Monday, July 30, 2012
Online Guide To Writing A Good Book Review
First, what is a book review and why do people want them?
You have just read a book and are offering your opinion.
Essentially, you are providing a mini-version of the book so
someone else can decide for themselves if it's worth their money
and time.
A book review is a description, analysis, and evaluation of a
book. It talks about the quality, meaning, and significance of a
book. It isn't just a short, 6 paragraph retelling. It's not a
book report or a summary.
It's your reaction to the strengths and weaknesses of the
material. It's how you felt about the book's purpose, content,
and authority.
There is no right or wrong way to write a book review. Book
reviews are personal and reflect your opinion. There is no
minimum or maximal length. If you're writing one for an Amazon,
you will need to be concise and to the point - but if you are
writing for a magazine, you could run 1500 words or more.
One way to write it is to state what the author has tried to do,
compare (in your opinion) how that author succeeded, and back it
up with evidence.
Here's some guidelines:
1. Write an opening statement giving essential information about
the book: title, author, first copyright date, type of book,
general subject matter, special features (maps, color plates,
etc.), price and ISBN. (In online reviews, this can be skipped,
since it is part of the blurb for the book and that data is just
a few paragraphs above.)
2. State the author’s purpose in writing the book. You can often
get this from their preface or first chapter. Where they don't
come out and say so, you can ask yourself these questions:
a. Why did the author write on this subject rather than on some
other subject?
b. From what point of view is the work written?
c. Was the author trying to give information, to explain
something technical, to convince the reader of something?
d. What is the general field or genre, and how does the book fit
into it?
e. Who is the intended audience?
f. What is the author's style? Did it suit your own tastes?
g. Scan the Table of Contents to see how it's organized
sensibly.
g. How did the book affect you? Did you change any ideas you
held because of it? How does it fit in with what you think or
your own personal world view? Did it bring up old memories of
yours?
h. Did the book achieve what it set out to do?
i. Would you recommend this book to others? How come?
3. Sum up the book in an elevator pitch - if you had to
recommend this book to someone during an elevator ride, in the
time between floors.
4. Explain how the author got his point across. What
descriptions did they use? How did they tell the story - and did
they keep you interested? Did their arguments make sense? Did
they leave anything out or leave you unconvinced at the end?
5. Check into the author (this is fairly easy on the Internet)
and see if what you find - reputation, qualifications,
influences, biographical, etc. - establishes them as an
authority. Do you see any relation between the author's
philosophy, life experience and book you're reviewing?
6. If relevant, make note of the book's format - layout,
binding, typography, etc. Are there maps, illustrations? Do they
help your understanding?
7. Check the back matter. How's the index? Are the footnotes
accurate and useful? What does the bibliography look like -
long, short, haphazard? Make notes of what you find.
8. Summarize (briefly), analyze, and comment on the book's
content and its summary. List the main topics, and briefly
summarize the author's ideas about these topics, main points,
and conclusions. Use specific references and quotations to
support your statements. Once you have a good grip on that book,
the conclusion will some simply.
About the Author: Find out how to speed up your thinking and
sort out your life. Sign up for the Go Thunk Yourself Newsletter
at http://news.gothunkyourself.com Dr. Robert C. Worstell has
written and published over 3 dozen books, numerous articles, and
white papers. Review his works at http://gothunkyourself.com
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=231373&ca=Writing
You have just read a book and are offering your opinion.
Essentially, you are providing a mini-version of the book so
someone else can decide for themselves if it's worth their money
and time.
A book review is a description, analysis, and evaluation of a
book. It talks about the quality, meaning, and significance of a
book. It isn't just a short, 6 paragraph retelling. It's not a
book report or a summary.
It's your reaction to the strengths and weaknesses of the
material. It's how you felt about the book's purpose, content,
and authority.
There is no right or wrong way to write a book review. Book
reviews are personal and reflect your opinion. There is no
minimum or maximal length. If you're writing one for an Amazon,
you will need to be concise and to the point - but if you are
writing for a magazine, you could run 1500 words or more.
