My problem with blurbs
I have a problem with blurbs for books, and by extension reviews, but mostly blurbs. The blurb is that short description of a book that is usually written on the back cover. It's an odd word which was apparently just coined by American humorist Gelett Burgess in 1907 but that's not why I have a problem. My problem is that they give way too much away about the book, often covering key plot points that might not be revealed until a quarter or a third of the way through a book.
As a very occasional writer (see here and here) I know a little about how hard authors work to create a response in their reader and a lot of that effort is wasted if the reader already knows what is going to happen.
I understand publishers want to make the book appealing to a reader and they need to say something about the book but I would much prefer them to give only a basic idea of the genre and style of the book, maybe its key themes.
As a result of my aversion to blurbs I now mostly go by recommendation from other people and sometimes things that "The Algorithm" tells me.
I have a similar issue with movie trailers and those "in this season" extended cuts montages you get at the end of first episodes of some series.
And don't get me started on introductions in books that are written by people other than the author.