What Are Book Reviews

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What Are Book Reviews
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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.
• Key take away for a book reviewer
• Engage critically with a text
• Critically evaluate a text
• Respond personally to a range of different
  writing genres
• 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

• 1. 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. By making this personal
  connection to the work, reviewers contextualize
  their opinions for the readers and help them to
  understand whether the book will be of interest
  to them or not in the process.
• 2. 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 endeavour
  to show how the ideas explored in the book relate
  to the wider world. They may be in the form of
  the universality of the themes in a work of
  fiction, or, the international implications for
  arguments elucidated in a work of nonfiction.

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For a review to be effective the reviewer should

• 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. The reviewers need to
  understand how to back up their opinions with
  various forms of evidence. Quotations,
  statistics, and the use of primary and secondary
  sources come in handy there.

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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?
• The discipline of writing book reviews offers
  opportunities to reviewers to develop their
  writing skills and exercise their critical
  faculties. Book reviews are valuable standalone
  activities and may serve as a part of a series of
  activities engaging with a central text. They may
  also serve as an effective springboard into later
  discussion of work based on the ideas and issues
  explored in a particular book. Though the book
  review does not hold the sway it once did in the
  minds of the reading public, it still serves as
  an effective mechanism to spread the word around.

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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.
• 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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