What Are Book Reviews | Your Online Publicist

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• Usually, book reviews are written evaluations of
  a recently published book in any genre.
  Generally, around the 500 to 700-word mark, they
  offer a brief description of a texts main
  elements while appraising the works overall
  strengths and weaknesses. Published book reviews
  mainly appear in newspapers, magazines, and
  academic journals. The reader is provided with an
  overview of the book itself and is told whether
  or not the reviewer would recommend the book to
  the reader. So book reviews in essence are the
  short take on the major themes of the book, its
  theme, plot, and characters.

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What is the Goal of a Book Review?

• Not too long ago book reviews were a regular
  appearance in every quality newspaper and many
  periodicals. They were important factors in
  whether or not a book would sell well. A review
  from a heavyweight critic could often be the
  deciding factor in whether a book became a
  bestseller or end up in low sales. However, in
  the last few decades, the book reviews influence
  has diminished considerably with many potential
  book buyers preferring to consult customer
  reviews on Amazon or sites like Goodreads. As a
  result, the book reviews appearance in
  traditional media has become less frequent.

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Key take away for a book reviewer

• ? He should engage critically with a text
• ? He should critically evaluate a text
• ? He should respond personally to a range of
  different writing genres
• ? He should focus on improving his own reading,
  writing, and thinking skills.

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Book review The Key Elements

• Aspects of the book a reviewer may wish to take
  notes on in a work of fiction may include
• ? Themes What are the main themes of the book
  under consideration? Are there recurring motifs
  in the book? Is the exploration of the themes
  deep or on the surface only?
• ? Characters Who are the main characters in the
  story? What are their believes and motivations?
  Are they convincingly reflected?
• ? Style What are the key elements of the
  writers style? Does it fit into the wider
  literary world?
• ? Plot What is the storys main happening place?
  What is the main plot? How effectively is the
  rising action described? What are the subplots?

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For a review to be effective the reviewer should

• i. Make It Personal
• Book reviews are subjective. They are opinion
  pieces that come out of our experiences of life.
  A reviewer should link the work they are writing
  about to their own personal life within the
  context of the review.
• ii. Make It Universal
• Just as it is important to show how the work
  relates to individual life, it is important to
  switch sides as well. Reviewers should endeavor
  to show how the ideas explored in the book relate
  to the wider world.
• iii. Support Opinions with Evidence
• By its very nature, a book review is a subjective
  piece of writing. However, just because it is
  subjective does not mean that opinions do not
  need to be rationalized.

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Book Review-Edit and Revision

• As with any writing genre, reviewers should
  polish things up with review and revision at the
  end. It is critical to proofread and check for
  accurate spelling throughout, with particular
  attention to the authors name, character names,
  publisher etc.
• It is good practice to double-check their use of
  evidence and claims. Are statements supportive?
  Have the statistics been used correctly? Are the
  quotations accurate?

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Video Book Reviews

• The best way to promote a book is to get people
  talking about it, discussing it, and sharing it.
  And the easiest way to combine all of these is to
  have a video book review. A Video Book Review is
  an effective way to inform potential readers,
  reach a new audience, and an easy way to get
  feedback about your book. The key areas to
  discuss in a video book review are characters,
  themes, writing style, and plot. A brief excerpt
  that highlights the main event in the book is
  also included in a video book review.

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Main benefits of a video book review

• The video is available to billions of active
  YouTube users
• It is much more engaging than other formats
• The YouTube video can be put on your website for
  a wider reach
• It is a quick and easy way for book bloggers to
  share content about your book
• The video can easily be shared on Facebook and
  Twitter to amplify its reach
• It is an effective way to get feedback about your
  book.

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