don’t have a problem with advertising as I think that the neutrality of the site and the openness of the forums is its chief attraction and I agree with others here that it does not appear to have any bearing on the reviews. Of course I don’t read every book reviewed – I rarely consider those less than a B and I look at reviews elsewhere before deciding to read/buy. But the sense of community here and the freedom to say what you like, the high standard of the posts and the sincerity of all who contribute is admirable and well worth supporting.

Lisa Marie Wilkinson: I have found AAR to be a non-biased, open forum for the discussion of books. My debut novel received a very fair evaluation and I have been thinking about integrating the purchase of ad space into my promotional budget because of the high level of respect the site receives and the volume of traffic it attracts.Like other posters, I have the uncomfortable sense that someone has made the accusation that certain author(s) might have received favorable reviews in exchange for the purchase of ad space, which is a charge that strikes me as ridiculous. I have often seen the same book reviewed by two or more AAR reviewers, very often with opposing viewpoints, which only goes to illustrate the fact that we are all subjective in our tastes. That said, it makes no sense to me that a site engaged in any form of payola would go to such lengths to expose more than one point of view regarding the merits of a particular book. If anything, it makes me more secure in the knowledge that my book will receive the same consideration as the work of any star author from a major publishing house, even though I am a debut author with little name recognition whose work is published by a small press.To be honest, I was VERY nervous about what sort of reception my book would receive before the AAR review of Fire at Midnight was published, but the review Rike wrote of my book was balanced and displayed great insight into the type of book I had written. With books by fellow Medallion Press authors having received DIK status, I can only feel gratitude to AAR for showing more interest in the story between the covers of a book than they do the author’s name on the cover or the publishing house distributing the title.

What a wonderful post Lisa! I have had some great luck with Medallion authors, but I haven’t tired your book. I’m going to put it on my list. I think Medallion is making great strides in trying storylines that are different and little bit out-of-the-box. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…and that is that I love the covers too. xina

Like other posters, I have the uncomfortable sense that someone has made the accusation that certain author(s) might have received favorable reviews in exchange for the purchase of ad space, which is a charge that strikes me as ridiculous.

I have often seen the same book reviewed by two or more AAR reviewers, very often with opposing viewpoints, which only goes to illustrate the fact that we are all subjective in our tastes. That said, it makes no sense to me that a site engaged in any form of payola would go to such lengths to expose more than one point of view regarding the merits of a particular book. If anything, it makes me more secure in the knowledge that my book will receive the same consideration as the work of any star author from a major publishing house, even though I am a debut author with little name recognition whose work is published by a small press.

To be honest, I was VERY nervous about what sort of reception my book would receive before the AAR review of Fire at Midnight was published, but the review Rike wrote of my book was balanced and displayed great insight into the type of book I had written. With books by fellow Medallion Press authors having received DIK status, I can only feel gratitude to AAR for showing more interest in the story between the covers of a book than they do the author’s name on the cover or the publishing house distributing the title.

Janet W: Not just for the current content but for me, an avid buyer of Out of Print books and a dedicated glommer (really, I need a 12-step programme!), it’s the database of reviews.

Me too! I was a daily visitor/lurker at AAR long before I joined the staff, and it was the review database that hooked me but good. I’ve spent countless hours over the years searching through the DB looking for great reads that had somehow passed me by. I’ve discovered so many amazing books and authors that I wouldn’t have otherwise tried were it not for database of reviews here.

Sorry, don’t get it. I’ve always thought AAR to be completely bias-free, and of course you charge for advertising. That’s how things work in the real world.

Like no other. Keep up the good work