Welcome to the Australasian Christian Writers Tuesday Book Chat, where we encourage book lovers to answer our bookish question of the week.
Today’s question is:
What makes a good book review?
We look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please join in the conversation in a comment on this post or in a comment on the blog post shared in our Australasian Christian Writers Facebook Group.
Let’s chat!
When I first read this question, I thought hmm… I could write a long blog post on this topic!
Instead of writing an essay, I’m linking below to a couple of blog posts from Iola Goulton that provide more information on writing book reviews.
- Throwback Thursday | Should Authors Review the Books they Read?
- Reviewing 101 | All you Need to Know about Reviewing Online
My top three tips for what makes a good fiction book review:
- Honesty – There are lots of ‘nice’ reviews, especially in Christian circles, and that’s what I’d expect to see in a book recommendation. In a book review, I’m looking for the reviewer’s honest opinion that may include critical comments.
- No spoilers in the review – If spoilers are included, the reviewer should mention this at the start of the review.
- A ‘reader’ rather than a ‘writer’ perspective in the review – Writers can sometimes focus on the more technical aspects of how the story is written, whereas a reader will focus on whether or not they connected with the characters and how the story made them feel. Did the story make them laugh or cry? Did the story inspire or challenge them? Did they hate closing the book and saying goodbye to the characters and story world?
What do you think? What makes a good book review?
And don’t forget: if you’d like to participate in our weekly Book Chat by posting the question and your answer on your blog, drop us an email via our Contact page and we’ll send you the list of questions for 2019.
I think the wisest plan in reviewing anything from a tutorial, a book or even your friend’s latest art project is the CRC method. Commend, recommend, commend. Start with something positive then move into the nitty gritty and end with a positive. This has held me in good stead for many years of assessing workshops, presentations and assignments. If you jump straight into what might need revamping, you are in danger of raising a barrier which could either break the spirit of the person whose work you are assessing, or create such a barrier of resentment that all your well meaning advice can’t penetrate.
Hi Judy, Yes, sandwiching criticism between positive points is a good strategy. Posting a public review on a friend’s book that contains any critical comments can potentially create problems in the friendship. This is one reason why I only post book recommendations. In a book recommendation you can put a positive spin on ‘personal taste’ aspects of the story that may not be your thing but are likely to be something other readers will love.
When I was first starting to review I read somewhere that its best to only review the first 3 or so chapters. You can say you enjoy a book etc but if you are going to talk about the book don’t review past the first few chapters so you don’t give away any spoilers or special gems the author had put in the book. I like a review to tell me if the book is a good read and why the reviewer liked the book. If a reviewer puts spoilers without a warning it can discourage me from wanting to read the book. Its like when an author rights a blurb and then what it mentions actually happens almost at the end of the book. It annoys me because its like you already know what is going to happen.
Its like hidden gems I like discovering these in a book as the author put them in to capture the readers imagination, they come out of the blue and make the story.
I tend to read the 3 stars and even a few of the 1 star reviews especially if I know the reviewer just to see what people think. I don’t trust 5 star reviews especially if they are from people who received a review copy unless I know the reviewer. When you see one reviewer giving all books 5 stars it tends to loss impact. While there are 5 star books I try to reserve it for a book I simply can’t put down and will read even when exhausted.
Hi Jenny, Yes, it’s frustrating when a fiction review shares the plot twist or hidden gems in the story. There’s a big difference between a review and a story synopsis. In contrast, a non-fiction review will typically have a focus on the factual content. The review will consider how well the book, as a whole, provides solutions and information on the problem/issue being addressed in the book.
So True about a non fiction. When I was looking for the right pain book to buy (was suggested a few) I needed to find out what was included and how people found the books. Being able to find out if it was going to be appropriate to me or not was so helpful.
Also when buying a devotional I am looking to see if how the devotions are worked. (I was looking at ones including cats or pets!) But I like a verse or bible reading, devotional and a prayer. I don’t want the ones that don’t have a prayer at the end.