse buy, then they get what they get.
Maybe we've gotten to the point where people want someone else to blame, for every issue, including those we chose.

Carmen said...

Why does it have to be anyone's fault. They are able to read the review to figure it out. People need to take responsibility for their choices and selections.

Annette W. said...

I'm not sure I have a distinct opinion about labeling books as fiction, however I certainly do wish that books would be rated like movies...for content such as adult themes, vulgar language, violence, and sexuality. I am always hesitant to read a new author that is not a Christian.

Having said that, I think readers just need to understand what they are reading.