How do you write a good book review?
Posted on December 3rd, 2007 by admin
B asked:
what should I be trying / which focuses on when reads the book, and what are the most important things that must be addressed in detail in the review
Question posted courtesy of: Greg Schmigel’s Book Reviews
what should I be trying / which focuses on when reads the book, and what are the most important things that must be addressed in detail in the review
Question posted courtesy of: Greg Schmigel’s Book Reviews
My advice to you is read several book reviews to get a good idea how they’re written or better yet read a book review of the book that you have to make a review off and just copy it…
Making a book review is pretty easy. You just have to consider the following:
-intensity of the story/plot
-the portrayal of the characters
-the structure of the writing
-grammar
-setting
-atmosphere of the story
-impact on people
Those are some of the things you need to consider to decide whether the book deserves a good rating or not. I also suggest you to read some book reviews in Amazon or Goodreads to get some idea from amateur reviewers
Good luck!
You should include a synopsis of the plot, but don’t give anything away that would ruin the reader’s experience… Beyond that, I suggest you focus on what had the greatest impact on YOU as a reader… Was it the author’s expertise in creating setting? Was it the depth of characters/how you were drawn into their situations? …and so forth. What would you tell a friend about this book? What would you like to know? … How to write a book review is also influenced by the audience of your review. Some publications/venues require more formal/academic approaches, others focus more on the affective elements of a book.
Some synopses – keep it brief but compelling. More important are your impressions. Was the book good or bad? Would it appeal to a certain reader whether you liked it or not? Sometimes I’ve reviewed books that did not fit into my usual reading criteria so I had to base my opinion on whether the book was a good representation of a genre that I might not like. I’ve always believed good writing is good writing, no matter the genre, but I have to take that into consideration, too. Also, though you’re first duty is always going to be to the reader, remember there’s no reason to be vicious in your review, such as “Famous author’s “XYZ” could use some work in the plotting department” – not “Famous author’s “XYZ” sucks.”