Book Reviewing - Share the Fun

You can probably guess why that woman in my introduction is not me...

Most of the books that I review are e-books i.e. electronic books in the form of .pdf, txt, rtf, exe, html or word files. Occasionally, I'm lucky to receive a hard copy (I take these when I can; they're so much easier to read and I can add the book to my shelves at home.)

However, most of the time, I'm reading and reviewing books sitting on a hard chair in front of my computer screen. Ouch!

This makes my job that teensy weensy bit harder and less enjoyable, as you can imagine.

Or, different books inspire different ways to review...

Not all books that I read inspire something in me and that's where the problem can sometimes lie.

If they don't bombard you with any form of emotion then it makes it hard for you to write anything about it. Unless, of course, you write a purely negative review. Not advisable ;)

I've created a list below of different ways of reviewing a book or a product.

By searching for a different way to review a book/product to the 'norm', it can usually help you out of a sticky patch that the lack of inspiration can bring.

Squidoo Profits Step by Step Guide - Review.

This is what I call a 'breaking a book down to its bare bones' kind of review; where you literally deconstruct it and follow it step by step. These types of reviews are good to do with How-to guides or instructional books.

How to Write a Dirty Story.

Warning!! R Rated Lens. This is a short, concise review that was easy to complete. It inspired me as it was about a subject I was interested in. It was also written in an easy-to-understand manner. I could use my own experience with erotic writing to complete this review.

River Bones by Mary Deal

Some reviews can trigger questions from a receiving author. This review inspired questions that I'm afraid I wasn't willing to answer simply because it was questioning my opinion. As a review is just one opinion, the review should never be changed or altered to 'please' the author of the book. Read this review and see if you can think of what questions it may have provoked. Leave a comment in the Guestbook at the end of this Lens!

Not Dreamt of in Your Philosophy by Lynn Veach Sadler

This book was extremely hard for me to review simply because I found it difficult to understand! Call me stupid, if you like, lol but I have difficulties reading and reviewing books or stories that come across as 'weirdy' to me. This can apply to films, too. One way I got around this was to pick up on something that was written in the blurb for the book and in the title: 'Not Dreamt of' and wrote about how this book was something so unusual that it couldn't be dreamt of or even believed.

Short story/poetry Anthologies

These books are collections of three or more short stories or poems. To review these types of books either take each piece of work individually and review them (this is a long winded way of doing things though!), take a few pieces of work and review them or take the entire collection and review them as an entire book. What does the stories say to you? Do they inspire you? Do they make you angry, sad, happy? Why? Did they fit together as a collection? If it is an anthology with various authors (normally promoted under an Editor), read the Editorial and say if you think the Editor achieved his/her objective.

Instructional or How-to Book

To review How-to's, follow the instructions and advice in the book as much as you are able; point out if the advice worked for you, why it didn't work, if you came up against any problems whilst following the advice, if you thought the book was value for money or if you learnt anything new. Could you find the book cheaper elsewhere? Did you agree with the author? This type of book is ideal to use as a subject for a Squidoo Lens because so much information and ground can be covered.

Fiction novels

You may find it easier to write down notes as you go along. This saves you time and it also helps to prevent you from forgetting vital information about specific details about the novel. Ask yourself questions: E.g.
Did you like the book? Why?
What does it say to you?
Is there a moral?
Is there a lesson to be learnt?
Does it inspire you?
Does it provoke emotions in you?
What are they?
Why does it?

Write about the plot, storyline, characters, structure, descriptions, dialogue, narration etc.

I've had very few negative responses due to my reviews. But, as a reviewer, receiving them, unfortunately, is part of your job.

As a Book/Product Reviewer:

Oh, yes! We have rules to follow too!

a) Please remember important details of the book, author or service. For example, forgetting the name of the author and misspelling it, is bad form. Try to get the characters names correct, too.

b) Don't withold a review for too long. If you've promised the review within a certain period of time then do make sure you stick to that promise.

c) Don't refuse to review a book without good reason. For example, I will refuse to review a book if I don't agree with the subject matter or if it's so badly written I couldn't, in all honesty, give it a fair review.

As an Author/Service provider/Restaurant owner:

a) Please remember to say thankyou and/or acknowledge receipt of the review. If you don't tell me if you've received it, how do I know that you have? Saying 'thanks' to the reviewer whether you liked the review or not makes our job that much easier. It's also polite!

b) Do not try and get the review changed unless some error has been made with the details of the book or characters. A review is an opinion or a view: mine! I cannot, will not, change that. 9 times out of 10, your request for a change will be ignored. It is regarded as unprofessional to request a change.

c) Do not tell a reviewer how to do his/her job. i.e. Do not suggest ways in which she should be reviewing. Most reviewers have been doing the job far longer than you realise. They have developed their own unique style like you have as a writer.

d) Do not hassle for your review. As a reviewer, I can 'hold' a book for a maximum of 3 months. I have to read it and then construct the review. It takes time. Constant hassling will not get your review any quicker and the reviewer is likely to penalise you for doing so in her review. Unfair? Yes, it is, but it does happen. I don't do this but I do take offense at being hassled.

It depends on many factors:

a) If the book inspires me. If it doesn't, it could take me the entire 3 months (or longer) to read and review. I may have to stop many times and come back to it before I can complete it.

b) If it's not an easy read, if it's about a subject I have no knowledge of or experience in and/or if it contains too many long and complicated words and phrases, then it will take me longer to finish the book and the review. This is usually, because I'm spending far too much time looking words up in the dictionary and less time reading the book!

c) A book that is written in a subject I'm interested in, will take me hours to finish reading and less to finish reviewing.

d) If it's written in an easy style, then it won't take me as long to complete. To me, Stephen King is an example of a 'difficult to read' style whereas Robin Cook is, to me, an 'easy' style.

I must stress that these are my opinions on the above mentioned authors! Not everyone will agree with me.