Writing a Book Review

What is a book review?

A book review is a description, analysis, and evaluation of a book. It reflects your opinion of the book, how you feel about the book’s purpose, content and authority. It talks about the quality, meaning and significance of the book as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the book.

When people read your review, they can decide for themselves if it’s worth their money and time to read the book. Therefore, it is valuable not only to readers looking for books, but also to the author who is trying to promote the book in a positive way.

A book review is not:

• a summary of the book that reveals the plot and climax. No one wants to read a book if they already know the story so take caution not to give away too many details about the book.
• a book report like you did in high school
• an opportunity to expound on your relationship to the author. The review is about the book.

How to Write a Book Review

Before you write your review, ask yourself “What would I have wanted to know before I read the book?”

Steps to writing a book review:

1. Write a bibliographical statement, giving important information about the book:title, author, copyright date, type of book, general subject matter, special features, price and ISBN. (If you are leaving this review on a site like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or CBD, this information is already provided. But if you’re writing the review for a blog post, newsletter, newspaper, or magazine, you’ll need to provide as much information as you can to avoid any confusion about the book being reviewed.

2. State the author’s purpose in writing the book. Look in the preface or first chapter to find this information. If you don’t find it there, ask yourself some questions:

• Who is the intended audience?
• What is the genre, and how does the book fit into it?
• Why did the author write on this subject?
• Did the author try to give information, explain something technical, or convince the reader of something?
• How did the book affect you? Did you change your ideas because of it? 
• How did it fit in with your worldview? Did it bring up old memories?
• Did the book achieve its purpose? Would you recommend it to a friend?

3. Comment on how the author tells the story and keeps you interested. 

4. Research the author online through biographical information, reputation, qualifications and experience. This allows you to establish the authority of the author.

5. Depending on the type of book, you may need to comment on cover, layout and any pictures or maps that helped you understand the book better.

6. Check the back matter: index, endnotes, bibliography. Is the material accurate and useful?

7. Briefly summarize and comment on the author’s ideas and main points. Use quotations from the book to support your statements.

8. Be detailed and specific, without giving away the plot. There is no set length for a book review. The publisher usually sets the number of words. Online they are usually 150-300 words, but in a magazine, they may be as much as 500 words.

Any time you read a good book, take the time to write a review on at least one of the Web sites like www.amazon.com, www.bn.com, www.cbd.com, www.goodreads.com. 

Remember you are doing a service for the writer and the reader.

Writing Contemporary Psalms

I was presenting at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference. As an editor, it was my turn to meet with writers about their books and articles and to offer encouragement and suggestions for improvement.

One author sat across the table from me as I read several pages of her manuscript. It was amazing! I felt like I was reading the book of Psalms; only it was not about David or the other writers of Psalms. It was about her life experiences. God had given her a special gift: She had written contemporary psalms about her life and was completely unaware of what she had done. Truly, God had led her to do this for Him.

Has He given you this special creative genius? Would you like to find out?

Wait! Before you sit down to write psalms about your life, let me make a suggestion:

Discover how to write psalms of joy, praise, worship, prayer, and woe. Enrich your life by doing what God has called you to do for Him. In doing so, you will also bless those who read your contemporary psalms.

Using the Bible as our textbook, I teach a course “Writing Contemporary Psalms.” The cost is $40. It’s taught in four classes and begins the first Monday of every month. If you’d like to know more about the class or sign up to take the class, email me at annknowles03@aol.com and I’ll send you all the details.

Welcome Sandy Ardoin!

 WRITE PATHWAY WELCOMES SANDY ARDOIN







Ann:  Hello Sandy, and welcome to Write Pathway where writers and editors meet. We are thrilled to have you with us today.

Let’s begin today with a little information about you; then we’ll merge into thoughts about your book. Are you a native Carolina girl?

Sandy:  Ah, Carolina Girls … love that song. No, I was born in Indiana and moved to Texas when I was sixteen. I’ve been in North Carolina for the past (almost) 19 years.

