Book Reviews Are Easy (If You Know What You’re Doing)
Book reviews aren’t that difficult to write. In fact, your biggest challenge might be having to read the whole thing, especially if it’s a particularly boring piece of work. The fact that your subject is tightly-constrained helps make the whole process easier, apart from being an entertaining way to exercise your writing ability.
Fiction Vs Non-Fiction
For fictional books, such as novels and narratives, make sure to take notes while you’re reading. Put particular focus on the storyline, jotting down major events that affect the main direction of the story.
For non-fiction books, use the introduction and abstract (if available) to draw the main subject of the material. With that on your mind, take down notes on items that affect the main thesis, including quotes and paraphrases.
These stuff you put down, on their own, can be the basis for your entire book review. If you’d like to be more thorough, you can also read the piece once and re-read specifically for taking notes.
Book Review Format
Like most essays, your review will need to be run through a good grammar checker, apart from following a basic three-part format, consisting of an introduction, a body and a conclusion. For your introduction, always identify the material by author, title and publishing information. Specify what type of book it is so your readers can get a better perspective. Additionally, you can include pertinent background information which can help give the reader context about your opinions.
The body of your review will cover your reactions to the material. How would you describe the overall experience of reading it? What do you think of the author’s various opinions and views? What issues does it raise and what possibilities can you glean from it? How does it compare to similar work? How is it relevant to our everyday lives?
Naturally, your reactions to the book should lead to a specific conclusion. Is it a worthwhile material? Would the reader be better off skipping it? Summarize your major points and state your final recommendation to close your book review.