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So, you thought you were just going to take the free book and run, right? Wrong! You owe us (and the publisher) a book review. The good news is that writing a book review is a simple matter. To show you just how simple, we've put together this handy-dandy guide to writing one, so there's no confusion about what we want from you.
Writing a book review in 5 simple steps:
First, get and read the book you're going to review. You're not a famous author, and you're not writing a jacket blurb, so none of this "read the intro, write glowing praise, and submit" nonsense. You're writing something that'll be read by your peers, to help them decide whether or not the book is worth spending their money and time on.
Once you've read the book, sit down (if you weren't already). Or stand up. It's really irrelevant to the task. What is relevant is that you get your thoughts and impressions captured in some form of coherent structure, preferably hours or days after you've completed the book. Now, start writing. Put down what you liked about the book. Put into words what you didn't like about the book. Imagine you're trying to convince a peer to buy (or avoid) the book.
Don't assume everyone knows as much or as little about the subject matter as you do. In fact, it's a good idea to explain how much or little you knew about the subject matter before you started reading, and how that changed over the course of your experience with the book.
Don't spend time nitpicking technical details. If you find errata, send them to the author and/or the publisher. The review isn't the place for that. If the text is filthy with egregious errors, mention it and move on. Don't belabor the point.
Remember to keep your review concise. After all, you're not writing a book. If you've gone on for more than seven paragraphs, you've probably spent too much time dwelling on a particular issue. If you feel you must go longer, do. The only thing worse than a review that's too long is one that's too short. Get in there, make your point, and get out. But don't be so terse that you're cryptic. If you state an opinion, explain it. Back it up. But don't dwell on it.
Things to address in a review
Is the text clearly written, well-organized, and easy to understand based on your knowledge of the topic? What about someone on the opposite end of the spectrum, knowledge-wise?
What was the goal of the book? Did it succeed? If so, how? Did it fall short? Why? Would you recommend this book to someone else? If so, what pre-requisite knowledge do you think they'd need to get the most from the book? Would someone without that knowledge benefit from reading it? If you wouldn't recommend it to anyone, why not? What could the author have done better? What could the author have done differently?
Answer these questions, and you've got the meat of a review. Now, put it into a readable form that flows from beginning to end (remember, people need to understand and enjoy your review just as much as the book), and send it to [email protected].