The New York Times is often the more notable sources for book reviews, but readers often flock to numerous other sources, including web publications, to get the dirt on their favorite genre's newest titles.
Describing the Book
First, you will want to begin your review by offering a description of the book. You can start by either offering a brief description of the book, or weave the various plot points throughout your review. What is most important to remember is that there is a significant difference between writing a book summary and writing a proper review.
If the reader decides to read the book, they will not want to have the story given away. As such, you will want to offer plot information mostly as a teaser, but without giving away any surprises. The same principle applies if you are reviewing a non-fiction book.
How to Write a Balanced Book Review
An important aspect of review writing, and one that some reviewers occasionally forget, is the importance of writing a balanced review. This means that a reviewer should draw out both the positive and negative aspects of the work. Sometimes this approach is challenging because a work is so wonderful that picking out flaws seem impossible. Other times, a work is so awful that it seems to lack any redeeming qualities.
Whether or not you write a favorable (to the author) review, try and discuss any literary devices that the author might use. For example, if the book makes excellent use of the allegory, or if it is reminiscent of a classic, you might want to mention that. And if the book does share some common ground with other books in its genre, you might want to discuss how it matches up against its counterparts. Discussing specific things, and how they better or diminish the work, will help you to gain credibility as a reviewer.
The reviewer has options regarding how the review is written. One is to be humorous, with plenty of flavor and personality. Writing in this style will make the review more entertaining, but you should be careful how you might come across to some audiences. A quieter approach, which pushes the reviewer his or herself into the background, leaving the reader to make up their mind, might make for a more impartial and credible review.
Pitfalls of Writing Book Reviews
Try not to pick a work apart unless you can write something better yourself. Very often, reviewers will tear a book apart without necessarily owning the skill to write a better book themselves. These reviewers might seem entertaining to some, but will likely cast a bad impression upon most audiences.
Saying “I liked this book because” or “I didn’t like this book because” will not help your review to find a home. Reviewing should be entirely unbiased. Whether or not the reviewer truly enjoyed the work is not nearly as relevant as presenting important facts about the work.
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