I teach English at a college, so I get the "stinks" reaction quite a bit. So my reaction in that context is always "we're not here to find books we personally like but to think critically about what we're reading."
That biases me to privilege challenge over simple entertainment in general.
This is the reason I don't read book reviews to find out what to read. I don't really care if someone else "liked" a book because, for me, that information is hopelessly subjective. For me, what matters is whether that work has anything meaningful to say or does something interesting or challenges.
I like book reviews but it is more accurate to say that I have found a few reviewers who say interesting things about books which makes those books sound interesting to me, and whose taste aligns with mine enough that I am likely to enjoy what they enjoy.
film & theater reviewers ditto.
