Faraway, So Close

Seeing the Intimacy in Goodreads Reviews

Bibliographic Data

ID12435474
AuthorsBeth Driscoll (0000-0002-2725-5682, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia, corresponding author), Denel Rehberg Sedo (0000-0003-0439-0977, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)
Year2018
Volume25
Issue3
Pages248-259
Publication date2018-09-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQualitative Inquiry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1077-8004 • E-ISSN: 1552-7565
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1077800418801375
OpenAlexW2893893076
LanguageEN
Citations received31
References cited32

Book reviews written by readers and published on digital sites such as Goodreads are a new force in contemporary book culture. This article uses feminist standpoint theory to investigate the language used in Goodreads reviews to better understand how these reviewers articulate intimate reading experiences. A total of 692 reviews of seven bestselling fiction and nonfiction books are analyzed by two methods. The first, thematic content analysis, involves close reading of the reviews. The second, sentiment analysis, is an automated “distant reading” process. These methods prompt us, as researchers, to reflect on the way they foster or inhibit a sense of proximity to readers, even as they reveal predominant features of Goodreads reviews. Together, the methods reveal that 86.1% of Goodreads reviews describe a reading experience, and 68% specifically mention an emotional reaction to the book, with the emotion most intense in reviews of fiction. Reviews also create social connections by mentioning other readers, authors, characters, and people from the reviewer’s life. Through their emotional language and sociality, Goodreads reviews present distinctive, intimate reading practices, constituting a new cultural phenomenon, and a unique opportunity for investigation

Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Linguistics · Phenomenon · Qualitative research · Reading (process · Social science · Sociality · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Digital Games and Media · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Psychology · Themes in Literature Analysis

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