HOW TO: Write Book Reviews
hi everyone! today's blog post will be about writing book reviews :) do keep in mind that i'm not a professional book reviewer and i review books solely for fun! but since quite a few people have reached out to me for help, i thought i'd address the questions i receive most often here in a blog post!
what kind of books do you review? do you review ALL the books that you read?
i only review books that i have a lot to say about! normally these are books that have really high ratings, or books with really low ratings (though there's an exception for books that i just absolutely adore, because writing a review can make me overthink the themes of the book and thus end up enjoying less than i did originally). aside from this, i also review books that i requested from publishers :) a follower once asked me what my opinion was on only writing book reviews for books that are trending, and while i do think that these book reviews bring the most traffic, i really don't think it's a good idea in general. i used to only review books that are popular, and it pressured me so much to follow what other people are saying about the book. sometimes i even feel pressured to write a review on a book that i feel differently compared to a majority :/ besides, it's good to write about books that are underrated. since these books aren't in any kind of spotlight, reviews on these books would be so much fresher to read about! not to mention more authentic and honest (at least, that's how it is for me!). plus, a positive review on underrated books provides more exposure for them :)
how do you start a book review?
i like to always keep a brief summary of my thoughts before i get into the details of my book review. for example, if i enjoyed a book immensely, i'll make sure to mention that before i get into the book review. there's really no right or wrong way to do this. i just feel like a book review needs a proper segue before jumping into the detailed why's and what's of the book :)
how do you write a book review?
i like to always keep my book review casual, so really there's no professional way of writing a book review. i'm not a book critic, and i write my book reviews for fun, so that's just how my reviews usually go. they're light and casual. sometimes a little crazy and all over the place. i like to fangirl, so i fangirl a lot in my reviews too! if a book made me really angry, i rant a lot. if i read a heavy book, my reviews tend to be more thoughtful. the most important thing is to stay casual with your book reviews. writing a 400-500 word blog post with zero grammatical errors on a weekly basis can become quite a chore, so make it something you can look forward to by keeping your reviews fun and light. another way you can keep your reviews casual is to add gifs! they do wonders to spice up your posts!
what do you write in your book review?
i always talk about the characters, plot, world-building, and the writing. i talk about the strengths of the book and also things that can be improved. that's it really xD sorry i don't have more to say, but this is the pattern that i have in all my book reviews! it makes writing book reviews so much easier!
do you plan for a book review?
yes i do! i refer to my annotations :) that's why i'm always writing in my books a lot! i find all my little notes and scribbles in the books i annotate, transfer them to my journal, structure my paragraphs, add in some extra comments, and then i post the draft up on my blog where i go through it one more time to fix up any errors :) this keeps my book reviews somewhat organised!
aaand that's it for today's blog post guys! sorry it was a little short. if there are anymore questions you want me to answer, please feel free to comment down below or find me on instagram (@bookishsmaug) :) i'll do a part 2 on this topic if need be. i hope this blog post is somewhat helpful! <3