![[Home]](/wiki.gif)
The Official Idiot's Guide To Writing Book Reviews - Takes A Genius To Write One, ActuallyThe Official Idiot's Guide To Writing Book Reviews - Takes A Genius To Write One, Actually
BOOK reviews should help readers decide whether a book is worth reading or picking up.
A good book review basically gives its reader both a sense of what one will find in the book and an analysis of whether it is on target.
As an example, for non-fiction, the reviewer evaluates the accuracy of the author's depiction of people, places and time, the validity of the author's assumptions and reasoning that led to her or his conclusions, the book's genre and where it fits into that genre, the intended audience (scholars? general public? children?), and so on.
In the case of, say, a women's history book, it will be helpful to explore, directly or indirectly, the theoretical grounding of the book.
For instance, is its purpose to prove that there were great women in history, to show how ordinary women lived their lives, or to document structures of oppression? Also consider whether it is serious historical research or is it meant to pique interest in the subject.
Your style will also change depending on your intended audience. If you're writing a book review for a newspaper, magazine, a web site, or for some other purpose, consider your audience's needs and interest.
For more about writing book reviews, please see our page Writing Book Reviews
Search for books about:
|
Interested in Big Dummy Guide To The Internet?