Harriet Klausner (May 20, 1952 – October 15, 2015)[1][2] was an amateur reviewer of books and a newspaper columnist.[3] She was the #1 ranked reviewer on Amazon.com for many years, and at the time of her death held the No. 1 spot in Amazon's reviewer "Hall of Fame".[1]
Klausner grew up in the Bronx and her father was an employee of McGraw-Hill.[4] Klausner was a former librarian with a master's degree in library science, who was proficient in speed-reading.[4] Reportedly, "ailments (kept) her home and insomnia (kept) her up". She resided in Atlanta.[2]
Klausner professed in her online profiles to read two books a day,[5] but a 2007 profile of her in Time reported that she read four to six books per day.[6] This article named Klausner in its top 15 list of the "web generation's movers and shakers".[6] In an interview published in The Wall Street Journal in 2005, she stated that her goal for reviewing was to bring attention to "lesser-known" authors who "don't have a publicity machine behind them. That's the whole purpose of my doing this on Amazon".[4] She read mostly romance, thrillers and science fiction.[1]
Workedit
By the time of her death, Klausner had reviewed 31,014 books, most on Amazon.[1] As well as posting many reviews on the Amazon website, Klausner also posted reviews on several other websites, including Barnes & Noble; Books 'n' Bytes; SFF Net; on-line magazine Of Ages Past; and SF Site.[7][8][9][10][11]
She was the #1 "top reviewer" on Amazon.com until October 24, 2008, when the company began a new ranking system, placing another reviewer in the top spot.[12] At the time of her death in 2015, Klausner was ranked No. 2,447.[1] Amazon kept her at No. 1 in its reviewer "Hall of Fame", a symbolic nod to her contributions.[1]
Criticismedit
Klausner was criticized by those who questioned whether she actually read the books she reviewed, given the time taken to read a book and the number of reviews Klausner published per day.[5] Additionally, every book she read was given a 4 or 5 star review.[5] Sarah Kaplan said "Her unrelenting positivity made her reviews utterly uninformative."[1] Stanley, her husband, said: "She's soft, I won't deny that."[2] Some wondered if she was being paid for the reviews, and others wondered if she was even a real person.[1]
In 2007, a group of reviewers who were critical of Klausner set up the cynically named "Harriet Klausner Appreciation Society", an online forum to monitor her reviews.[1] They encouraged mocking responses to her reviews and offered cash rewards to anyone who could best mimic her style of reviewing.[1]
Author John Birmingham deliberately included a character called Harriet Klausner in his novel Designated Targets. It was noted that Klausner made no mention of this in her review, casting doubt on whether she had fully read the book.
To her critics, Klausner said only "Get a life", in a 2012 New York Times interview. "Read a book."[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcdefghijkSarah Kaplan (October 29, 2015). "The woman who wrote 31,014 Amazon book reviews and upended the Internet, dead at 63". Washington Post. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
^ abcStreitfeld, David (22 December 2012). "Giving Mom's Book Five Stars? Amazon May Cull Your Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
^Mayfield, Kendra (2002-07-01). "Harriet the Online Book Reviewer". Wired. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
^ abcKaufman, Joanne (March 29, 2005). . The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007.
^ abcVick Mickunas (March 29, 2007). . Dayton Daily News. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
^ abGrossman, Lev (December 16, 2006). . Time. Archived from the original on January 26, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
^"Harstan's User Profile - Barnes & Noble". My.barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
^. sff.net. Archived from the original on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
^"Book Reviews". Of Ages Past. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
^Harriet Klausner (2001). "The SF Site Featured Review: Arslan". Retrieved 2009-03-26.
^Andrew Liptak (24 October 2015). "RIP Harriet Klausner, The Web's Most Prolific Book Reviewer". io9.
