Some of us just read a book, and once you close the last page, you start thinking of reading another one. There are still some of us who do not have the little time to read that book. After reading, some people have developed the art of giving their comments about the book. In this commentary, they do not just provide a summary of what they got from the book. Instead, they focus on evaluating some aspects they found good, interesting or problematic.
The idea of giving a critical evaluation of a book, journal or magazine is best referred to a review. When one is analyzing a book, then such an evaluation is termed as a book review. Since many people might find it somehow hard to write a good book review here are some of the tips for writing a good review.
Read the book
Although this might sound just like the obvious, it is quite essential. One has to take time and read not only a part but the entire book. Without reading the book, one might not give a balanced review. An excellent review comes from the appreciation of the book in its entirety.
Do not give too much
A review should not give so much that one would not have the desire to read the book. Therefore one should ensure that they get to be brief on the content but much on the analysis so that they can spur ones desire to read. However, that should not mean that one limits themselves to writing shallow content, you can make the review elaborate but still impressive. At a time when it feels hard to start writing the review, it could be essential to find a good sample of a book review.
Make critical analysis
One should understand that a review is not just summarizing the content in the book or a compilation of the plot and character scene. Preferably, a good discussion should focus on critical aspects such as the theme and analysis of how they have been developed. One should focus on showing how successful the author has developed the theme and give suggestions on how they could have made the theme more intriguing. Again one can try to show how the writer could have made the plot better. According to Wheelwright, you should seek to give to dig deeper to make the reader understand your critics.
Creativity is important
Though writing a book review might just seem natural. Still one should bring in some creativity. One should show their skills and flair. You should seek to make the piece attractive for people to read. More importantly, one should focus on being constructive in the criticism. It would be unprofessional to make the criticism biased. That is to say that the piece should have both the pros and cons of the author’s approach.
Develop a good assessment
Before writing your review, it is important to first develop an assessment of the book. There many things that you should consider in developing the assessment. One should look at the author’s theme, the subject of the book, how the author develops the topic, the argument they give and the structure of the argument. Some experts also recommend that one analysis which the author is and the genre of the book. A good assessment will give one a better understanding of the book.
Provide a good explanation
In writing your review ensures that you have elaborately developed your ideas. One should not just focus on outlining their opinions about the book. Rather, one should seek to bring out an understanding of why they think the book is good or bad.
Give your closing view
In writing a good review, you should either recommend one to read the book or give a closing remark about the piece. It is important to leave your readers with a general view of what you think about the book.
How a lousy review looked like
Last week I read a review of the book. “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness: A novel” by Arundhati Roy. This should be one of the worst reviews I have ever read. Among some of the mistakes in the review is that the writer did not give any analysis of the book. His focus was just to say how the author was not good and that they should not have written this review. Instead of focusing on the themes in the book the writer’s focus was attacking the author. They did not offer any constructive criticism. One should avoid being subjective in the review and focus on providing an unbiased review. Besides, you should stick to analyzing the book and not the personal character of the author.
Conclusion
One should not take a book review as a daunting task. The most important thing is that you just need to understand the piece of writing and give your view on what you think was right or wrong about the book. However, you need to be creative in presenting your ideas. Make the book review enjoyable to read.
