by Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards
Twilight Times Books
Copyright (c) 2008
ISBN13: 9781933353227
Page Count: 190 pages
Genre: Non-fiction, reference
Have you ever been frustrated by the lack of quality of book reviews on Amazon.com? So many “love it” or “hate it” comments, but so little who tell you why this book meant so much to them… I desire to change that in my writing, so I bought this book to learn to write book reviews better.
Mayra Calvani and Anne Edwards cover everything in this book – how to write an effective book review for any audience, how to avoid common pitfalls, where one might write in order to gain influence, and how to contact helpful channels to acquire (free) books to review. My copy is dog-eared in many places so that I can return for future reference.
The book is divided into many short chapters, most of which consist of only two pages, but a few of which are longer. The text reads quickly and easily. The final section contains places to submit reviews – helpful to any reviewer.
One cannot help but wonder how in-date a book published in 2008 can be, though, especially as the Internet continues to change the dynamics of the marketplace. An expanded section on blogging would update this otherwise-helpful reference work to contemporary standards.
Overall, this book is ideal for people interested in sharing what they read with others so that they, too, can benefit. I plan to refer back to its resources in the coming months.