One way to write it is to state what the author has tried to do,
compare (in your opinion) how that author succeeded, and back it
up with evidence.
Here's some guidelines:
1. Write an opening statement giving essential information about
the book: title, author, first copyright date, type of book,
general subject matter, special features (maps, color plates,
etc.), price and ISBN. (In online reviews, this can be skipped,
since it is part of the blurb for the book and that data is just
a few paragraphs above.)
2. State the author’s purpose in writing the book. You can often
get this from their preface or first chapter. Where they don't
come out and say so, you can ask yourself these questions:
a. Why did the author write on this subject rather than on some
other subject?
b. From what point of view is the work written?
c. Was the author trying to give information, to explain
something technical, to convince the reader of something?
d. What is the general field or genre, and how does the book fit
into it?
e. Who is the intended audience?
f. What is the author's style? Did it suit your own tastes?
g. Scan the Table of Contents to see how it's organized
sensibly.
g. How did the book affect you? Did you change any ideas you
held because of it? How does it fit in with what you think or
your own personal world view? Did it bring up old memories of
yours?
h. Did the book achieve what it set out to do?
i. Would you recommend this book to others? How come?
3. Sum up the book in an elevator pitch - if you had to
recommend this book to someone during an elevator ride, in the
time between floors.
4. Explain how the author got his point across. What
descriptions did they use? How did they tell the story - and did
they keep you interested? Did their arguments make sense? Did
they leave anything out or leave you unconvinced at the end?
5. Check into the author (this is fairly easy on the Internet)
and see if what you find - reputation, qualifications,
influences, biographical, etc. - establishes them as an
authority. Do you see any relation between the author's
philosophy, life experience and book you're reviewing?
6. If relevant, make note of the book's format - layout,
binding, typography, etc. Are there maps, illustrations? Do they
help your understanding?
7. Check the back matter. How's the index? Are the footnotes
accurate and useful? What does the bibliography look like -
long, short, haphazard? Make notes of what you find.
8. Summarize (briefly), analyze, and comment on the book's
content and its summary. List the main topics, and briefly
summarize the author's ideas about these topics, main points,
and conclusions. Use specific references and quotations to
support your statements. Once you have a good grip on that book,
the conclusion will some simply.
About the Author: Find out how to speed up your thinking and
sort out your life. Sign up for the Go Thunk Yourself Newsletter
at http://news.gothunkyourself.com Dr. Robert C. Worstell has
written and published over 3 dozen books, numerous articles, and
white papers. Review his works at http://gothunkyourself.com
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=231373&ca=Writing
How To Write A Book Review
Need to write a book review? Whether for a school requirement or a professional gig, book reviews are always an interesting work on, with little requirements in terms of formalities and plenty of flexibility when it comes to style and form.
Book reviewers, provided you distribute your work to the world, wield a unique power to persuade people to buy a book, regardless of whether they're professionals or not. How many times, for instance, have you bought a book based on an Amazon recommendation from otherwise regular individuals on the website's review page? I, myself , have bought titles based off of very amateurish reviews that could have used the help of awriting software, believe it or not.
Choosing A Book
When choosing a book to review, try to pick out a subject that is relevant to you. There's no point reading advanced text on genetic evolution, after all, if you can't even manage the basics of the subject. What kind of review can you expect to write on a subject you're completely ignorant of?
Questions To Ask Yourself
It will be helpful to jot down notes while you're reading, so that it becomes easier to write your review later down the line. While going through the material, ask yourself the following questions and take occasional notes when a relevant thought presents itself:
- How well is the book received by the public at large?
- What message is unique to this book?
- Do you believe in the ideas it puts forward
- What's good about the book?
- What don't you enjoy about it?
- Also make sure to keep notes on chapter summaries, so it becomes easier to write about it later on.
Review Format
When crafting the actual review, you can use any essay format you're familiar with to write the review. Make sure to include relevant points you've written down, along with a very brief summary, into the body of your review. Talk about why you loved or hated the book, providing readers a reason to either get it or eschew it from their buying lists.
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