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Using your experience to help others make decisions
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Approach. Often when you read a book, the images are fresh in your mind. Take a few notes as these will help you to get that review off to a great start. For example, if you have a bad memory for detail, you can add to this list the names of characters, the period the piece is set in and the nature of the book. Little details help your review to be more fluent and useful. Ordering your review. Having your review in a logical sequence which is easy for people to grasp information is vital. Subheadings can be used, and the ISBN number can also be included, so that people can locate and purchase the book easily. Remember that many books have similar sounding names, so this rules out the possibility of the reader being fooled into buying the wrong book, or edition. Genre of book and background of author. If you have read other works of this author, you can state how the book compares with other books written by the author. Describing the kind of book also helps, as many are loosely catergorized on sale sites, and this takes away the element of surprise for people thinking they are buying a certain genre and then discovering that the book isn't what they expected. Writing style. It's a great idea to include your thoughts on the writing style of the author. Is the writing of a romanticized nature, factual and dry, well written or badly written? All of these details help potential readers to make decisions. Plot. The plot of a book is vital to it's authenticity, although one mistake many book reviewers make is giving away too much. Remember, the words of the writer are for the reader to discover and that you should not give away endings and spoil the potential read. Telling the reader the plot layout is acceptable but be careful how far this goes. Development of characters. Did the author fully develop the characters in the book, or did you feel no empathy for them? Did the book have too many characters? To little detail for you to be able to feel their character at all? Often writers make the mistake of introducing too many bland characters, or of basing their story around one central character, leaving the background characters too bland for the reader to distinguish. Let the reader know about your experience with the characterizations within the book. Time period. Readers will want to know what time period the book was set in. Here, remember that books cover all kinds of elements and this is a major one, since historical books do need to be described as such, giving an idea as to the accuracy of detail. Comparison with other authors. This is a great element to include within a book review, since it may just be the familiarity of authors who are compared with this author which help readers to discover new books of a similar style. Ending of book. The ending of a book leaves a reader with a very definite feeling of reward for having read the book, or disappointment and hunger for more. Describe without giving away too much detail how you felt when you finished the book. This doesn't have to be in first person, but can be a description of whether the book satisfies the reader or leaves them disappointed. The view you give matters, because that same impression may disappoint potential readers, or make them hunger for more of the same author if the book has a great ending.
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You will Need To keep notes. To observe writing skill of author. To assess characterizations. To compare with other books by same author. To assess writer against other writers. To assess overall thoughts on the book. Tips & Warnings  Never give away spoilers which will take the enjoyment out of book reading for others.
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How-To Guide Rating: unrated
