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Recommending books you haven't read

novella

novella

Active Member
Over quite a long time I"ve noticed that this is a really common thing to do on this website.

How do you feel about recommending books you haven't read? Do you think it's okay? Do you ever feel guilty, like you might really be giving bad advice?
 
No, it's not okay. It's essentially lying, and why would anyone recommend a book they haven't read in the first place? Because of what the majority states? Jesus, just read the damn thing. End rant.
 
I agree. To my knowledge I haven't ever done this, it kind of defeats the purpose of a recommendation (i.e. being based on your personal opinion). I'm pretty sure this is how Dan Brown got on the bestseller list.
 
But, what if someone is looking for a book about a certain topic and you know of a book about it and state right up front that you have not read it?
 
Ronny said:
But, what if someone is looking for a book about a certain topic and you know of a book about it and state right up front that you have not read it?
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I've done this plenty of times. In pointing them in a certain direction, you're certainly helping them. Who's to say they'd like what you like anyway? :p
 
If that was the case, you can point them in that direction, but I would give them a website or something to look at as well i.e. Amazon reviews. If I haven't read the book, I'll say so, and thus that I cannot vouch for its quality.

I think the situation that Novella is referring to is when people create threads like "What should I read next?" and are given suggestions like "I haven't read it yet, but X is supposed to be great." Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Peronel said:
I think the situation that Novella is referring to is when people create threads like "What should I read next?" and are given suggestions like "I haven't read it yet, but X is supposed to be great." Correct me if I'm wrong.
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If you fess up that you haven't read it then the person you're recommending it to has all the information they need on how good your recommendations are, so where's the problem?

Caveat emptor.
 
Ha, true. So what you're really saying is, any and all "I haven't read it yet, but..." recommendations should be permanently stricken from the forum? ;)

You heard it here first, people.
 
OBJECTION!

It's very naughty replying to a post I didn't make and if you don't stop it I'll have to report you to the forum pope.

What I'm saying is, if you recommend a book you haven't read you shouldn't tell anyone you haven't read it and that way people won't get grumpy with you.
 
I do it, but only if someone is looking for something in particular that I know about. Of course, I'll try to say that I've not read it yet, and I only really do it with books that are on my own TBR list. (Plus, if they read it before me they can then tell me whether or not it's a good book and worth my time. :p )
 
I once had a book about this subject and I highly recommend it.
But, I can't remember the author or title because I never actually read it.
 
I think it's okay if you tell the person you haven't read it. You could be like, "Oh, you want to read a book about (insert subject here)? Well, my friend read (insert title here) and he/she said that it was like that and that it was really good." But you should always be sure to mention that you have't read it.
 
Ronny said:
But, what if someone is looking for a book about a certain topic and you know of a book about it and state right up front that you have not read it?
Click to expand...

I think that this is fine. I know I've suggested books to people that I haven't read. I may say something along the lines of "I haven't read X, but my brother really enjoyed it and I am planning on reading it" or "I know X is about that topic, but I haven't read it". I don't see any problem with doing so, as long as you are upfront about it. Pretending to have read a book is silly. Why bother?
 
I have to agree with the idea of squashing the thread about recommending books you haven't read, or at least scanned and reviewed...makes sense to me. :cool:
 
Why would you want to squash a legitimate discussion? To me, this point is something that a book forum ought to seriously consider.

I frequently read threads that purport to be about a book or author, say Joyce Carol Oates or Ralph Waldo Emerson or Thackeray, and see many comments like "That's supposed to be really good." Lame.

Of course, if someone is looking for a specific book or topic and you have a good idea, you're giving someone useful information. Saying "F. Scott Fitzgerald is supposed to be really good, but I haven't read anything by him" is pathetic.

Why don't you approve of this discussion?
 
I probably have recommended books I haven't read, but not here. Or at least I've read half of them, or something. I think it's fine, as long as you say you haven't read it. Some people come to me asking for "classics" to read, and that's not really my field (and it's such a broad field), but I give them a couple authors to start with depending on what they are looking for.

I suppose what I am saying is that our cup of familiarity may be larger than our cup of time and so of course we know "something" about a work without having read it, we just can't say "it was a good read".
 
I recommend books that I haven't read if people ask for books dealing with a certain topic eg vampires, but I always state that I haven't read them.
 
Okay...
Read this book. I guarantee you'll like it, and no...I haven't read it.

'A Long Time Gone - Memoirs of a Boy Soldier'

Find it yourself...:)
 
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