December 14, 2023
harriet, klausner, 1952, october, 2015, amateur, reviewer, books, newspaper, columnist, ranked, reviewer, amazon, many, years, time, death, held, spot, amazon, reviewer, hall, fame, contents, biography, work, criticism, referencesbiography, editklausner, grew,. Harriet Klausner May 20 1952 October 15 2015 1 2 was an amateur reviewer of books and a newspaper columnist 3 She was the 1 ranked reviewer on Amazon com for many years and at the time of her death held the No 1 spot in Amazon s reviewer Hall of Fame 1 Contents 1 Biography 2 Work 3 Criticism 4 ReferencesBiography editKlausner grew up in the Bronx and her father was an employee of McGraw Hill 4 Klausner was a former librarian with a master s degree in library science who was proficient in speed reading 4 Reportedly ailments kept her home and insomnia kept her up She resided in Atlanta 2 Klausner professed in her online profiles to read two books a day 5 but a 2007 profile of her in Time reported that she read four to six books per day 6 This article named Klausner in its top 15 list of the web generation s movers and shakers 6 In an interview published in The Wall Street Journal in 2005 she stated that her goal for reviewing was to bring attention to lesser known authors who don t have a publicity machine behind them That s the whole purpose of my doing this on Amazon 4 She read mostly romance thrillers and science fiction 1 Work editBy the time of her death Klausner had reviewed 31 014 books most on Amazon 1 As well as posting many reviews on the Amazon website Klausner also posted reviews on several other websites including Barnes amp Noble Books n Bytes SFF Net on line magazine Of Ages Past and SF Site 7 8 9 10 11 She was the 1 top reviewer on Amazon com until October 24 2008 when the company began a new ranking system placing another reviewer in the top spot 12 At the time of her death in 2015 Klausner was ranked No 2 447 1 Amazon kept her at No 1 in its reviewer Hall of Fame a symbolic nod to her contributions 1 Criticism editKlausner was criticized by those who questioned whether she actually read the books she reviewed given the time taken to read a book and the number of reviews Klausner published per day 5 Additionally every book she read was given a 4 or 5 star review 5 Sarah Kaplan said Her unrelenting positivity made her reviews utterly uninformative 1 Stanley her husband said She s soft I won t deny that 2 Some wondered if she was being paid for the reviews and others wondered if she was even a real person 1 In 2007 a group of reviewers who were critical of Klausner set up the cynically named Harriet Klausner Appreciation Society an online forum to monitor her reviews 1 They encouraged mocking responses to her reviews and offered cash rewards to anyone who could best mimic her style of reviewing 1 Author John Birmingham deliberately included a character called Harriet Klausner in his novel Designated Targets It was noted that Klausner made no mention of this in her review casting doubt on whether she had fully read the book To her critics Klausner said only Get a life in a 2012 New York Times interview Read a book 1 References edit a b c d e f g h i j k Sarah Kaplan October 29 2015 The woman who wrote 31 014 Amazon book reviews and upended the Internet dead at 63 Washington Post Retrieved November 5 2015 a b c Streitfeld David 22 December 2012 Giving Mom s Book Five Stars Amazon May Cull Your Review The New York Times Retrieved 6 January 2013 Mayfield Kendra 2002 07 01 Harriet the Online Book Reviewer Wired Retrieved 2012 03 13 a b c Kaufman Joanne March 29 2005 A Novel Heroine The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on October 16 2007 a b c Vick Mickunas March 29 2007 The Mysterious Harriet Klausner Dayton Daily News Archived from the original on June 28 2011 Retrieved March 13 2012 a b Grossman Lev December 16 2006 Harriet Klausner Time Archived from the original on January 26 2007 Retrieved 2009 03 26 Harstan s User Profile Barnes amp Noble My barnesandnoble com Retrieved 2012 03 13 Harriet Klausner Books n Bytes Contributors Harriet Klausner Books n Bytes Retrieved 2009 03 26 Harriet Klausner Reviews sff net Archived from the original on 2010 06 13 Retrieved 2009 03 26 Book Reviews Of Ages Past Retrieved 2009 03 26 Harriet Klausner 2001 The SF Site Featured Review Arslan Retrieved 2009 03 26 Andrew Liptak 24 October 2015 RIP Harriet Klausner The Web s Most Prolific Book Reviewer io9 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harriet Klausner amp oldid 1154641200, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
