Print is Dead

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Book reviews online: critics, bloggers and readers

Book criticism used to live in newspaper supplements. Now it is spread across blogs, newsletters, reader-review sites and short videos. What was lost, what was gained, and how to read a review you can trust.

Last reviewed October 2026

The newspaper review section

For much of the twentieth century, the serious discussion of new books happened in print: in newspaper book sections, literary magazines and specialist review journals. A review in a major paper could make a book's reputation, and publishers planned publicity around them. Critics were paid, edited and accountable to their publications, and readers could learn a critic's tastes over years.

When newspapers' advertising revenue collapsed (see print versus digital), book coverage was one of the things that was cut. Many papers reduced or folded their standalone book sections in the 2000s, and fewer critics were employed full time. Organisations of critics, such as the National Book Critics Circle in the United States, campaigned publicly against the cuts.

At the time, a fierce argument ran between professional critics and the book bloggers who were filling some of the space: were bloggers amateurs lowering standards, or a new generation of enthusiasts reaching readers newspapers had ignored? With hindsight both sides had a point, and the argument has largely dissolved, because most criticism now reaches readers online whoever writes it.

Where reviews are now

Professional criticism online

Long-form criticism did not disappear. It moved to the websites of newspapers and magazines, to literary magazines and review journals that publish online, and to newsletters written by critics directly for subscribers. Some of the most thoughtful book writing now appears in places that did not exist twenty years ago. What has shrunk is the number of salaried critics and the space for reviews of books that are not already expected to be noticed.

Book blogs and newsletters

Independent book blogs grew in the 2000s and remain an important part of the conversation, especially in genres that traditional review sections tended to overlook, such as romance, science fiction, fantasy, crime and young adult fiction. Many have evolved into newsletters, podcasts or video channels.

Reader reviews and ratings

Retailer reviews and social cataloguing sites such as Goodreads and The StoryGraph gave every reader a public voice and produced ratings for almost every book. They are useful for gauging broad reactions and spotting books that do not deliver what they promise, but an average rating says little about whether a particular reader will like a particular book.

Short-form video and social media

Short video communities around books, often grouped under hashtags, have become a strong force in discovery, particularly for younger readers and for genre fiction. Readers film their emotional reactions and recommendations, and a book that catches on can sell for years after publication. Bookshops have set up tables of books that are popular on these platforms, and publishers now plan campaigns with them in mind.

Advance copies and how reviews get made

Publishers send advance reading copies (ARCs), printed or digital, to critics, booksellers, librarians and influential readers before publication. Digital platforms such as NetGalley and Edelweiss distribute advance e-books to approved reviewers, which has opened the process to bloggers and librarians who once rarely received copies. Receiving a free copy is normal and does not by itself compromise a review, but honest reviewers say they received one.

Fake and manipulated reviews

Where ratings drive sales, some people try to game them. Problems that have been reported over the years include:

Retailers and review sites have policies against these practices and remove reviews they detect. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission adopted a rule in 2024 banning fake reviews and testimonials, including reviews by people who do not exist, such as AI-generated ones, and the buying of reviews that express a particular sentiment. It applies to books as it does to any other product. Rules in other countries differ.

How to read a review you can trust

A few habits make reviews more useful, whatever the source.

  1. Look for specifics. A good review tells you what the book is trying to do and whether it succeeds, with examples. "Couldn't put it down" tells you about the reviewer's evening, not about the book.
  2. Learn the reviewer's taste. A critic you often disagree with can be as useful as one you usually agree with, once you know which is which.
  3. Read the negative reviews. Low ratings often reveal what a book is actually like, because they say what disappointed someone. If the complaint is something you do not mind, that is a good sign.
  4. Be wary of uniformity. A brand-new book with a large number of similar, vague, five-star reviews posted in a short period deserves suspicion.
  5. Check for disclosure. Reviewers who received a free copy, know the author or are paid by the publisher should say so.
  6. Ask a person. A bookseller or a librarian who knows what you have enjoyed before is still one of the best recommendation engines there is.

What criticism is for

It is easy to think of reviews only as shopping advice, and online ratings encourage that. But criticism has always done more: it places a book in a tradition, argues about what it means, notices what is new, and sometimes champions writers before the market does. That kind of writing is harder to sustain financially than it used to be, but it has not vanished, and readers who value it can help by subscribing to the publications and newsletters that publish it.

For authors, the changing review landscape has made marketing a bigger part of the job; see self-publishing and how trade publishing works. And with AI tools now able to produce plausible review text in seconds, the difference between a real reader's opinion and generated filler is likely to matter more, not less; see AI and books.

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