Ann:  What would you do with your life if you didn't write?

Sandy:  Clean house. J I’d probably also roam the streets looking for antique shops to prowl through. I’d do more gardening.

Ann:  If you were a style of music, what style would you be?

Sandy:  Country. More specifically, Country-Pop—a little bit country and a little bit rock ’n roll. Not too wild, but definitely not citified.

Ann:  Who inspired in you a love for books?

Sandy:  Dick and Jane. I still remember reading those and getting caught up in the stories of Spot and the pony (maybe because I wanted a pony so badly myself).

After that, it was Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Little House books (my historical side). Then I graduated to gothic mysteries—Jane Eyre, Rebecca—and then more contemporary romantic mysteries from people like Phyllis Whitney and Mary Higgins Clark.

I don’t come from a family of big readers, so I’m not sure where I picked up my love for reading.

Ann:  How many books have you published? Do you also write other things—articles? short stories? Etc.

Sandy:  The Yuletide Angel is my first published book—a Christmas novella. My first novel (a follow-up to the novella) releases in January of 2016. It’s working title is A Reluctant Melody.

I’ve been publishing since 1986—short pieces like cards, posters, devotions, short stories. In June, my short story “Ellie’s Escape” appeared in Splickety Prime. It was exciting to be in the same issue as Jerry Jenkins.

Ann:  Well, congratulations on getting in Splickety Prime with Jerry Jenkins.  

We all know that publishing is an arduous process and often takes many rejections before we get published. How many rejections did you get before you published a book?

Sandy:  Book rejections? More than I care to remember. Before The Yuletide Angel, my agent submitted three other books—two of them multiple times. Between those three, I’d say I’ve racked up at least twenty rejections.

Ann:  Which character in your present release, The Yuletide Angel, do you find most interesting?

Sandy:  That’s a tough one. I love my hero’s character. Hugh is really sweet and protective. He looks beneath the surface. My heroine, Violet, starts out shy and withdrawn, but she has an inner grit that I like in a female character.

Ann:  Tell us a little about your book.

Sandy: The Yuletide Angel is Christian historical romance set in 1890. Here’s the back cover blurb:

It's Christmastime in 1890s Meadowmead, and someone is venturing out at night to leave packages at the homes of the needy. Dubbed The Yuletide Angel, no one knows the identity of this mysterious benefactor. 

No one, except Hugh Barnes, a confirmed bachelor who finds himself drawn to the outwardly shy but inwardly bold Violet Madison, a young woman who risks her safety to help others. 

When Violet confesses her fear of eviction from her childhood home, Hugh longs to rescue her. His good intentions are thwarted, however, when Hugh's estranged brother shows up in town ... and in Violet's company. 

But Violet faces an even bigger threat. A phantom figure lurks in the shadows, prepared to clip the wings of The Yuletide Angel.

Ann:  The Yuletide Angel sounds like my kind of book. I look forward to reading it. Got it on my Christmas list.

Would you share a favorite Scripture verse or passage of Scripture that means a lot to you?

Sandy:  I have several, including Jeremiah 29:11, but I really like Isaiah 55:8-9.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Those words remind me of the awesomeness of God and that He is in control. I can’t do anything, think anything, plan anything that equals what He can do or who He is.

Ann:  Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Sandy:  Thanks so much for having me here, Ann. I’ve enjoyed answering your questions and introducing your readers to Hugh Barnes and Violet Madison, the main characters of The Yuletide Angel. 

Ann:  Where can we find you online, Sandy?

Sandy:  Here are a few places:

http://sandraardoin.wordpress.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/SandraArdoinAuthor  
The Yuletide Angel: Sandra Ardoin: 9781941103890: Amazon.com  

https://twitter.com/SandraArdoin1 

http://seriouslywrite.blogspot.com/2014/04/aha-now-youre-on-to-something-by-sandra.html 

Ann:  Thank you for sharing your debut novella with us, Sandy. We hope when the next book comes out, you'll revisit us here at Write Pathway.