How to Write a Book Review
Main Article Content Forthcoming
Solicited from Sam Risak
Book Review Assignment
Select a book to review; it must be published within the last year. Track down the title, author, and press and get instructor approval, and then contact the press to request a review copy. Work ahead so that you don’t have to purchase a copy, and consider forthcoming titles too.This is not a literature paper; this is not a personal response paper. It’s a critique geared toward readers interested in the genre. If you’re unfamiliar with book reviews, look at examples online at outlets like Boxcar Poetry Review, Valparaiso Poetry Review, LA Review of Books, and New York Times. You should also read “Forms of Enthusiasm” online at The Kenyon Review.
• Your book review must be typed, double-spaced, paginated, and stapled. Your name and email address should appear in the upper-right corner of the header. The title, author, publisher, and year of publication should appear at the beginning of the review, flush left.
• The review must be 500-700 words. You can adjust the length after grading if the publication to which you want to submit requires a different length.
• The review should put the book into the context of contemporary literature and the art and craft of the genre. In other words, this is a real book review that focuses on why the book is worth reading and how the book works.
Questions to consider as you read the book with an eye to reviewing. These questions are not an outline for a review but, rather, a guide to reading the book as a writer and reviewer.
- What is the title of the book? What does it suggest?
- What is the author’s name? Has this author published other books or poems available online?
- Who published the book? What other books has this press published?
- What exactly do you admire about this book and the writing?
- What do the beginning, middle, and end establish or do?
- Are there craft elements that are used throughout the book? If so, how do they work?
- Are there topics, themes, or a plot? If so, how does that play out?
- How does the work vary internally? Are there inconsistencies?
- Which examples or quotes are representative of the book?