OpinionJournal.com : “Meet Harriet Klausner, Amazon.com’s most prolific reviewer. Harriet Klausner read four books yesterday … no big whoop. The only days she doesn’t read four books are the days she reads five.” (Take the poll.)
Still, in terms of productivity (8,649 reviews as of mid-March) and the ability to turn out what the site calls helpful information, Ms. Klausner is in a league of her own.
More than 53,000 Amazon visitors have given a thumbs up to commentary like “the fast-paced story line contains intriguing heroes battling with one another as much as with their common foes.” … on the thriller “No Man’s Dog” by Jon A. Jackson. “Exhilarating British police procedural” was her word on “Flesh Wounds” by John Lawton. “Daniel’s Veil” by R.H. Stavis, meanwhile, was deemed “a fascinating and enthralling paranormal tale.” …
“If a book doesn’t hold my interest by page 50 I’ll stop reading, which is one of the reasons I give a lot of good ratings,” says Ms. Klausner, whose voice suggests she’s taken more than a few nips of helium. “And why review a book to give it a low rating or to tear it apart? Nothing in that.”
[S]he can cut the motor on her enthusiasm when necessary. “I give Ralph McInerny, the author of the ‘Father Dowling’ mysteries, a low rating and tell why I can’t stand the books,” says Ms. Klausner, … “It’s basically the same story over and over.”
She has the same “been there, read that” problem with Cassie Edwards, a scribe of Native American romances. “It’s either a half-breed Indian male or a full-breed Indian male and a white virgin,” sighs Ms. Klausner, …
Ha! I love that description! (Reminds me of the books I checked out from the Yakima Valley Bookmobile as a teen girl. Boy, did I learn a lot from those books!)
